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Sucking in a breath, Rowena spun to face Brice, who still stood with his hands in his pockets, innocent as could be. At her open mouth, he grinned. Shrugged.
Blasted man. She’d had the Fire Eyes the whole time, right there in her dressing table. And oh, how he must have had a fit when his mother gave them to her on their wedding day, when they scarcely knew each other.
Laughter bubbled up, spilled out. She slid over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Happy birthday,
mo muirnín
. May this year coming be filled with blessings—even more than the last.”
He held her close, a chuckle rumbling in his chest beneath her ear. “A difficult task, given that this past year gave me you.”
“Aye.” She tipped up her face to gaze at his, which she knew so well. Loved even better.
And wondered how love did it. How could it take two people, unite them . . . and somehow make each one more? More than they’d ever been on their own.
Author’s Note
O
ne thing I love about this series is the chance to be swept away to someplace new. In
The Lost Heiress
, I soaked up YouTube videos and photos of Monaco and the Riviera. I tapped the knowledge of my French-speaking friend to make sure every phrase was just right. In
The Reluctant Duchess
, I dove headlong into the Highlands. I studied other successful novels set there, scribbling frantic notes on how to handle the dialect. (There is Scots—the unique words and way of speaking that they have mixed into English—and there is Gaelic, which is a different language entirely.) I took a virtual train trip into the Lochaber region, pausing the video every few minutes to take notes on speech patterns and references. I read up on the tales of Bonny Prince Charlie, who led an ill-fated revolt against the English king.
One thing the narrator in this documentary noted was that the Scots are more proud and fond of the tragedies in their history than of their victories. Those are the stories they still tell around the fires, that they sing about, that they built statues to honor. They are a people who sprang up in a harsh place and carved a world for themselves from strength and determination . . . and more than a little bit of what most of us call superstition.
But where is the line between superstition and the unseen things of God? That’s a question I have great fun asking, and hopefully you have great fun reading as my characters ponder the same.
When I first conceived this series as an eighth grader (so long ago!), I wanted the heroine of this second novel in the series to have suffered abuse that I knew absolutely nothing about firsthand. I wanted to watch her grow and change and find love—and I failed miserably back then, never finishing the story. But I revisited it seven years ago and, in rewriting it, and revising it again under the direction of Bethany House’s amazing editorial staff, I finally plumbed the depths of Rowena and Brice and what it really means to feel those empty places inside . . . and then learn to trust again. I don’t pretend to be well acquainted with the pain that abuse victims suffer, but I do know the power of God . . . and that He never forgets us, even when we feel He has.
Rowena’s father was an especial challenge for me. I wanted him to be multi-dimensional and realistic, and yet how does one humanize a man who has hurt his child so deeply? I pray that I found a way to do so that makes him an understandable character, even if we never like him.
I hope you’ll travel with me into the conclusion of the Fire Eyes’s story, as optimistic Ella conveniently forgets to give back those earrings and carries the diamonds to the Staffords’ home in the Cotswolds. There will, as always, be villains and true love and curse and blessing . . . and Ella’s story will also have a taste of Mother Russia as the buyer sends a broken ballerina into England as a spy on his behalf.
As you leave the world of the L
ADIES
OF
THE
M
ANOR
series now, I pray you’ll do so with George Müller’s insights hovering in your thoughts—that we all have empty plates, empty places. But they are not a lack. They are just an opportunity for God to provide for us in ways we can’t foresee.
Roseanna M. White
pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two small children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of ten historical novels and novellas, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She makes her home in the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia. You can learn more about her and her stories at
www.RoseannaMWhite.com
.
Books by Roseanna White
The Lost Heiress
The Reluctant Duchess
Resources:
bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook
Website:
www.bethanyhouse.com
Facebook:
Bethany House
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