The Lady Rogue
Page 32
“Sounds remarkably like a treasure hunt,” I said.
“Sounds remarkably like another grave dig,” Huck said. “Like Tokat.”
“Pshaw,” Father said, hiding a smile. “That was just a small miscalculation.”
“And this would be . . . ?”
“Just a research trip.”
“Oh,” Huck said. “Is that all?”
“Who knows. We’ll have to see how we feel after Paris.”
We. Huck and I shared a hopeful glance.
Spicy smoke floated past my father’s head as he squinted down at Huck over pink cheeks. “It’s just that I don’t feel like going back to New York yet. I think we should stay in Europe a little while longer.”
“All three of us,” I insisted, wanting to make sure.
Father nodded once. Quickly. And then, as if we were merely discussing what to eat for breakfast, he added, “Christmas in Paris is nice. Elena always liked it there, and God knows Jean-Bernard has plenty of room. What do you both think? Play it by ear?”
My heart thudded wildly. I stole a look at Huck, and his eyes were glossy.
“Sounds like a workable plan to me,” I said. “What do you think, Huck?”
He nodded vigorously, and a warm joy spread through my chest.
No, Father hadn’t said Huck could come home to New York, but he hadn’t ruled it out, either. Considering where he’d stood on this matter a few weeks ago, and taking into account how stupidly stubborn he was, I’d say this was outstanding progress.
A shrill train whistle blew. We were the last passengers left.
Father clapped a hand on Huck’s shoulder and turned toward the blue cars lining the track. “All right, then, that’s settled. Let’s board before they get a good look at us and leave this motley crew of reprobates behind.”
And what a crew we were.
House of Drăculești, Fox, and Gallagher: the maimed, the hobbled, and the rickety. We were motley, all right. A band of survivors.
I mean, sure, our bedraggled trio may have been small and stubborn as mules. At times it was even heartsick and scattered across the globe.
But none of that mattered, because when we crossed the railway platform and boarded the last train to Paris, we were something more important than all of that. Something bigger.
We were together.
Acknowledgments
When I began developing the idea for this book, it was set in China and Siberia, and monsters were involved. It would have been a very different story—perhaps one that few wanted to read. Because of that, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate my extraordinarily thoughtful and creative editor, Nicole Ellul, for spotting the seed of something good in that early vision and steering it toward the place it finally landed. Still erecting that monument to you. Maybe even a temple.
This is, of course, a work of fantasy fiction, and I took a few liberties with the ancestral line of Vlad Dracula; those who go looking for a cursed ring owned by the famous voivode will be sorely disappointed to discover that it exists only inside these pages. Regardless, I tried to build Theo and Huck’s fictional world on the framework of fact, and I hope my interest and respect for the history of this region comes through in the story. Many thanks to Denisa Petrescu and Maria Tekin for answering questions about Romanian and Turkish history. Any mistakes are mine.
This book wouldn’t exist without the continued support and guidance of many talented, bookish people. Thank you to my longtime agent provocateur, Laura Bradford, without whom I’d be lost, and to Taryn Fagerness. Also to Billelis, for the absolutely stunning cover art. And thank you to the fabulous folks at Simon & Schuster who’ve worked hard to make me look good, including Mara Anastas, Liesa Abrams, Jennifer Ung, Rebecca Vitkus, Heather Palisi, and everyone on the extended Simon Pulse team.
Awkwardly long bear hugs to my personal support team: Karen, Ron, Gregg, Heidi, Hank (if you only knew how many times I typed “Hank” in this book instead of “Huck,” not to mention “Hunk”), Little Shield-Maiden, Brian, Patsy, Don, Gina the Hacker, Shane, and Seph.
But mostly, and I really do mean this, thank you for reading.
About the Author
Author photograph copyright © 2017 by Heidi Darbo
JENN BENNETT is an award-winning author of young adult books, including Alex, Approximately; Serious Moonlight; and Starry Eyes. She also writes historical romance and fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award, and been included on the Publishers Weekly Best Books annual list. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs.
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Also by Jenn Bennett
Alex, Approximately
Starry Eyes
Serious Moonlight
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition September 2019
Text copyright © 2019 by Jenn Bennett
Map illustration copyright © 2019 by Jenn Bennett
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2019 by Billelis
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Interior designed by Tom Daly
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bennett, Jenn.
Title: The lady rogue / Jenn Bennett.
Description: New York : Simon Pulse, 2019. |
Summary: In 1937, teenaged Theodora Fox and her crush, Huck, set out through the Carpathian Mountains seeking her missing father and the cursed ring of Vlad the Impaler, which he was seeking.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019003220 | ISBN 9781534431997 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Missing persons—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. |
Rings—Fiction. | Blessing and cursing—Fiction. | Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, 1430 or 1431–1476 or 1477—Fiction. | Carpathian Mountains—Fiction. | Transylvania (Romania)—History—1918–1940—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.B4538 Lad 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019003220
ISBN 9781534432017 (eBook)
From.Net