# On Such a Night as This— explained — Ralestone Luck

> Chapter companion for Ralestone Luck by Andre Norton.

## What happens

Val and Ricky navigate a tense evening at Pirate's Haven as Rupert reports strangers camping on their land. Val is drawn into Jeems' urgent plea to retrieve a chest from his cabin before rising floodwaters destroy it. Meanwhile, Mr. Creighton reveals he is searching for the author of a historically accurate manuscript about a duel between twin brothers, a story that strikes too close to home for the Ralestones. Ricky's secretive behavior and a wink at Charity deepen Val's suspicion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Family Legacy and Identity

The Ralestones confront their family's hidden past as Creighton's search for a manuscript about a twin brother duel mirrors their own secret history.

### Adventure and Mystery

Val ventures into the stormy swamp to retrieve Jeems' chest, while the mystery of the manuscript and the Ralestones' secret deepens.

### Superstition and Fate

Jeems' fear of the rising water and his fixation on the chest echo the foreboding atmosphere; Val recalls the night the missing Ralestone disappeared.

## Character check-ins

### Val Ralestone

Agrees to retrieve Jeems' chest from the swamp despite the storm; becomes suspicious of Ricky's secretive behavior.

### Rupert Ralestone

Returns wet and out of sorts, reporting evidence of strangers camping on Ralestone lands.

### Rick Ralestone

Acts triumphantly and avoids Val; winks at Charity, hinting at a shared secret.

### Jeems

Desperate to retrieve his chest from the swamp cabin before floodwaters destroy it; too weak to go himself.

### Miss Charity

Questions Val about Jeems' situation; receives a wink from Ricky.

### Creighton

Reveals his search for the author of a manuscript about a twin brother duel; asks the Ralestones to search their family records.

## Key lines

> It had been on just such a night as this that the missing Ralestone had gone out into the gloom. But he was coming back again, Val reminded himself hurriedly.

Val recalls that the missing Ralestone disappeared on a similar stormy night, but reassures himself that he will return.

_Highlights the parallel between Val's current mission and the family's tragic past._

> Ah gotta git the chest—

Jeems insists he must retrieve the chest from his cabin.

_Shows Jeems' desperation and the importance of the chest to him._

> Like the Englishman of Kipling's poem, Ricky was most to be feared when she grew polite.

Val knows that Ricky's politeness is a dangerous sign, indicating she is hiding something.

_Reveals Val's wariness of Ricky's deceptive calm._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ralestone_luck_se/chapters/xiii-on-such-a-night-as-this
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ralestone_luck_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ralestone_luck_se/chapters