Exile for Dreamers (41 page)

I begged to be excused, saying I needed to lie down for a nap. They were all very solicitous of my health. But I assured them I simply required a short rest.

Miss Stranje had forbidden me from seeing Lord Ravencross, but the doctor was gone and I knew a secret passage that led to that guest room. So I took myself off to the dormitorium and went directly to the panel on the back wall. One quick push and I was tiptoeing down a flight of rickety old stairs and around a corner with Punch and Judy scampering alongside me. I tossed them some bread to keep them from scurrying through into his room with me. The door was a narrow panel that opened up just beyond a small bureau to the side of his bed.

He wouldn't be able to see me from where he lay facing the door. I crept ever so quietly so as not to disturb him. He lay perfectly still, his dark curls framing his Grecian features against the white pillow. He looked paler that normal.

“What took you so long?” He didn't even open his eyes.

“
Wretch.
How did you know it was me?”

“It was either a gigantic rodent climbing through the wall, or it was you. I made a lucky guess.”

“You've such a way with words, my lord. Terribly flattering to be compared a giant rodent.” I pretended to sulk.

He ignored that. “Where have you been? I thought I would go mad wondering how you are.” At last he opened his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile at the warmth in them. So unlike his brother's.

“You are the one at risk for fever, not I.” I laid my hand on his forehead, checking. “Gabriel, about your brother…”

He grabbed my hand and pulled it to his lips. “I know why you didn't tell me. Georgie explained.”

I breathed out with relief.

His voice turned hard. “If I'd lost you because of him, I swear I would've hunted him down and finished the job.”

“No, you wouldn't. You're not that kind of man. But what do you intend to do about him being alive?”

“I don't know.” He closed his eyes and rubbed my fingers lightly against the rough stubble of his cheek. “At the moment, nothing.”

He still looked dreadfully weary. “What were you thinking to jump in after me?”

He let go of my hand. His eyes blinked open and set my soul humming like a bee to molasses. “I was thinking that I'd rather be dead than live without you.”

I swallowed and placed my hand on his bedside table to steady myself. “Well, that was rather foolish.”

“I agree. Completely insane. Someone should knock some sense into me. But by all the stars, I would do it again.”

I smiled. By now I was becoming quite accustomed to the muscles required to do so. “Then you may as well know, I made a vow to myself. When it looked as if I might never have the chance to kiss you again, I was filled with regret. So I vowed to do it more often.”

“You made a vow?” His eyebrow lifted with curiosity.

“Yes.”

“A sacred vow?”

“Don't be ridiculous. It was just a vow, like any other old vow.”

“To kiss me more often?”

“I did say something to that effect.”

“You did, and yet here I am still unkissed.”

“You are a rather mercenary fellow, aren't you?”

“I warned you about my character defects. But in this case, I am merely trying to help you keep your vow. I've been told breaking such things can be perilous to one's soul, and since I wouldn't want you to suffer in the fires of—”

“Oh, very well, if you insist.”

“No.” He pressed back against the pillows and winced with pain for his trouble. “I shan't force you to do something that makes you unhappy.”

No he wouldn't, would he?

“That's just the thing, Gabriel. It makes me quite happy, deliriously happy.” I bent slowly to his mouth, and as I did, the light shifted, the smell of whiskey-soaked bandages and fresh linen vanished, the room shimmered away, and I seemed to fall through time and space.

I felt the most glorious sensation in my palm.

A small hand tucked inside mine.

I looked down and saw the achingly beautiful face of a little girl. I knew immediately she was my daughter because I recognized some of my distinctive features reflected back in her dear little face. And even though she looked somewhat like me, it was obvious who her father must be. She had Gabriel's soft brown eyes.

What an adorable dress she wore, shaped like a little velvet bell. A bonnet framed her perfect features and I saw the gift in her. One day my daughter would have dreams. Even so, I wasn't afraid. Because I would be there to guide her.

I, too, wore peculiar fashions, a great round skirt nipped in at the waist, with absurdly huge sleeves. And yet I still sported daggers strapped to each calf, and … oh, yes! Inside my absurd sleeves, I had tucked a third knife sheath.

We stood on the cliffs of Stranje House. I'd untied my bonnet so I could feel the ocean breeze blow through my hair. On the other side of my little daughter stood her father, his face free of anger and pain. He stared out at a calm sea and a brilliant sky adorned with a few fluffy clouds. I soaked in the wonder of that moment, and joy whirled through my chest and flew all the way through my fingertips.

My daughter looked at her hand as if the sensation startled her. “Mama?”

All I could say was, “Yes, darling. Yes.”

Anything else would've come out in a rush of tears.

For once I loved dreaming.

I didn't know if this was a vision of things to come, or simply a wishful daydream. It didn't matter. Dreams are really nothing more than possibilities. And this possibility filled me with hope.

“Tess?” Gabriel patted my cheek. “Tess, are you all right?”

“Yes,” I answered weakly. “Yes, I am more than all right, my lord.”

I finished what I'd begun and kissed him with all the sweetness and promise welling up inside me.

The door flew open. Miss Stranje looked in, alarmed. “Tess! Stop that this instant, or I will force this make-believe betrothal of yours to become a reality. Good heavens!” Then she echoed the question I'd put to her a few days earlier. “What sort of girls' school do you think I am running?”

I smiled as I passed through the doorway. “A most unusual sort.”

In answer, she swatted me on the behind, and Lord Ravencross laughed.

He never laughs.

 

AFTERWORD

Dear Reader,

As you may have noticed, there is a significant departure from history in this story. Napoleon, even after his escape from Elba, did not succeed as well as depicted in this story. The Stranje House novels present an alternate history based on events that happened in
A School for Unusual Girls.
We are speculating on what might have happened if Louis XVIII had been assassinated and Napoleon garnered the full backing of the people of France.

Other background elements in the story are factual.

Napoleon's fascination with fate and interpreting dreams is historically accurate. His Oraculum was left behind in his “Cabinet of Curiosities” when he fled Leipzig. He did indeed call it his
Book of Fates,
and we still have copies of it today.

Mr. Sinclair, Robert Fulton's nephew, is a fictional character. Although after reading Fulton's letters and several historical commentaries on his character, I feel certain that if Fulton had a nephew interested in engineering, he would've taken that young man under his wing. He was that sort of man. Fulton was extremely generous to his widowed mother and sisters, and even purchased a farm for his mother.

All of Fulton's inventions mentioned in this story are real. He actually did build a submarine for Napoleon, the
Nautilus.
As you might have guessed, Jules Verne named his fictional submarine in honor of Fulton. In 1804, after having been frustrated by Napoleon's rejection of his work, Fulton offered those same ideas to Britain. The prime minister, William Pitt, commissioned him to build a submarine for England and also considered buying his steam-powered gunship. But shortly thereafter Admiral Nelson soundly defeated the French navy at Trafalgar, and Fulton's projects were no longer needed.

Robert Fulton returned home and built a warship for the United States, the famed
Demologos
. The warship described in this story is based on that design.

In my letter at the end of
A School for Unusual Girls
I mentioned the
domino effect
. One act, by one person, can have global impact. Consider altering one person in history, and follow the ripples through time. For example, what if Abraham Lincoln had died before he became president of the United States? Or George Washington. How would life be different?

Those two men were center stage. It's easy to see how different our lives would be without them. But there are other people working off stage who change life for millions of people; for instance Jonas Salk, who discovered a vaccine for polio. Or Robert Fulton. What about your family doctor? Your teacher? Or your best friend?

And you
.

You make a difference in the lives of the people around you, and be certain, there is a ripple effect around the globe.

*   *   *

Kathleen Baldwin
loves hearing from readers. You can contact her through her Web site, and also find other goodies there: book club guides, a Regency glossary, excerpts, and historical extras.

KathleenBaldwin.com
.

 

Read on for a sneak peek at Jane's story, to be told in
Refuge for Masterminds,
Book 3 of the Stranje House series.

 

REFUGE FOR MASTERMINDS

Lady Jane Moore has a secret. A secret that must be kept buried. For if anyone discovered the truth, her life at Stranje House would crumble. And with Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of England underway, everyone at Stranje House is already in danger.
Mortal danger
.

Jane knows it. She may not be like Tess, who has the advantage of prophetic dreams. Nor is she like Sera, who notices every detail no matter how miniscule and draws conclusions based on the smallest thread of evidence. She doesn't possess Maya's ability to soothe the tempers around her with a few well-spoken words. Neither is she a brilliant scientist like Georgie. According to Miss Stranje, Lady Jane Moore is a mastermind.

Jane doesn't consider herself a mastermind. Quite the contrary, she believes herself to be an ordinary young lady. It's just that she has a rather excessive bent toward the practical. She tends to grasp the facts of a situation quickly, and by so doing, she's able to devise and implement a sensible course of action. But that's all there is to it. Well, there is the fact that she also organizes the players in her plans with quiet efficiency. So much so, that occasionally Lady Jane's friends tease her for being a bit managing.

Do they expect her to sit back and do nothing when trouble is brewing?
Not likely
. Not when the people she cares about are at risk. Call it being a mastermind if you must, it is a trait that comes in rather handy in a world full of spies, sabotage, and double-dealing. Especially now that Jane and Sera have rooted out the truth:
There is a traitor at Stranje House
.

Someone is sneaking information to Lady Daneska and Ghost, Napoleon's spies. Jane is determined to find out who it is before the bonds of friendship at Stranje House are ripped apart by suspicions. Her desperate hunt for the traitor ensnares Alexander Sinclair, the brash American inventor, in an ambush that puts his life in danger. Sinclair may well be the most maddening man in all of Christendom, a wicked-tongued rascal with boorish manners, but for some reason, Lady Jane cannot bear the thought of the golden-haired genius being harmed.

Is Jane enough of a mastermind to save Alexander, her friends at Stranje House, and possibly England itself?

Find out in
Refuge for Masterminds,
coming soon from Tor Teen.

 

TOR TEEN

READING AND ACTIVITY GUIDE
TO

EXILE FOR DREAMERS

A Stranje House Novel

by
Kathleen Baldwin

Ages 13–17; Grades 8–12

 

 

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The Common Core State Standards–aligned questions and activities that follow are intended to enhance your reading of
Exile for Dreamers.
Please feel free to adapt this content to suit the needs and interests of your students or reading group participants.

Pre-reading Activities

1.   Exile for Dreamers
is told from the viewpoint of Tess, who sometimes feels more connected to the animal and natural world than human society. Ask students to think of a pet or favorite outdoor spot and write a 2–3 paragraph essay describing this animal or location, explaining how it makes them feel and, perhaps, when they feel drawn to this creature or place.

2.   Much of the action of the novel takes place within the walls of Stranje House, a boarding school for “difficult” young women. Ask students to list other stories they have read which feature boarding school settings, such as the Harry Potter series, and to discuss any boarding school experiences they, friends, or family members may have had. Have your group create a brainstorm list of their expectations for a story set in a boarding school.

Supports Common Core State Standards: W.8.3, W.9-10.3, W.11-12.3; and SL.8.1, SL.9-10.1, SL.11-12.1

DEVELOPING READING AND DISCUSSION SKILLS

1.   As the novel begins, readers meet narrator Tess running. What reason does she give for her action? What other unusual qualities do readers discover about Tess in the opening pages of the novel? What information does Tess share about Stranje House and about her running companion, Georgiana?