Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
This came as a surprise.
“You don’t want to put your name on your books?”
“I don’t want to put the Talyn name on the books.”
Another surprise.
“But why?” I asked.
“A lot of reasons,” she answered, starting to walk again, so I did too. “One, I don’t want to do book tours. I don’t want to do signings. I want to stay anonymous. I know you all talk about it, really excited about that possibility for me. And I know that sounds ungracious. But, if people, uh…like my work, and there are a lot of them. I might get…”—she wagged her head side to side—“you know.”
I did know.
Uncomfortable in a crowd and being the center of attention.
“A lot of artists, heck, a lot of people are introverts,” I said. “But you don’t have to agree to do signings. And just so you know, your publisher probably won’t pay for a book tour unless the books become huge successes. So you might not even have to worry about it.”
Though, her books would be successes, leading to publishers pressing her to do tours.
She could still say no.
“You’re right, but the name Talyn will be on the books.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “And you’re not proud to do that?”
“I would be. Definitely. However, people will know it was me.”
“Yes,” I repeated.
“And attention will come to me, and maybe our family.”
Ah.
The Talyn Privacy Thing.
I didn’t remind her I was marrying her brother, and I put my name on my books.
That said, post-unofficial/official engagement, Battle and I had the discussion, and so I could honor Mom and Dad, we agreed, even though I was oh-so going to take the name Talyn when we married, I’d continue to write under Vivienne Dupree.
“I was thinking, if you’re okay with it, my pen name could be Harmony Charles,” she said.
I stopped dead again as emotion clogged my throat.
Therefore, it was croaky when I pushed out, “Oh, Prue.”
“I know they were both happy with other people in the end, but it’s still so sad. I want them to be together somehow.”
I agreed.
And that was the perfect way to do it.
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hers went around my waist, and I set us to walking, saying, “I think that’s beautiful.”
“Right? I did too.”
“And you do you, however you want to. Always. Because you’re awesome.”
“You are too, Vivi. You know that, right?”
I looked down at her as we made the verdant lawns of the north parkland.
And I smiled.
That Wednesday, I took another break from the book.
I parked the Peugeot in the town centre car park, went to the door by the Boots, punched in the code, got the buzz, walked up the steps and knocked on another door.
Ravenna answered.
“I have the kettle boiled,” she said and let me in.
She made tea, and we sat down.
She took a sip, then leaned forward to set the cards on the table in front of me.
“You know I’m not here for a reading,” I said.
“Hmm,” she replied.
“The cats. The ghosts. The house,” I prompted. “You saw more in those thirteen cards than you let on. In fact, you knew something was up the minute you saw me. So, please, tell me.”
“I can tell you the veil has settled down,” she replied.
Ugh.
“Is that all you’re going to tell me?” I asked.
“It had to be righted.”
Great.
She was going to be all cryptic mystic.
“Can you explain?” I requested.
“It’s hard to say what I need to say,” she began hesitantly. But luckily, she kept going. “However, since I can tell you want to hear it…”
She paused for me to confirm.
I nodded my head to do that.
She socked it to me. “Your great-grandmother was not the love of your great-grandfather’s life. Harmony was.”
Even though I suspected this…
Even though this was what actually drove me to The Downs…
Even though her journals and the tone of his letters pretty much screamed it…
I was bummed out for my great grandma.
But I sat silent and listened.
Ravenna, as usual, had it going on.
“What had to be righted is…love. Harmony was the love of Charlie’s life. Charlie was the love of Harmony’s. Sometimes, this love is so great, it has magical power all on its own. Their love was so great, it had this power. When it was thwarted, it affected the veil.”
This was a little hocus-pocus, but it still made sense.
Ravenna kept going.
“Of course, they both went on to find happiness with others, and that’s good. But it was not what was meant to be. When what’s not meant to be is, the veil is disturbed. And it stays that way until what went wrong is righted.”
“Battle and me,” I deduced.
She nodded.
“Of her blood, of his. Yes. The duke and you.” She studied me closely. “Don’t mistake the forces we can’t explain interfering in this as anything but what it is. The fact your ancestors weren’t, has no bearing on the depth of what you and the duke have. Again, the bottom line of it is, you two were meant to be too. What you have with the duke has its own power, and that power is significant. Thus, the veil around The Downs is at peace once again.”