Now the picture was gone. In its stead was a picture of Jem—a shot from one of their first features in the Hog. The night of the election benefit, she recalled, recognizing the scalloped collar of her dress and the costume pearls she had secured from the trunk in Merinda’s attic.
She snapped the watch shut with a smile. She unconsciously slid a hand over her midsection, wondering if she had felt a slight flutter.
“You’re quiet, Jemima,” Merinda said from her chair by the hearth.
“I’m fine,” she replied, matching Merinda’s tone even as her heart somersaulted. “And you?” She studied her friend in the waning light.
“Of course.” Merinda was hiding something in her voice that was half elated and half longing, with just a dusting of worry over its resolve. “I’m always fine.”
Jem lowered into the chair opposite her friend. “Of course.” She smiled at Merinda with all of her might, feeling that flutter again and the watch ticking in her breast pocket and the smile stretching lips so wide she wondered if she would ever stop smiling. No matter the hiccups or interruptions in her otherwise perfect ever-after. “We are both fine.”
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*During these moments, Jem’s cheeks were starting to hurt from all her smiles at Merinda’s tale of her first enraptured kiss. (Not to mention Merinda’s description of Benny’s splendid appearance in his red serge.)
AUTHOR’S NOTE
You can’t be Reverend Gerald McMillan’s daughter and not have a working knowledge of the history of the Force. My dad’s extensive collection of memorabilia, uniforms (from all eras), and incredible library were essential in infusing the spirit of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police into this world along with my own fictional touch. Of course, I had to use the famous Mountie Samuel Benfield Steele from my own hometown of Orillia, Ontario!
Much of Benny and Jonathan’s Guide to the Canadian Wilderness was inspired by the 1909 Rules and Regulations of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. I also consulted Without Fear, Favour or Affection by Vernon Kemp, which provided a clear understanding of life as an early recruit. Wearing snowshoes backward was one of the ways in which Albert Johnson (the Mad Trapper of Rat River) evaded capture by the indefatigable efforts of an RCMP manhunt in the Yukon in 1932.
Any errors in representation of the Force are entirely my own, and I sincerely hope they are forgiven in comparison to my obvious love and enthusiasm for our great Canadian icons. Benny’s dedication to the Force and his conscience and devotion to duty, as well as Jonathan’s ultimate sacrifice, were written as an homage to Constable Johnny Baldwinson, who was killed in the line of duty in Surrey, B.C., October 28, 1975.
The Emma Goldman rally is also entirely fictional, though Goldman did spend time in Toronto beginning with a visit in 1906. While “the most dangerous woman in America” considered the Canadian city “deadly dull,” she benefited from its proximity to the U.S.—especially when in hot water with American authorities. Buried in Chicago, Emma Goldman died in Toronto in 1940.
My poor editor had her hands full with my first draft and its long rambles about Theodore Roosevelt—everything I read about him was so interesting! While I consulted several biographies and historical sources (nodding to you, Ken Burns), Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit was by far the most interesting. Of course, everything that happens with David Ross at the Coliseum is complete fiction. I was inspired by how closely Roosevelt’s Progressive Party Platform mirrored what Jem, Merinda, Jasper, and Ray are fighting for in Toronto. Roosevelt’s speech in its entirety as well as a transcribed record of the entire proceedings of the Convention can be found online at www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org. The best fictional experiences encourage me to read more about a time and place that pops out at me, and I hope readers will take time to learn more about this amazing man and his truly exemplary platform. Much of what Roosevelt lobbied during the August 1912 Convention is as relevant to Canadians and Americans as they were a hundred years ago.
Readers of the first book (The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder) will know that I take numerous historical liberties in the creation of Jem and Merinda’s Toronto—particularly in the creation of its political spectrum. The corrupt Chief Henry Tipton, Mayor Tertius Montague, and Thaddeus Spenser are all figments of my imagination and in no way reflect any historical personage. The trolley bombings, too, are completely fictional. So are the trolley lines (call it the wishful thinking of a modern-day Torontonian!), though the city did actually enjoy thriving streetcar routes in 1912. The Toronto papers mentioned are accurate in name alone. The Hogtown Herald is complete fiction, as are M.C. Wheaton and Dorothea Fairfax. That said, I do try to capture the essence of a city on the brink, alive with immigration and social reform, a challenge for women and the working class.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.
HERRINGFORD AND WATTS MYSTERIES
Can’t wait to read more of Merinda and Jem’s adventures? Discover other delightful adventures involving the intrepid detectives in the Herringford and Watts Mysteries.
A Singular and Whimsical Problem (ebook-only novella)
Christmas 1910. Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts would be enjoying the season a lot more if they weren’t forced to do their own laundry and cooking. Just as they are adapting to their trusty housekeeper’s ill-timed vacation, they are confronted by the strangest mystery they’ve encountered since they started their private investigation firm.
In this bonus e-only novella, what begins as the search for a missing cat leads to a rabble-rousing suffragette and the disappearance of several young women from St. Jerome’s Reformatory for Incorrigible Females. From the women’s courts of City Hall to Toronto’s seedy docks and into the cold heart of the underground shipping industry, this will be the most exciting Christmas the girls have had yet—if they can stay alive long enough to enjoy it.
The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder
In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.
Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city’s underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.
While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto’s premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever—if they can stay alive long enough to do so.
Of Dubious and Questionable Memory (ebook-only novella)
Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts are never lacking for mysteries of the curious and commonplace, but lately business has been a little less curious and a lot more common.
With only missing jewelry and a kidnapped rooster on the case docket, Merinda is bored stiff. Jem welcomes the reprieve as she settles into married life, attempting to learn the domestic skills that have cunningly evaded her as a bachelor girl detective.
The lull in business is short lived when a telegram arrives from the detective duo’s suffragette friend Martha Kingston, detailing the mysterious disappearance of a school chum’s sister in Concord, Massachusetts.
No sooner do Jem and Merinda arrive in the States to investigate than they find themselves embroiled in a world of strange affairs, purloined letters, and a baffling mystery, whose clues lead directly to Orchard House, the homestead made famous by it
s longtime resident, Louisa May Alcott.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
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To learn more about Harvest House books and to read sample chapters, visit our website:
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
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A Lesson in Love and Murder Page 21