Intertwine (42 page)

Emme was still trying to figure out what to do with her last name. She had always intended to just hyphenate when she got married, but Marc had been the first to realize that would make her Emry Wilde-Knight. Which was not exactly the professional vibe she was going for in a last name. And Marc, being Marc, couldn’t just let it slip by. The jokes were still on-going, many of which had made even James blush.

This balmy October day found them outside Escalante, Utah, exploring the red rock canyons of the southwestern United States.

“Wow, this is really high . . . not looking down . . . tell me I can do this.”

“You can do this.”

“Okay, now say it in your sexiest I-was-born-a-nineteenth-century-aristocrat voice . . . with extra gravitas.”

James chuckled.

“Emme, my dearest love, you are the bravest woman I know. You can do this, darling.”

Silence.

“Oh . . . wow . . . it’s sooooo high. . . .”

Emme swallowed and forced herself not to look down. Marc snapped the rope below, causing it to jump slightly in her hand.

“Marcus David Wilde!” she shrieked.

“I think you’re going to have to throw her over,” Marc called up to James.

“That doesn’t seem particularly sporting,” James yelled down to him. “Though how long before the harness starts to chafe?”

Marc shook his head. “C’mon, Ems. Just do it,” he called up. “I would hate to show James the video. You know the one I’m talking about. When you were twelve and still liked My Little Pony but also had a crush on Jason Hawks and you pretended to kiss . . .”

That did it.

Marc stopped talking as Emme walked backward over the edge, rappelling smoothly down the red sandstone cliff, Marc’s laugh following her all the way.

“Works every time,” he said with a chuckle as she landed at his feet. “You really should’ve destroyed that video when you had the chance.”

Emme just glared mock-daggers at him.

“Marc, what is My Little Pony?” James called down. “And why would Emme want to crush this Jason Hawks?”

Marc laughed even harder. Emme shook her head and then smiled ruefully, watching as James clipped in and slid easily down the rope to join them.

The narrow slot canyon glowed burnished orange, washed and sculpted from eons of water and wind. Sunlight filtered slowly down its steep walls, nearly fifty feet high but only two feet wide.

James slipped an arm around her as Marc coiled rope behind them.

“What was that you asked me earlier? If I had claustra . . .?” James trailed off, trying to remember.

“Claustrophobia,” Emme helpfully prompted. “It’s a fear of enclosed spaces.”

James paused, considering the idea for a moment. And then shook his head.

“No, I can’t say this place makes me feel anything other than awestruck.”

He looked around at the narrow undulating canyon walls. Nature scrubbed of life. Raw and elemental. Just rock and sand and wind, twisting, bending, coiling around each other. The reddish walls blushed with vibrant color.

“You were right. This is breathtakingly unique. Who could have imagined that such a place existed?”

Emme nodded. “I can think of few places that are as opposite Duir Cottage in lush green England than the slot canyons of the American desert southwest.”

“Yes, though I am glad that
Georgiana
enjoys life in Herefordshire. Her last message indicated that she is doing well. I wish she could really love 21st century life.”

“Not everyone is as adaptable as you,” she said, giving him a small hug.

“True,” James let out a wondrous sigh. “I never knew such contentment was possible. It’s as if the entire universe has finally righted itself for me. I have never felt so complete, so much myself.”

Emme laughed and kissed his cheek fondly.

“Come now, something must have surprised you.”

“Well, of course a great number of things have surprised me. And I still may never forgive you for not telling me about football.”

“Seriously, Emme!” Marc said, coming to stand next to them, rope coiled over his shoulder. “You really have a shocking tendency to ignore the important things in life. By the way, Bronco kick-off on ESPN is in less than three hours. So we should really keep going. I think there is an arch just around the next bend, and I want to savor every inch of this canyon. It’s too amazing to do
otherwise
.”

This pretty much summed up how Emme felt. As she turned down the narrow canyon, she vowed to treasure every moment of life together with James.

Upcoming Books

The
House of Oak
series will eventually feature four books (and perhaps a prequel novella showing how the locket was sent on its way to the US, but I haven’t firmed that up yet).

As of this writing, the books in the series will be:

Intertwine
(James and Emme)

Divine
(Georgiana and Sebastian—coming November 2014)

Clandestine
(Marc and Kit—coming Spring 2015)

Refine
(Linwood and, yes, Jasmine—coming Summer 2015)

Read a preview of Georgiana’s book, Divine

Author's Note

W
hen writing a story where most of the action occurs in the past, I have incorporated some aspects of historical truth and then taken literary liberties. Allow me to sort through some of it for you.

Let’s start with historical facts. Tuberculosis was (and quite frankly, still is) a terrible disease. By some estimates, TB caused up to 25% of all deaths in the early 19th century. Though deadly, the disease was not a fast killer. It can sit latent in the body for decades before becoming active. Once active, victims succumbed over a period of months and sometimes years. But once the disease set in, death was generally inevitable. Only a small fraction managed to fight off the infection. Dr. James Carson, who I mention in passing, was an early researcher working in Liverpool in the early 19th century. Though many treatments were posited and tried over the centuries, it wasn’t until the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s that TB stopped being such a widespread killer.

On a happier topic, gooseberry clubs and competitions were an actual craze in early 19th century Britain. Sir Henry’s obsession was rooted in very real historical fact. (You can’t make this stuff up, people.) Curry was widely eaten and
The Jane Austen Cookbook
(by Maggie Black and Deirdre Le Faye) contains a recipe for curry from Austen’s own household. Speaking of Jane Austen, I must apologize for pushing the publication date of
Pride and Prejudice
earlier to accommodate my plot. The book wasn’t actually published until January 1813.

Other interesting historical facts. The little story about Baron Berwick marrying a popular London courtesan is absolutely true. Thomas Hill, Baron Berwick, did marry Sophia Dubochet on February 8th, 1812 (though I may have taken liberties when explaining why he did). And Napoleon did indeed begin his ill-advised invasion of Russia in late June 1812.

Emme’s traveling disasters are actually also reality. All of Emme’s 21st century disasters have happened to my parents. They were held up by pirates on the Cozumel ferry, stranded in Hungary when the Icelandic volcano erupted, stuck without luggage in Guatemala during terrible floods, quarantined when the swine flu hit Mexico, interrogated by the TSA for being terrorists, and so many others that I didn’t list. They are the original traveling disasters.

Things I completely made up: the town of Marfield, all the estates listed in the book and Giovanni Spunto. My apologies if you went looking for them. I also recognize that Emme’s amnesia and recovery is a stretch of medical possibility. I prefer to think of it as something that fate decreed for her.

As with all books, this one couldn’t have been written without help and support from those around me.

For starters, I would like to thank all of my fellow photography friends and fans. Over the years, you have given me friendship, support and a much needed artistic outlet. I still love everything about photography—that exhilarating creation of breathtaking, show-stopping images. But thank you for giving me the confidence to branch out into a different artistic field, expressing many of the same dramatic concepts in writing.

To my beta readers—Jefra Linn, Monica Winder, Lyndsie Campbell, Kelly Crawford, Kristin Villano, Solomon Campbell and Annette Evans—thank you for your helpful ideas and support. Thank you especially for sending me messages of encouragement when the doubt-demons hit. Also, an extra large thank you to Norma Melzer for her fantastic copy editing skills.

I owe a huge shout-out to Lois Brown, author extraordinaire, for lending your valuable experience and expertise to the manuscript. Your editing wisdom and overall brilliance was greatly appreciated.

Most importantly, I need to give a wet, sloppy kiss to Erin Rodabough. Without you, my dearest friend, this book would have never happened—best. writing. buddy. ever! Thank you for your encouragement, brilliant insights, clever editing and just all-around awesomeness. As I have said over and over, a book is only as good as its editor is insightful. And you, my friend, have that amazing ability to hone in and provide solutions to all sorts of writing problems. Not to mention that you are just all-around fun to hang with. Thirty years later and we’re still trading manuscripts. Love that what began as two little girls writing stories in your gabled bedroom has morphed into this.

Thank you to Andrew, Austenne and Kian for your patience and lending your mother to this project. Though you didn’t mind eating all that take-out pizza and cold cereal for dinner as much as you should.

And finally, no words can express my love and appreciation for Dave. I would say you are the wind beneath my wings (but then, let’s face it, I would have to listen to you make wind-whistling sounds every time I walked by), so let me just say thank you for your support. For always looking me in the eye and saying ‘I know you can do it,’ no matter how hare-brained the idea. I consider myself beyond blessed to travel through life with you at my side.

Reading Group Questions

O
h yes, this book has reading group questions.

Why?

Well, the English professor in me couldn’t let this book go to press without making it vaguely educational. And obviously your reading group would show excellent taste by selecting this book—reading groups don’t always have to be about the classics and Oprah’s Book Club. Sometimes you just need a shameless don’t-judge-me read. And any book that has reading group questions has to have redeeming literary qualities, right? So you’re totally justified in assigning it.