"A String in the Harp" by Nancy Bond, Chapters 3–4

The Morgan family reunites in Wales for Christmas while still mourning the mother's sudden death a year ago. Inclement weather, uncomfortable accommodations, and strained relationships threaten the family's holiday, until the Morgans must work together to protect a valuable artifact—a harp key with unique properties.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–19
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. flotsam
    the floating wreckage of a ship
    But what really fascinated Jen, as the bus paused, shuddering, at the top of the hill for passengers to get on and off, was the town of Aberystwyth below them: a cluster of buildings, spread across the mouth of the River Rheidol, like flotsam carried down to the sea by the river and left stranded on the fan-shaped estuary.
  2. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    “Pen Dinas,” Becky answered. “It’s a monument of some sort. Dad says there’re the traces of an ancient hill fort near it.”
    Pen Dinas stood like a sentinel guarding the southern side of Aberystwyth, a dark, straight finger pointing at the sky on the crest of a rounded hill.
  3. pram
    a baby carriage with four wheels
    Only a few mothers with prams and small children were out on it in the watery sun, and here and there a clump of older boys or girls—always one or the other, never both together—stood talking by the rail, eyeing each other.
  4. moor
    open land with peaty soil covered with heather and moss
    There were always clouds moving across the vast expanse of sky, but there were gaps between them where the sun burned through, sweeping over the hills and moors and sea in brilliant shifting patterns.
  5. jasper
    a semiprecious gemstone that is often red
    Jen was a little disappointed that there weren’t more shells to find, but Becky informed her that Gwilym said you could pick up fossils and bits of agate and jasper on the sands, particularly at low tide, if you were sharp enough and lucky.
  6. unperturbed
    free from emotional agitation or nervous tension
    Rhian was unperturbed by the gale. “Me Da says you’ve to expect the worst storms from the southwest, but up by us we don’t get much blow...."
  7. flue
    a conduit to carry off smoke
    Gwilym shook his head with exaggerated patience. “Flue’s open. You ought to keep it closed when there’s not a fire. You’d best get a pan to put under the drip till it’s dried out.”
  8. inexorably
    in a manner impervious to change or persuasion
    The Key sang a wild and ominous song that wove through the gale inexorably, showing Peter a series of painfully vivid images.
  9. swarthy
    naturally having skin of a dark color
    Within the Hall, in the warmth and firelight, there were people feasting at a long, cluttered table, swarthy, dark-haired men who drank and laughed and called up and down the table to one another, feeding the hounds that circled them, alert for handouts.
  10. glutinous
    having the sticky properties of an adhesive
    There was an awful lot of mud everywhere. Although the rough lane was paved, the asphalt was invisible under great welts of glutinous brown sludge.
  11. impervious
    not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
    Both Jen and Becky were panting by the time they came in sight of the farm, but the stiff climb didn’t seem to bother Rhian in the slightest. She walked with long quick strides like a boy, impervious to the steady drenching rain.
  12. deft
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
    Mrs. Evans went on with her kneading, her hands quick and deft at the thump, push, and fold over.
  13. meekly
    in a humble manner
    “Indeed not!” declared Mrs. Evans. “You’ll have your dinner first. There’s plenty to go round and I’ll not be having you leave wet and hungry!”
    “Thank you very much,” Jen responded meekly, glad to sit back and steam by the fire.
  14. larder
    a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
    The little door in the right wall opened into a stone larder, Jen discovered when Mrs. Evans opened it to put the leftover food away.
  15. crockery
    ceramic dishes used for serving food
    “This’ll be a storm like the one flooded the country yere about thousands of years ago.”
    “A flood,” said Becky. “Does it happen often?”
    Mrs. Evans was putting away the crockery. “Nay, it were thousands of years, if you can believe the story.”
Created on Tue Feb 17 19:58:24 EST 2026 (updated Fri Feb 20 21:37:50 EST 2026)

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