A Perilous Undertaking
Page 34
He gave a nod and I turned to watch a pretty Camberwell Beauty flapping a lazy path through the air, the light glowing violet on his wings as he fluttered around a privet hedge. Beyond, sounds of clattering and hammering and breaking of glass rose and fell along with the cheerful voices of workmen set to their tasks.
“What is all the palaver about? Has his lordship formed a new enthusiasm?” I asked. Lord Rosemorran had decided that a heated plunge pool would be just the thing to speed his recuperation and had installed one in his Roman folly at hideous expense. But the thing had been finished a fortnight before and no doubt our benefactor was haring off after a new diversion.
“His lordship is restoring the glasshouse,” Stoker told me, his gaze suddenly intent.
“For what purpose?” Anticipation quickened in my blood.
“For the purpose of breeding butterflies.”
“He means to install a vivarium?”
“We cannot mount an expedition for some months yet, and the gardens here can only offer you so much diversion for the hunting of butterflies. But a proper vivarium will give you a place to breed your own, to study them. He means to stock the place with the right sort of plants, and he wants you to compile a list of the larvae you will require to begin.”
A vivarium! My mind reeled at the possibilities. The glasshouse was an enormous thing; to fill it with hundreds of fluttering jewels of every description, to watch them metamorphose from dull, lumpen larvae to spin their silken cocoons and emerge, damp-winged and laden with lustrous possibility . . . it was almost more than I could bear.
“In time,” Stoker went on, “it might make a good addition to the museum. People could enjoy and appreciate the butterflies without having to pin them to the walls. They could watch them fly about and feed and rest.” He paused. “Veronica, you have not said a word. Are you happy?”
Happy? It was too puny and small a notion to describe my eruption of joy. I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it so hard, I could feel his bones shift.
“Well,” he said gently, “you may not have said a word, but you have spoken.”
“You did this,” I said at last when I could speak. “You told him to do this. For me.”
His gaze held mine for only a moment, then he looked away, watching the Beauty as he dropped to feed upon a berry. “When I most had need of you, you did not leave me. Whatever this thing is that makes us different, this thing that makes quicksilver of us when the rest of the world is mud, it binds us. To break that would be to fly in the face of nature.”
He tightened his grip on my hand for a moment, then let it slip away. The warmth of his skin lingered upon my palm. He reached for his watch chain to unfasten the guinea that hung there.
“I seem to recall you won the wager,” he began. I put a finger to his hand, stilling it.
“Keep it. We will wager double or nothing next time,” I said with a grin.
What the future held, I could not say. But we would have more adventures together, of that I was certain, and I could not wait to begin them.
Until then, I turned my face to the light and closed my eyes as the Camberwell Beauty dipped his wings and soared over the privet hedge against the setting sun.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is where all the gratitude happens. I would like to express my most heartfelt appreciation to the following:
For all of their enthusiasm and support, the fine folks at Penguin, with special recognition of Craig Burke, Loren Jaggers, Claire Zion, and Kara Welsh for their championing of Veronica. I am immensely grateful to the art department for their glorious work as well as the dedication of the sales, marketing, editorial, and PR teams. Always and forever, particular thanks to Ellen Edwards for bringing Veronica home.
For shepherding Veronica with kindness, skill, and immense creativity, my editor, Danielle Perez. I am more grateful than I can say for you.
For almost two decades of care, hard work, and friendship, my agent, Pam Hopkins. There are not words, but I think you already know.
For generosity and expertise in their various fields: Jen Stayrook, Mary Williams, Susan Ellingson, and Lindsay Carlson.
For support, friendship, and edification: Blake Leyers, Benjamin Dreyer, Ali Trotta, Joshilyn Jackson, Ariel Lawhon, Delilah Dawson, Rhys Bowen, Alan Bradley, Susan Elia MacNeal, Lauren Willig, Nathan Dunbar, Stephanie Graves, Holly Faur, and Carin Thumm, all of whom have offered kindness when it was most needed. For providing the name “Miles Ramsforth” in a burst of creative brilliance, Jeff Abbott.
For administrative work and attention to detail: the team at Writerspace. Special thanks to the irrreplaceable Jomie Wilding for truly spectacular endeavors.
For generosity of spirit: Fernando Velasquez whose gifted compositions have been the soundtrack of my writing and whose kind messages have buoyed my creativity.
For endless cups of tea, understanding, patience, and fortitude: my family.
For everything, for always: my husband.
A Perilous Undertaking
A Veronica Speedwell Mystery
Deanna Raybourn
Questions for Discussion
1. Once again, Veronica’s curiosity propels her into solving a mystery. Is this curiosity a fatal flaw? What motivates Stoker to partner with her for the investigation?
2. What do Veronica and her family stand to lose if her identity is revealed? What does each side stand to gain?
3. We are introduced to a significant new character, Lady Wellingtonia, in this novel. What do you think ultimately motivates her?
4. Princess Louise feels bound by honor and duty to behave in a certain way. Are you sympathetic to her situation? How do you think you would handle similar expectations?
5. The Elysian Grotto and Havelock House are historically accurate but not what many typically think of as Victorian settings. How important are these two locations in the novel’s development?
6. One of the most consequential characters, Miles Ramsforth, does not appear in the novel, forcing readers to develop their impressions of him based upon other characters’ feelings. What do you think of Miles?
7. In what ways do we come to better understand Stoker as his past is slowly revealed?
8. Veronica and Stoker are willing to make tremendous sacrifices for each other. What does this say about the nature of their bond? What developments do you anticipate in their relationship going forward?
Author photo © Sigmon Taylor Photography
Deanna Raybourn is the author of the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Lady Julia Grey series, which has been optioned for television, and several stand-alone novels. She lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter.
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