She smiled back. “Except about being friends.”
He shrugged.
“The Old Man gave me some advice.”
Gideon wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was. “Did he?”
“Yes. He said he thought we’d never be happy together.”
Gideon almost choked on his outrage. “He did?”
“Yes, but he also said he thought I’d be even more unhappy without you.”
Hope bubbled up, fragile but determined. “Do you think he’s right?”
“Yes.”
Not “I think so” or even “Maybe,” but “Yes.”
“I know he’s right. Elizabeth, when I thought you were in danger, I knew I’d do anything to protect you. Nothing else mattered, not truth or the law or my honor, nothing at all. I finally figured out what was important.”
“That’s . . . wonderful.”
“I love you more with every day that passes. I can’t imagine a life without you, and I wouldn’t be interested in living it even if I could.”
“Oh, Gideon, we’ll probably fight all the time and disagree about everything.”
He took her beautiful face in both his hands and kissed her soundly.
When they were both breathless, he broke the kiss, and she said, “Well, maybe not about everything.”
“We’ll certainly never argue about the rule of law again. Or justice. Or how best to help other people.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” He slid off the sofa onto one knee and took her hand in both of his. “Elizabeth Miles, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes! Oh yes!”
Gideon started to get up so he could kiss her again, but he caught himself. “Wait, should I have asked your father for permission first?”
“You didn’t the other time you asked me.”
“That was an emergency, and besides, I didn’t even know he was your father then.”
“Mrs. Ordway says that, in America, that’s just a formality, since my father wouldn’t have let you court me in the first place if you weren’t suitable.”
“I don’t think he let me do anything.”
“Gideon,” she said in exasperation, “I thought you weren’t going to worry about following the rules anymore.”
“It’s a hard habit to break. I may need some help along the way.”
Elizabeth gave him her most dazzling smile. “I’ll give you all the help you need.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
THIS WAS SUCH A FUN BOOK TO WRITE, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED reading it as much as I enjoyed figuring out all the twists and turns of the story. The book to which Elizabeth often refers, The Etiquette of Today by Mrs. Edith B. Ordway, really did exist and went through several revisions over the years. It makes for amusing reading by modern readers.
You are probably wondering how Priscilla Jenks Knight was able to live the rest of her life on a fortune of $80,000. At that time, this would have been the equivalent of about a million dollars in today’s money. Priscilla wouldn’t have been extremely wealthy, but since her house was paid for—it would have been in her first husband’s family for generations—she and her children could have lived a comfortable middle-class life.
The Safe Deposit Company of New York, the first independent safe-deposit company, opened in 1865. At that time, banks would sometimes keep valuables for their big depositors at no charge, but they didn’t really have the space for that or the ability to keep them truly secure in their large, open vaults. Someone figured out this was a need and developed a safe-deposit business. They would provide safekeeping for trunks and packages, but they also invented the safe-deposit box for smaller valuables. This was possible because James Sargent, a young employee of Linus Yale Jr., had invented the first key-changeable combination lock in 1857. By the 1920s, banks saw the profit potential and began offering safe-deposit boxes themselves, as they do today.
Please let me know how you liked this book. You may follow me on Facebook at Victoria.Thompson.Author and on Twitter @gaslightvt and visit my website at victoriathompson.com to sign up for my newsletter, so you’ll always know when I have a new book coming out.
Readers Guide for
CITY OF SECRETS
Questions for Discussion
Elizabeth believes that trying to fit in with the wealthy-society crowd often requires her to pretend to be someone she is not. Are there areas of your life where you feel you must act differently or speak in a certain way to be accepted?
Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth’s friend Priscilla must grapple with the unspoken rules of 1920s society that state she needs a man to look after her. Are there mandates in your own family or community that you feel obliged to follow? Do these mandates ever conflict with how you want to live your life?
Elizabeth and Gideon realize they are very different people in this book. Do you feel that opposites generally attract, or do you look for as much common ground as possible when considering a relationship? Are there certain things—deal breakers—that you and your prospective significant other need to agree on?
Gideon has certain expectations of Elizabeth that change throughout the course of the novel. How do you feel about his transformation? What moments in the novel do you think played a part in his decisions regarding his relationship with Elizabeth?
In the novel, we learn about the West Side Cowboy, a man whose job includes riding ahead of freight trains waving a flag and carrying a lantern to alert pedestrians of the oncoming train. What other jobs have been made obsolete by today’s technology? Are there any careers you wish were still viable that have become outmoded?
Fear of scandal motivates several of the characters in the book, and word of mouth is the main way damaging information is disseminated. What role does this fear play in today’s society? How have things changed regarding what constitutes a scandal and how rumors are spread?
Elizabeth and Gideon debate the merits of breaking the rules to help someone in need. What do you think of their approach? Have you ever had to think outside the box to come up with a helpful solution to a problem?
The Honesdale family, despite outward appearances, seems to have no moral compass to speak of and regularly do horrible things. Do you agree with what ultimately happens to each of them?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Thompson is the Edgar® and Agatha award-nominated author of the Gaslight Mysteries--including Murder in the Bowery, Murder in Morningside Heights, Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue, Murder on Amsterdam Avenue, and Murder in Murray Hill--as well as numerous historical novels.
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