Forget-Her-Nots

by Amy Brecount White

  Laurel drew in a quick breath. “You sent her letter last year?”

  “Yes, and there are many more. I have them all.”

  Laurel turned the heavy paper over in her hands, but she couldn’t open it now. She wanted to be alone. “I’ll read it later.” She tucked it into her jacket.

  “Of course,” said Grandma.

  Laurel looked around the garden. Symmetrical paths radiated from the central fountain like the sun’s rays. Lifting her nose, she recognized the scent of mums on the air and detected something more complex, too. “I’d love to explore,” she said.

  Grandma stood and raised one arm. “Not yet,” she said. “Listen.”

  Someone began to play a flute. The silvery music seemed old but familiar, like a song Laurel once heard in a dream. The notes journeyed through the octaves, singing of both heavy sorrows and fleet-footed joy. Everything and its opposite, Laurel thought, as her body hummed along.

  Ms. Suarez handed Laurel the basket and motioned for her to stand. “You’ll need this now.”

  A young woman with deep brown skin and braids was walking slowly, ceremonially, up one of the paths toward them. She held a small leafy branch in her hand, stopped in front of Laurel, and offered it to her. “Here’s mountain laurel for ambition.” Her large brown eyes smiled as she kissed Laurel on the cheek. “Welcome.”

  “Thank you.” Laurel took the branch, and her hand tingled with its potency. The girl stepped aside, and there was a chubby boy a few feet behind her who had red hair, freckles, and a Willowlawn jacket.

  “A white chrysanthemum for truth,” he said with a lisp. He, too, kissed her once on the cheek. “Welcome, Laurel.”

  She lifted the white flower to her face and glanced at Grandma. Grandma nodded, and Laurel breathed it in. I’ll be truthful, she promised.

  Laurel glanced around before the next person reached her, and her mouth widened in wonder. Rows and rows of people were coming toward her from every direction of the radiant paths. Each person carried a single flower or a branch, a gift to her on her birthday. A gust of wind sprinkled fountain water on Laurel, and it felt like a baptism.

  “Jasmine for amiability,” said a girl her age.

  “Clematis virginiana for beauty of mind,” said an older guy.

  “Parsley for the feast,” said another.

  The line of kindred spirits seemed to be endless. She’d been surrounded by these people since her birth, she realized. Throughout her life her gift would be nurtured by their presence, sustained by their gifts. Together they had power in this world, the tremendous power to coax and nurture love.

  Laurel beamed at the next person, at the next flower. She never wanted it to end.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Forget-Her-Nots is a dream come true. My friends and family members have offered encouragement and enthusiasm throughout the journey that was this novel. In particular, I want to thank my husband for putting up with me through the mood swings of writing and publication. My three kids—Ian, David, and Samantha—were curious, loving, and supportive throughout their mama’s drama. I can’t thank my agent, Steven Chudney, enough for being there just when I needed him and believing in the magic of this novel. I also want to thank Sarah Cloots, Virginia Duncan, Martha Mihalick, and Lois Adams for their insightful editing and guidance, Paul Zakris, for the loveliness of this book in your hands, and the whole Greenwillow family for general awesomeness.

  Many others have been great readers and cheerleaders. My sisters—Elizabeth Brecount Norton, Julie Brecount Patel, and Margaret Burleigh Brecount—offered their comments and persistent optimism. Thanks also to my brother, David Brecount, for his techie know-how. Special hugs and thanks to my great friends Barbara Kanninen, Carol Ritchie, Kathi Reidy, Carol Bernstein, Margit Nahra, Susan St. Ville, Anne Marie Pace, Pam Calvert, and Jan Callies Foster, who read, asked questions, and listened whenever I needed intelligence and kindness. I also want to thank Beth and Becky Andrews for a boost in the early stages. A special shout-out to my fab teen readers, Jenna Anders, Audrey Bowler, and Ian White, who give me hope. Thanks also to novelist Dennis Danvers, who offered excellent criticism of my earlier work and believed that I could do this. And thanks to my mom, Mary Brecount Bernhold, who didn’t get mad at me if I couldn’t talk because I was writing. Thanks to my dad, David Jacob “Jack” Brecount, who always loved words and a good prank. Lastly, I am grateful to God for the true wonder of flowers and for my own gift of writing.

  Thanks to the Folger Shakespeare Library for allowing me to research Shakespeare and the language of flowers in those hallowed stacks, and sorry, I really thought my phone was on vibrate. Thanks also to the Botany and Horticulture Library at the Smithsonian Institution for sharing your holdings with me.

  Laurel’s Flowers (and a Few More) and Their Meanings

  alyssum (sweet) worth beyond beauty

  amaranth (globe) immortality, unfading love

  azalea temperance

  basil hatred

  basil (sweet) good wishes

  bellflower (white) gratitude

  bluebell constancy

  bougainvillea romance and fun (according to Laurel)

  buttercup ingratitude, childishness

  cabbage rose ambassador of love

  camellia (red) unpretending excellence

  camellia (white) perfected loveliness

  candytuft indifference

  carnation (striped) refusal

  carnation (yellow) disdain

  cedar strength

  chrysanthemum (white) truth

  cicely (sweet) gladness and comfort

  cinquefoil maternal affection

  clematis beauty of mind

  columbine folly

  coreopsis always cheerful

  coriander hidden worth

  creeping willow love, forsaken

  crocus (saffron) mirth

  daffodil regard

  daisy innocence

  dead leaves melancholy, sadness

  dogwood love undiminished by adversity, durability

  fennel worthy of all praise, strength

  fern fascination

  flowering reed confidence in heaven to come

  forget-me-nots forget me not, true love

  forsythia anticipation

  foxglove insincerity

  gardenia (aka cape jasmine) ecstasy and transport

  grass submission, utility

  holly foresight

  hollyhock ambition, fecundity

  honeysuckle generous and devoted affection

  hyacinth sport, game, play

  hydrangea a boaster, heartlessness

  iris message

  ivy fidelity, marriage

  jasmine amiability

  jonquil I desire a return of affection

  lady’s slipper capricious beauty

  laurel glory

  laurel (mountain) ambition

  lavender distrust or devotion

  lemon verbena enchantment, attract the opposite sex

  lilac (purple) the first emotions of love

  lilac (white) youthful innocence

  lily of the valley return of happiness

  lily (orange) coquetry

  lily (white) purity, sweetness

  live oak liberty

  magnolia love of nature

  marigold grief

  marjoram blushes

  mint virtue

  morning glory affection

  moss maternal love

  myrtle love, pleasing reminiscences

  narcissus narcissism, egotism

  orange tree generosity

  orchid belle of the ball, passion

  pansies thoughts

  parsley feast, festivities

  peony shame, bashfulness

  peppermint warmth of feeling

  pinks (double red) pure and ardent love

  pinks (single) pure love

  poppy (scarlet) fantastic extravagance

  quince temptation

  raspber
ry remorse

  rose love

  rose (yellow) decrease of love, jealousy

  rosebud (white) girlhood

  rosemary remembrance

  sage esteem

  snowdrops hope

  sunflower (tall) haughtiness

  sunflower (dwarf) adoration

  sweet William gallantry

  thyme activity

  tulip (red) a declaration of love

  tulip (yellow) hopeless love, friendship

  tulip (white) forgiveness

  violet (blue) faithfulness

  violet (purple) you occupy my thoughts

  zinnia thoughts of absent friends

  About the Author

  Amy Brecount White has taught English literature and writing to middle school and high school students. She has written numerous articles and essays for publications such as the Washington Post, but Forget-Her-Nots is her first novel. She can often be found in her garden and gives flowers to her friends and family whenever she can, though none have had magical effects—yet.

  Amy Brecount White lives with her family in Arlington, Virginia.

  www.amybrecountwhite.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  Credits

  Jacket art © 2010 by Harold Davis

  Jacket design by Paul Zakris

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  FORGET-HER-NOTS. Copyright © 2010 by Amy Brecount White. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  The lines from “somewhere i have never travelled, glady beyond” quoted in Chapter Seven, copyright 1931 © 1959, 1991 by the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust. Copyright © 1979 by George James Firmage, from Complete Poems, 1904–1962 by E. E. Cummings, edited by George James Firmage. Used by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation.

  Excerpt from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery quoted in Chapter Five, copyright 1943 by Harcourt, Inc., and renewed 1971 by Consuelo de Saint-Exupery; English translation copyright © 2000 by Richard Howard, reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

  Excerpt from “The Knight’s Tale,” from The Canterbury Tales quoted in Part Four, translation copyright 1993 by Ronald Ecker and Eugene Joseph Crook, published by Hodge & Braddock. Reprinted by permission of Ronald Ecker.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  White, Amy Brecount.

  Forget-her-nots / by Amy Brecount White.

  p. cm.

  “Greenwillow Books.”

  Summary: At a Charlottesville, Virginia, boarding school, fourteen-year-old Laurel begins to realize that she shares her deceased mother’s connection with flowers, but as she begins to learn their ancient language and share it with other students, she discovers powers that are beyond her control.

  ISBN 978-0-06-167298-9 (trade bdg.)

  [1. Flower language—Fiction. 2. Flowers—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Boarding schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction. 6. Mothers and daughters—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.W58176For 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009007105

  EPub Edition © January 2010 ISBN: 9780061990595

  10 11 12 13 14 CG/RRDB First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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