Adventures with Jane and her Legacy 01 Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
Authors: Beth Pattillo
Tags: Jane Austen Fan Lit
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door. "Thank you again. I'll see you when I get back."
"Very good, dear." She reached out and set a gnarled hand on my arm. "I knew I'd made the right decision, trusting you." She gave me another of her soft smiles. "It's hard to do that these days. So few people understand what we're about." She dropped her hand and turned to unlock her front door. "Safe journey," she said before disappearing inside.
I stood on the front step for a long moment, filled with guilt and self-loathing. How could I betray such a sweet old lady? An old lady, what's more, who'd taken me into her confidence and put her every trust in me? Even if it all turned out to be a hoax, I was going to feel like an amoeba on a flea on a rat when I exposed Mrs. Parrot to the public.
Think about your future
, the little voice inside my head whispered, the voice that sounded a lot like Edward. It was that voice of pride and ambition that he had nurtured during our marriage, the one that had made me set aside my dreams of writing for the prestige of being a tenured professor and a scholar.
"Oh, shut up," I murmured as I jogged down the steps of Mrs. Parrot's town house.
A passing gentleman in a business suit carrying a briefcase and an umbrella gave me a strange look. I ignored him and continued on my way, the third envelope clutched in my suddenly sweaty hand.
I f Mrs. Parrot didn't want to reveal anything more about Jack Smith just yet, I couldn't compel her to do so, but that didn't mean I was willing to let her call all the shots. And it certainly didn't mean I couldn't do some research of my own. The question was where?
The obvious choice was that most prestigious of institutions, the British Library, but it was not a library in the usual sense of the word, where you could just walk in and start browsing the shelves. No, even to look at the regular books meant registering for a pass and then waiting hours, if not days, for the requested materials to be pulled from the hidden stacks. I didn't have that kind of time--not to apply for a pass or to wait for someone to find what I needed.
Clearly I needed someone who had access to the library already, as well as someone with a little clout. And, as it happened, I was sharing a Grade II-listed Georgian town house with just such a person.
Adam.
But how to ask for his help without tipping my hand ...
"Would you have any interest in seeing the exhibits at the British Library?" I asked in a very casual tone the next morning at breakfast.
I had one day to accomplish my objective before I was due in Bath, so finesse had to bow to more expedient methods.
"I've seen it. It's cool." He was deep into the
Financial Times
and nursing a second cup of coffee.
"Do you want to go with me? See it again?" I made every effort to be nonchalant, but some hint in my tone must have clued him in.
"What's your angle?" He laid down the
Times
and took another sip of his coffee. A smile played around the corners of his mouth.
"Why would I have an angle?"
He laughed. "Nice try, Emma. What do you really want from me?"
Well, so much for trickery, even my mild version of it. Maybe it was a good thing that I couldn't lie very well. On the other hand, maybe if I had been more adept at deceit, I would have picked up on Edward's betrayal much earlier than I did.
"I need to get my hands on some books at the British Library, but I don't have time for the niceties."
He shrugged. "Sure. I can help you with that."
I smiled. "And I actually do want to see the rare-manuscript exhibit."
"It may still take some time to get the books."
I paused. "Well, actually ..."
"Yes?"
"You do a lot of research there. I was thinking, since they know you, they might, well, expedite things a bit."
Now he was grinning broadly. "So, you don't just want me to get the books for you. You want me to call in some favors and get them ASAP."
"Um, yeah."
He laughed. "Okay, but only because you're so cute when you're trying to be underhanded."
I started to
"Very good, dear." She reached out and set a gnarled hand on my arm. "I knew I'd made the right decision, trusting you." She gave me another of her soft smiles. "It's hard to do that these days. So few people understand what we're about." She dropped her hand and turned to unlock her front door. "Safe journey," she said before disappearing inside.
I stood on the front step for a long moment, filled with guilt and self-loathing. How could I betray such a sweet old lady? An old lady, what's more, who'd taken me into her confidence and put her every trust in me? Even if it all turned out to be a hoax, I was going to feel like an amoeba on a flea on a rat when I exposed Mrs. Parrot to the public.
Think about your future
, the little voice inside my head whispered, the voice that sounded a lot like Edward. It was that voice of pride and ambition that he had nurtured during our marriage, the one that had made me set aside my dreams of writing for the prestige of being a tenured professor and a scholar.
"Oh, shut up," I murmured as I jogged down the steps of Mrs. Parrot's town house.
A passing gentleman in a business suit carrying a briefcase and an umbrella gave me a strange look. I ignored him and continued on my way, the third envelope clutched in my suddenly sweaty hand.
I f Mrs. Parrot didn't want to reveal anything more about Jack Smith just yet, I couldn't compel her to do so, but that didn't mean I was willing to let her call all the shots. And it certainly didn't mean I couldn't do some research of my own. The question was where?
The obvious choice was that most prestigious of institutions, the British Library, but it was not a library in the usual sense of the word, where you could just walk in and start browsing the shelves. No, even to look at the regular books meant registering for a pass and then waiting hours, if not days, for the requested materials to be pulled from the hidden stacks. I didn't have that kind of time--not to apply for a pass or to wait for someone to find what I needed.
Clearly I needed someone who had access to the library already, as well as someone with a little clout. And, as it happened, I was sharing a Grade II-listed Georgian town house with just such a person.
Adam.
But how to ask for his help without tipping my hand ...
"Would you have any interest in seeing the exhibits at the British Library?" I asked in a very casual tone the next morning at breakfast.
I had one day to accomplish my objective before I was due in Bath, so finesse had to bow to more expedient methods.
"I've seen it. It's cool." He was deep into the
Financial Times
and nursing a second cup of coffee.
"Do you want to go with me? See it again?" I made every effort to be nonchalant, but some hint in my tone must have clued him in.
"What's your angle?" He laid down the
Times
and took another sip of his coffee. A smile played around the corners of his mouth.
"Why would I have an angle?"
He laughed. "Nice try, Emma. What do you really want from me?"
Well, so much for trickery, even my mild version of it. Maybe it was a good thing that I couldn't lie very well. On the other hand, maybe if I had been more adept at deceit, I would have picked up on Edward's betrayal much earlier than I did.
"I need to get my hands on some books at the British Library, but I don't have time for the niceties."
He shrugged. "Sure. I can help you with that."
I smiled. "And I actually do want to see the rare-manuscript exhibit."
"It may still take some time to get the books."
I paused. "Well, actually ..."
"Yes?"
"You do a lot of research there. I was thinking, since they know you, they might, well, expedite things a bit."
Now he was grinning broadly. "So, you don't just want me to get the books for you. You want me to call in some favors and get them ASAP."
"Um, yeah."
He laughed. "Okay, but only because you're so cute when you're trying to be underhanded."
I started to
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