The Library of Light and Shadow
Page 33
“Exactly.”
I was still absorbing the information. “And the prophecy about it being found by someone who sees shadows … that’s me?”
“Yes, you’re one of the very few people enlightened enough to be able to grasp what’s written here and learn from it.”
“Are there many others?”
“A few. Enough.” He smiled wistfully.
“Your wife?”
He nodded.
“Not Madame Calvé?”
“Sadly, no.” He laughed. “Even though she wants it so very badly.”
“You said you’ve been studying it. Can’t you just read it?”
“No. It’s a lifelong effort. The lessons can’t just be read, they have to be experienced. Each generation must live them. It would be too easy to just be given the secrets. You understand that, don’t you? You’ve seen the danger of just giving people information?”
I nodded. I hadn’t known before now, though. All these years, I hadn’t realized the real danger of what I did when I sketched those secrets.
“You’ve always been scared of the dark, haven’t you?” Gaspard asked.
I nodded. Of course I was. I had been my whole life.
“Why?”
I started to give him an answer about my blindness, and then I realized that he was asking me a much more complicated question. Gaspard was asking me why I was scared of my own secrets. Why I wouldn’t look at them. Why I ran from them.
I was beginning to understand. I hadn’t run away from Paris only because of Mathieu and my fear of hurting him. I’d run away because I was scared of Mathieu hurting me. I hadn’t understood love at all. I’d thought it was some kind of magick. And I was scared that my magick wasn’t as powerful as my mother’s. I was scared of being in her shadow. Of never measuring up. I was scared of the curse and that I would fail and be one of the doomed daughters of La Lune. But I’d been wrong about it all. My only failing was living in fear.
“Delphine, I’d like you to stay here. Study the book with me.” He paused. “I know about your family curse. I know you don’t think you can love anyone else. But I believe the curse can be broken. At least, we could try. Imagine all this knowledge … at your fingertips.”
I gazed around me. Took in the wonder of the chamber. Candlelight flickered on the deeply etched walls, cast shadows, hid some of the secrets and illuminated others. My drawings hadn’t done it justice. The cavern vibrated with energy and magick, and Gaspard was offering it all to me.
“It’s tempting.” I looked into his honeyed eyes, trying to feel just one spark. “Not just to learn all this but to be with you and Nicky … but my destiny isn’t to be the daughter who breaks the curse. Mine is to learn not to be afraid of it.”
“As sorry as I am that you won’t entertain my offer, I’m very happy for you that you know that now, finally.”
I smiled at him. “I do. Finally. Because of you. I’ll never forget that.”
Chapter 49
Gaspard took me back to the forest. To the path just beyond the waterfall.
“I’ll leave you here,” he said. “You know the way back, don’t you?”
I nodded.
“Then we’ll say good-bye.”
My eyes filled with tears. “You’ve saved me three times,” I said. “I’m not sure how to thank you.”
“You don’t need to.” He reached up and brushed my hair out of my eyes. Then he kissed me chastely on the forehead.
“Take care of Nicky,” I said. “Tell him to remember to color outside the lines.”
Gaspard nodded. He started to walk away. Then stopped. “There’s actually something I would like as a thank-you.”
“Anything.”
“A painting from you. When you get home.”
“Of course. A painting of butterflies, will that be all right?”
“Better than all right. Perfect.” He held up his hand in parting.
I mimicked the gesture.
He turned away.
For a moment, I wanted to run after him. To stay with him and Nicky. It would be so much easier than facing what was ahead of me. Facing what my brother had done. Moving forward with Mathieu without fear. Taking on the risks that being with Mathieu would bring. He still had a crack in his soul through which darkness entered. He might never mend. He might never find peace or poetry again. But he was my fate, wasn’t he?
I was suffused by a sense of warmth as a breeze blew golden rays of the sun over me.
I watched Gaspard continue to walk away into the forest, the gray-green shadows enveloping him. The air around him misted. And suddenly, on his right, I saw Nicky, holding his father’s hand. And on his left a winsome woman with blond hair. She linked her arm in his as she leaned into him just enough so the lengths of their bodies touched.
When I saw the past, the air around me always chilled. This air was warm. Like the day I’d seen what I thought was my trespass against Mathieu. I knew I wasn’t seeing Gaspard’s past. His wife had been dark-haired. I’d seen her photo in Nicky’s butterfly book. This was his future. The secret he was walking toward. The woman who was waiting for him right around the bend. I was about to call out. I wanted to tell him, but I heard my own name.
“Delphine!”
I turned in the other direction. Mathieu was half walking, half running toward me. Reaching me, he stopped. There was a leaf caught in his hair. A smudge of dirt on his cheek.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be recuperating,” I said.
“Sebastian …” Mathieu was out of breath.
“Easy,” I said. “Come, sit here.”
I led him to a flat rock, where we sat. The sun, peeking through the trees, had started to warm the stone. The heat was welcoming.
Mathieu took my hand. His touch was nothing like Gaspard’s. Not soothing, not safe. Where Mathieu’s flesh touched mine, sparks flew and burst.
“Sebastian came back to the castle, soaking wet, a bad gash on his forehead. He said he didn’t know what happened to you. That you’d saved him but he couldn’t find you. He was in a panic. Madame immediately organized a search party. We’ve been at it for at least an hour. Combing these woods. Didn’t you hear any of us calling?”
I wasn’t sure what to tell him. The library was a secret that was not mine to share. I thought of my time inside that stone fortress. Gaspard had asked me a question that I had never asked myself. One I’d need to answer if I was ever going to paint again … or ever going to love again.
A long time ago, I’d become afraid, and that fear had blinded me with a darkness more debilitating than what I’d endured as a child. But now I understood.
The real secret that Gaspard’s ancestors learned, the secret of Flamel’s Great Work, of alchemy, was that love itself is the light. It offers us immortality … It is the true portal to enlightenment.
“Delphine, where were you all this time?” Mathieu asked.
“I was lost.”
“Well, you aren’t anymore,” he said, as he buried his face in my hand. I felt a drop of water wet my palm. Then he looked up at me, and I saw more tears. “You’re not lost now,” he whispered. “Not anymore. I’ve found you.”
Author’s Note
As with the most of my work there is a lot of fact mixed in with this fictional tale.
The postwar atmosphere in New York City, Paris, and Cannes are as close to the truth as possible. As is the art world I depicted in these pages. All of the artists whose names you recognize and who interact with my fictional heroine did exist and were in fact interested in the occult or mystical world. When possible—and it was often possible—I used some of their own words and thoughts as well as true anecdotes about their lives.
You can still visit many of the sights I wrote about in both New York, Mougins, and Cannes, including having a drink on the Carlton terrace. In Millau you can drive by the château, which was indeed owned by the very real, very famous opera singer, Emma Calvé. Madame did buy and
restore the small castle because of the reports that Nicolas Flamel’s treasure, The Book of Abraham the Jew, rumored to hold the secrets to immortality and transmutation, was hidden there. The interior of the castle and the library are fiction since the building is now privately owned and, alas, I didn’t get to see it or walk its grounds.
All the stories about Flamel included in this novel are part of his legend. La Diva never did find the book but she kept the château until she died.
Acknowledgments
To Sarah Branham and Rakesh Satyal, amazing editors both, who I was so lucky to have work on this book.
To my wonderful publisher and friend Judith Curr and the amazing Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster—you both make me proud to be an Atria author.
To Lisa Sciambra, Hilary Tisman, Suzanne Donahue, Loan Le, Tory Lowy, and everyone who works behind the scenes at Atria Books—your hard work and creative thinking is greatly appreciated.
To Alan Dingman for covers that get better with each book and are all I could ever ask for and more.
To Dan Conaway, who makes such a difference in my life as a friend and agent and always has my back.
To Taylor Templeton for her hard work and kindness and everyone at Writers House whose help is invaluable.
I also want to thank readers everywhere who make all the work worthwhile (please visit MJEmail.me for a signed bookplate). And to the booksellers and librarians without whom the world would be a sadder place.
And as always, I’m very grateful to my dear friends and family and most of all, to Doug.
Readers Club Guide
The Library of Light and Shadow
This reading group guide for The Library of Light and Shadow includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
In the wake of a dark and brutal world war, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a beacon for the high society set, desperate to keep their gaze firmly fixed to the future.
But Delphine Duplessi, a descendent of La Lune, sees more than most. An artist from L’École des Beaux-Arts, Delphine has gained notoriety for her stunning shadow portraits that frequently expose her subjects’ most scandalous secrets.
On a snowy night in February, in a penthouse high above Fifth Avenue, Delphine’s mystical talent leads to a tragedy between two brothers.
Devastated and disconsolate, Delphine renounces her gift and returns to her old life in the south of France where Picasso, Matisse, and the Fitzgeralds are summering.
There, Delphine is thrust into recapturing the past. First by her charismatic twin brother and business manager, Sebastian, who attempts to cajole her back to work and into codependence, then by the world famous opera singer Emma Calvé, who is obsessed with the writings of the fourteenth-century alchemist Nicolas Flamel. And finally by her ex-lover Mathieu, who is determined to lure her back into his arms, unaware of the danger that led Delphine to flee Paris for New York five years before.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. How would you describe the letter from Thérèse Bruis? What is the tone? What is she asking of Delphine? How does it establish the conflict that Delphine struggles with throughout the book?
2. Review Delphine and Mathieu’s first encounter in Paris. What do her observations tell us about Mathieu? Should she have told him her secret gift?
3. During one of their dates, Mathieu tells Delphine: “Always love to the point of madness or else what is the point of love” (pg. 75). What did he mean by this? Do you agree?
4. Sequestered in her studio for quite some time, Delphine paints a few interesting works. How do the paintings reflect her state of mind?
5. In describing Sebastian, Delphine says, “Maman said I made [Sebastian] into a star that shone too brightly and that it wasn’t good for either of us” (pg. 84). What did Delphine’s mother mean by this?
6. How does Delphine view her mother? What impact does Sandrine have on her? Identify passages that represent their relationship.
7. Why does Delphine eventually agree to paint Madame Calvé’s chateau and help find the Book of Abraham?
8. Delphine asks her brother to apologize after sharing her secret with Marsden. Why was it important for Delphine to demand that?
9. The first night at Madame Calvé’s house, Delphine has a dream. What is the significance of the animal form she takes?
10. Why doesn’t Delphine trust Gaspard?
11. Delphine offers to paint Mathieu to help him remember his past, but he replies: “And any secrets the universe is keeping from me I can leave well enough alone. Some things are meant to remain hidden” (pg. 233). Do you agree with Mathieu’s response? Why or why not?
12. Delphine flees after revealing a painting showing Mathieu dying by her hand. What do you think about this decision?
13. How would you describe Delphine and Mathieu’s face-to-face encounter at Madame Calvé’s chateau? Was it what you had expected? Why do you think she still kept the secret about her painting?
14. What truth did we learn about Sebastian’s near-drowning incident from his and Delphine’s childhood? Were you surprised by it?
15. In the grotto with Gaspard, what epiphany does Delphine reach about her reason for leaving Paris?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. Would you allow yourself to sit for Delphine? How would you react if your secret was shown to the world?
2. If you had Delphine’s gift, how would you use it?
3. Sibling relationships, especially with twins, are complex. If you have a sibling, compare Delphine’s relationship with Sebastian to your own.
4. Would you look for the key to immortality like Madame Calvé?
5. “For a moment, I wanted to run after him. To stay with him and Nicky. It would be so much easier than facing what was ahead of me …” (pg. 353). If you were in Delphine’s shoes, would you have stayed back? Why or why not?
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author M. J. ROSE grew up in New York City exploring the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum and the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park. She is the author of more than a dozen novels, the copresident and founding board member of International Thriller Writers, and the founder of the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.
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Books in the Daughters of La Lune series …
Book 1: Set in Belle Epoque Paris, a sumptous, sensual novel about an American woman fleeing from a broken marriage who finds herself in thrall to the spirit of a 17th century French courtesan who once lived in the house where she now resides.
The Witch of Painted Sorrows
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Book 2: As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story.
The Secret Language of Stones
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ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!
Also by M. J. Rose
FICTION
The Secret Language of Stones
The Witch of Painted Sorrows
The Collector of Dying Breaths
The Seduction of Victor H.
The Book of Lost Fragrances
The Hypnotist
The Memoirist
The Reincarnationist
Lip Service
In Fidelity
Flesh Tones
Sheet Music
The Halo Effect
The Delilah Complex
>
The Venus Fix
Lying in Bed
NONFICTION
Buzz Your Book (with Douglas Clegg)
What to Do Before Your Book Launch (with Randy Susan Meyers)
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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.
Copyright © 2017 by Melisse Shapiro
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Jacket art and design by Alan Dingman
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rose, M. J.
Title: The library of light and shadow : a novel / M. J. Rose.
Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria Books, 2017. | Series: The Daughters of La Lune