But returning to this scene in springtime, the plain young woman suddenly says, “As it is a few years ago, you will have probably forgotten. But do you remember what you said to me after you’d read the first chapter of Leonora?”
Darcy shook his head.
“You asked me if I’d ever been to Denmark or lived in a castle or worn a ‘dazzling gown encrusted with precious stones of a hundred brilliant facets each’ when you knew full well that I hadn’t done any of those things. I was thinking the other day how you were absolutely right. I should go away. After all these books and with all this money, I should see and experience what I’ve been writing about for years.”
“That’s impossible,” Darcy grumbled.
“Why?” I pressed.
“It just is…you can’t possibly go on your own.”
“I don’t intend to go on my own. Sarah and Mrs. Crosbie will accompany me. Traveling with a companion and a servant is not unheard of.”
Darcy tossed three lumps of sugar into an empty teacup with annoyance. “Your new fortune has gone to your head,” he chided. “Money has that effect on people, unfortunately. Well, there’s only one thing for it. I shall go with you.”
“But you’re needed here!”
“Georgiana is perfectly capable of running the estate with Mrs. Reynolds’s and Henderson’s help.”
I did not speak for a long time. Then, glancing over my shoulder to ensure that Mrs. Crosbie was still asleep, I slid my hand tenderly through the crook of Darcy’s arm. “But this is an adventure I want for myself…with Sarah and Mrs. Crosbie to accompany me, of course, but not…not with you. Tell me you understand.”
He stayed silent for a while, brooding. Then he poured all the sugar out of his teacup, into the saucer beneath it. “I can see you’re determined to leave me,” he finally said.
“I am.”
“You might even forget me while you’re away.”
I sighed. “As unlikely as such an event would be, I must acknowledge the possibility of my bringing back a French or Spanish husband to live with me in this cottage, whereupon I would, I’m afraid, be forced to forget you. His jealous foreign temperament would also have the unhappy consequence of preventing you from visiting me nearly every day, as you do now.”
At this, the gentleman flushed. He muttered something I didn’t catch, for I was then looking beyond his head, over the hills, to the horizon from which the sunburned roofs of Italian villas, the bowl-shaped domes of cathedrals, the mellifluous waves of the Tiber would soon rise. I thought briefly of a foolish young girl who had once, a long time ago, made a foolish wish. In a dream, she had asked the Holy Virgin to make her beautiful and had wept to find herself unchanged the next morning. She couldn’t know then the strength of her own wings: how high she’d soar, how marvelous her many flights and how diminished in size and importance the people and places she left behind would eventually become to her as she dared the brilliance of the sun.
I’d like to acknowledge these sources for the quoted material that appears on the following pages:
This page: “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.” From act II, scene II, lines 271–72 of Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare.
This page: “That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit.” From volume I, chapter XVIII of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
This page: “My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances—like myself—to set the example of matrimony in his parish.” From volume I, chapter XIX of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
This page: “…a small income go a good way.” From volume I, chapter XIX of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
This page: “The mistress of the mansion came, mature of age, a graceful dame, whose easy step and stately port had well become a princely court.” From canto I, lines 576–79 of The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott.
To Einstein
2004–2017
Christina Clifford. A good friend, a trusted agent, the fairy godmother of my life in more ways than one. Her contributions to this novel (the title, a happy-versus-tragic ending, Mary’s occupation as a writer) have been as vital to its creation as my own pen, to say nothing of the impassioned guidance and mentorship she has freely offered over the years, dearer to me than gold.
Caitlin McKenna. Editor extraordinaire, whose vision for the book surpassed even my own. Deepest thanks for the tireless edits, which vitally reshaped the work, and for being devastatingly sharp and brilliant in every suggestion both big and seemingly small. The honor of collaborating with such young and remarkable talent as yours has never been lost on me, nor the contagious love you’ve possessed in all the years of our acquaintance for the written word.
The team at Random House: Andy Ward, Benjamin Dreyer, Bonnie Thompson, Caroline Johnson, Christine Mykityshyn, Denise Cronin, Donna Duverglas, Elizabeth Gaffin, Erin Valerio, Jess Bonet, Jessica Cashman, Joelle Dieu, Kathy Jones, Melissa Sanford, Rachel Kind, Victoria Wong, and Vincent La Scala.
Many thanks to my father for having faith in my writing and for having had supported it.
And last, but not least—Mom. Thackeray wrote in Vanity Fair, “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” Though I am twenty-seven years old, the principle still holds. My mother will always be the holiest and greatest of persons to me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHERINE J. CHEN is a graduate of Princeton University. This is her first novel.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
* * *
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.
Mary B Page 31