Our knees now wove together. My beige pants. His dark jeans. They looked like piano keys.
I trailed a finger across the colors. “No. At least I hope not. I think I’d like to savor the next six months, if you don’t mind—each and every moment with you.”
He looped one hand around the back of my neck and pulled me close. He tasted like Chapstick and bubble gum. He pulled a breath away. “Starting now.” Then he kissed me again.
There was faint clapping and a whispered wolf whistle nearby.
“Benson,” I whispered against his lips.
“Benson,” he whispered against mine.
We ignored Benson.
. . . The wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.
—JANE AUSTEN, EMMA
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone who makes this journey possible . . .
First, I offer thanks and forever friendship to Daisy Hutton. We started this journey together with Dear Mr. Knightley and, though she’s moved on to new publishing adventures, she put her mark on this story and my heart. Thank you, my dear friend.
The incredible team at HCCP is next–Amanda Bostic, my new and amazing publisher; editors Becky Monds, LB Norton, and Jodi Hughes; Kristen Ingebretson and the design team; Paul Fisher and the amazing sales team who work tirelessly to get these stories into your hands; Kristen Golden and Allison Carter, who get special shout-outs. Kristen shares her marketing acumen, excellent taste in books, and extraordinary glow and glitter with me—and I’m the better for it. Allison, with her sweet smile and incredible knowledge, gets me out into the world—and I’m the better for that too.
Thanks also to Claudia Cross, agent, mentor, and friend; Elizabeth Lane, first, last, and all-stages-in-the-middle reader; Kristy Cambron and Sarah Ladd, who make each day brighter; and Mason, Matthew, Elizabeth, and Mary Margaret . . . Yes, the players on Team Reay have real names—and amazing hearts—and always pick up what I fail to do with incredible grace.
Last, but never least . . . thank you. Thank you to the readers, bloggers, reviewers, and now friends who have generously picked up these novels and trusted me with your hearts and time. Thank you for joining me and reaching out, meeting me on social media or in person.
Again and again, I’m beyond grateful to share The Austen Escape with you.
Discussion Questions
1. At the beginning of the story, Mary is clearly proficient in her work. She gets the job done, but is now stymied by an important project and in jeopardy. Why do you think it has come to this point?
2. Isabel and Mary met at age eight. Is it so unusual for the dynamic of a friendship to freeze within a moment of time? How does that influence how we see the world and our place in it?
3. Is The Austen Escape a qualified tribute to Jane Austen and our appropriate of her stories? What would Mary say? Isabel? Gertrude?
4. The idea of perspective and vision—what one can and can’t see—is offered time and again. It’s given a tangible symbol in Golightly. What can/can’t Mary see? What about Isabel?
5. The Austen Escape offers up the idea of “hiding places” or escapes. Within stories is one example. What other hiding places does it offer, and how important are such escapes in life? Would you agree with Gertrude that they “can be dangerous”?
6. Is everyone in the story “hiding”? What does that say about the need to escape and recover?
7. Mary leaves Braithwaite House not knowing everything and without giving Nathan a chance. Why does she run?
8. Nathan forgives Mary. Does he see her clearly? Do you think he has always seen her clearly, as he states?
9. Was Mary right to stay at WATT? What did Craig see/not see in hiring Karen?
An Excerpt from
Dear Mr. Knightley
April 2
Dear Sir,
It has been a year since I turned down your generous offer. Father John warned me at the time that I was making a terrible mistake, but I wouldn’t listen. He felt that by dismissing that opportunity I was injuring not only myself, but all the foster children helped by your foundation.
I hope any perceived ingratitude on my part didn’t harm anyone else’s dreams. I wasn’t ungrateful; I just wanted to leave Grace House. A group home is a difficult place to live, and I’d been there for eight years. And even though I knew graduate school meant more education and better job prospects, it also meant living at Grace House another two years. At the time I couldn’t face that prospect.
My heart has always been in my books and writing, but I couldn’t risk losing a paying job to pursue a dream. Now I’m ready to try. Not because I failed, but because this degree gives me the chance to link my passion with my livelihood.
Please let me know if the grant is still available. I will understand if you have selected another candidate.
Sincerely,
Samantha Moore
April 7
Dear Ms. Moore,
The grant for full tuition to the master’s program at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism remains available. At the strong recommendation of Father John, and due to the confidence he has in you, the director of the Dover Foundation has agreed to give you this second chance. There is, however, one stipulation. The director wants to receive personal progress letters from you as reassurance that this decision was the right one. You may write to him as you would to a journal, letting him know how your studies are going. He has opened a post office box for this purpose so you won’t feel the added pressure of an immediate connection to him or to the foundation. Additionally, he will not write back, but asks that you write to him regularly about “things that matter.”
He recognizes that this is an unusual requirement, but the foundation needs to know that its resources are being used in the best way possible. Given your sudden change of heart, he feels it is not too much to ask. To make this easier for you, he will also remain anonymous. You may write to him at this address under the name George Knightley.
Sincerely,
Laura Temper
Personal Assistant to Mr. G.
Knightley
April 12
Dear Mr. Knightley,