My Next Heroine

Thank you for dropping by. I hope that last week you met Linda Ford's self-sufficient single mother, Clara Weston. If you missed her, you can catch up at http://lindaford.org/blog/. She will be appearing in A Daddy for Christmas, Book I in the Christmas in Eden Valley trilogy, one of Linda's Love Inspired historicals. Linda has written 46 published books for the Christian romance genre. Most of them are historical. She does not admit to the number of books she’s written that will never be published. She lives in Alberta, Canada where she can enjoy the Rocky Mountains on a daily basis. You can find out more about Linda at www.lindaford.org

And special thanks to Debora Dale (www.deboradale.com) who organized this blog tour. 

After turning the clock back to March, 1861, I have arranged to meet Lady Emily Tremaine at the British Embassy in Constantinople. She and her parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Penworth, are on their way to tour ancient sites in Mesopotamia. The ambassador’s wife has been in something of a tizzy, entertaining such distinguished visitors, and she practically shoves me through the door of the sitting room to make sure I don’t keep Lady Emily waiting.

I haven’t kept anyone waiting, I discover, because Lady Emily comes hurrying in through another door as I arrive. I consider curtseying, but it’s a skill I’ve never mastered, so I just stand and smile, pencil and notebook in hand.

Lady Emily isn’t a raving beauty, but she is a pretty girl with dark blond curls and a courteous smile. She negotiates her way through the through the crowded room without knocking anything over with her hoop skirts—an impressive feat. But she isn’t quite perfect. One of her curls is pulling loose from the pins holding her hair in place, and I notice that the lace on her cuff is snagged in one place.

“Please do sit down,” she says, settling herself on a plush settee. “How can I help you?”

I seat myself on a stiff chair across from her—not very comfortable—and explain about the interview. She agrees politely, so I plunge right in. “What is your greatest fear?”

That makes her blink. “Goodness, you are asking about me? I thought you would be asking about Papa or Mama."

She pauses to think. “My greatest fear…” She looks around and suddenly laughs, not quite so courteously.

“Look around at this room. What do you see?” she asks.

I do as she says. It seems to be a perfectly ordinary Victorian room, full of heavily carved furniture in dark woods with plush draperies and innumerable decorative items everywhere. There is a glass dome covering a stuffed bird, and on the wall is a steel engraving of Landseer’s Monarch of the Glen. All very English and conventional. I say so.

“Precisely,” she says. “And where are we?”

“In Constantinople,” I reply. Doesn’t she know?

“And that is what I fear.” She suddenly seems far more intense. “I fear that I will never escape from this stuffy, cluttered world. That I will never discover the larger world outside, but will live out my days doing precisely what is expected of me among people who always do precisely what is expected of them. That I will never even meet people who are different from me.” (The picture above shows the Constantinople she has not had a chance to see.)

She leans back as if she is worried that she has said too much.

“Have you told anyone of this fear?” I ask.

“Who would I tell? Anyone can tell you I have everything that anyone could desire­—wealth, position, family. And I really ought not to be ungrateful. But sometimes…” She shakes her head.

“Is there anyone you would never tell this to?”

“My parents,” she says swiftly. “And you mustn’t tell them either. I love them dearly, and it would only worry them if they found out I was at all unhappy when they can’t do anything to makes things different.”

It is my turn to smile. “Are you sure about that? After all, they brought you here to Constantinople, and you will be traveling on through Mesopotamia.”

Lady Emily looks surprised and then considers. “Yes, they did. And it was Mama’s idea that we should come. Do you suppose she realized…? She might have. She realizes so much more than I tell her, or than any of us tell her.” Lady Emily grins, looking much more impish. “I sometimes think there must be a bit of witch in my mother, and I mean that as a compliment.”

 “A final question. If you could wish for one thing, what would it be?”

“Adventure? Excitement? A chance to see new things, do things I never did before? A chance to discover what I can do?” She tilts her head, looking off into space. “Yes but…but what I really want is to find a man who loves me. Not the marquess’s daughter, or the proper, well-brought-up young lady. Someone who loves me, and will let me be myself without having to pretend all the time. I could love a man like that.”

I smile to myself, thinking that it is quite possible that Lady Emily’s wish will come true.

Thank you for stopping by to make Lady Emily’s acquaintance. The story of her adventures (and her romance with a French adventurer), Lady Emily’s Exotic Journey, is being published by Sourcebooks and will be released this summer on August 4. It’s the second book in my Victorian Adventures series, and is available for preorder. And if you're feeling lucky, there's a giveaway up on Goodreads! For a chance to enter, go to:  https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/138667-lady-emily-s-exotic-journey

Next week, please join Patty Blount and meet Julie, a teen with a secret. She's the young heroine of the powerful YA contemporary, SEND. You can read the interview at http://www.pattyblount.com/category/blog/ Powered by chocolate, Long Islander Patty Blount writes contemporary romances for the teen and adult markets. Her 2014 release, SOME BOYS, is a Firecracker, Bookseller's Best, and RITA Awards finalist as well as YALSA Reluctant Readers pick. Follow her online at pattyblount.com

Comments

She deserves an exotic journey!

This was wonderful, Lillian. You put me right into that room with you. I love Lady Emily's spirit of adventure... and her distaste for the stuffiness she's surrounded by. Can't wait for August. Pre-ordering now!

Lady Emily

I feel for Lady Emily. Getting stuck following someone else's rules, living up to someone else's expectations! How tedious - and downright unacceptable in my book. Thank goodness we've got RIPS! Well done, Lil!

Oh, To Travel!

I so understand Lady Emily's passion! I would love to travel and see the world, experience different cultures (although, I'd probably not try the food lol) Even after 100+ years, the passions we share never change.

Curious!!

I'm itching to know more about Lady Emily's exotic journey, as Lady Emily is to find her adventure. Fun interview. Delightful heroine.

Wonderful Interview

What a delightful interview! Lady Emily is charming and seems like a lot of fun, being that she dislikes the stuffy Victorian furnishings in her home and longs to break free and explore. I too hope she finds a man to love her for her :) Well done!

I tried to edit - it should

I tried to edit - it should say: "I hope she finds a mind who will love her for who she is." :)

One more correction

Ugh! Stupid iPhone! Man - not mind!!?

Maddening corrections

I hate autocorrect. It creates the most bizarre sentences!

It is really nicely

It is really nicely written.It' extremely a informative bit of info in this article.

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