journey. An adventure." The last word was more breathed than spoken, as if it were too significant to be said aloud.
Emma stiffened. Adventure. How many times had she heard that ridiculous word from her father? "I'm sure," she answered tightly.
"That's great! We'll have a wonderful time. He jerked open a desk drawer and pulled out a big, leather-bound book. Flipping the book to a dog-eared page, he thumped his forefinger on a cruddy little line drawing of a plant.
Emma's eyes glazed over as he pointed again at the drawing and yapped some more. Thump, babble, thump, babble.
She shook her head in disbelief. The idiot was happy that she was coming along. She should have known.
THE ENCHANTMENT
59
' 'What time do we leave?" she demanded suddenly.
He looked up from the book. "The train leaves Grand Central Station at nine o'clock tonight. I hope you can get a ticket."
"I'll get one."
Nodding, he started flipping wildly through the book. "Here, before you go, look at this great picture. ..."
"Sorry, I have to go home and pack."
"Oh." Reluctantly he closed the book.
With a curt nod, Emma pivoted on her heel and marched out of the cramped little office.
"See you at nine o'clock tonight. We'll have a grand adventure," he called out after her.
She exited the stuffy little office and slammed the door shut behind her. The sudden silence was heavenly.
Four days on a train with that? It was unbelievable. She'd be lucky if she didn't kill him by New Mexico.
She'd better not take a weapon. Just in case.
Larence let out his breath slowly, afraid that if he spoke, or moved, or even closed his eyes in relief, the spell would shatter. That Miss Hatter would barrel back into his office and say it had all been a lie.
He waited, his eyes trained on the crystal doorknob. It didn't move. The clock on his desk clicked forward.
Had she really meant it? Was she going with him?
He heard her walk past his open window, and a small smile teased the edges of his mouth at the sharp, no-nonsense rat-a-ta-tat of her heels on the walkway.
She wasn't coming back this way; she was leaving. She'd meant it! Relief spun so hard through Larence's mind that he felt dizzy from the force of it. He returned to the book on his desk, and opened it to page 287. A
60
Kristin Hannah
pen-and-ink rendition of a secret door leapt out at him. His fingers shook, his mouth went dry.
For the first time since taking the check from Miss Hatter, Larence felt completely at ease. Unafraid.
Now she'd know it all, just as he knew it. The legend, the people, the countryside would become a part of her, worming its way into her soul as irrevocably as it had wormed into his. She'd never be able to sell her half of the treasures. Never.
No one, not even crabby Miss Hatter, could actually see the treasures and then dismantle them.
His expedition, his dream, was safe.
i
Chapter Five
He was almost there. Larence's heart pounded, his palms turned clammy, as he climbed the stairs to Grand Central Station. It was a moment he'd waited and planned and prayed for. The first steps of his very first adventure. If only his grandmother were alive to see him now . . .
You won't make it, Larry. You 're not like other boys. You shouldn 't try to be.
Larence stiffened at the unexpected memory. His step faltered; pain shot through his bad leg and he nearly
stumbled.
You're wrong, he thought fiercely. Maybe you weren't wrong then, but you're wrong now. This time I will be like other men.
This time he wouldn't fail. He was tired of being alone and afraid. It sounded crazy, and he knew it, but somehow this quest was more than just an expedition to find a lost city. It was a quest to find himself.
"Don't let her make you afraid," he said aloud, taking comfort, as he always had, in the sound of his own voice. "You can make it. You can."
Banishing a lifetime of doubt, he hurried up the stairs, 61
62
Kristin Hannah
and limped through the open doors into Cornelius Van-derbilt's
Emma stiffened. Adventure. How many times had she heard that ridiculous word from her father? "I'm sure," she answered tightly.
"That's great! We'll have a wonderful time. He jerked open a desk drawer and pulled out a big, leather-bound book. Flipping the book to a dog-eared page, he thumped his forefinger on a cruddy little line drawing of a plant.
Emma's eyes glazed over as he pointed again at the drawing and yapped some more. Thump, babble, thump, babble.
She shook her head in disbelief. The idiot was happy that she was coming along. She should have known.
THE ENCHANTMENT
59
' 'What time do we leave?" she demanded suddenly.
He looked up from the book. "The train leaves Grand Central Station at nine o'clock tonight. I hope you can get a ticket."
"I'll get one."
Nodding, he started flipping wildly through the book. "Here, before you go, look at this great picture. ..."
"Sorry, I have to go home and pack."
"Oh." Reluctantly he closed the book.
With a curt nod, Emma pivoted on her heel and marched out of the cramped little office.
"See you at nine o'clock tonight. We'll have a grand adventure," he called out after her.
She exited the stuffy little office and slammed the door shut behind her. The sudden silence was heavenly.
Four days on a train with that? It was unbelievable. She'd be lucky if she didn't kill him by New Mexico.
She'd better not take a weapon. Just in case.
Larence let out his breath slowly, afraid that if he spoke, or moved, or even closed his eyes in relief, the spell would shatter. That Miss Hatter would barrel back into his office and say it had all been a lie.
He waited, his eyes trained on the crystal doorknob. It didn't move. The clock on his desk clicked forward.
Had she really meant it? Was she going with him?
He heard her walk past his open window, and a small smile teased the edges of his mouth at the sharp, no-nonsense rat-a-ta-tat of her heels on the walkway.
She wasn't coming back this way; she was leaving. She'd meant it! Relief spun so hard through Larence's mind that he felt dizzy from the force of it. He returned to the book on his desk, and opened it to page 287. A
60
Kristin Hannah
pen-and-ink rendition of a secret door leapt out at him. His fingers shook, his mouth went dry.
For the first time since taking the check from Miss Hatter, Larence felt completely at ease. Unafraid.
Now she'd know it all, just as he knew it. The legend, the people, the countryside would become a part of her, worming its way into her soul as irrevocably as it had wormed into his. She'd never be able to sell her half of the treasures. Never.
No one, not even crabby Miss Hatter, could actually see the treasures and then dismantle them.
His expedition, his dream, was safe.
i
Chapter Five
He was almost there. Larence's heart pounded, his palms turned clammy, as he climbed the stairs to Grand Central Station. It was a moment he'd waited and planned and prayed for. The first steps of his very first adventure. If only his grandmother were alive to see him now . . .
You won't make it, Larry. You 're not like other boys. You shouldn 't try to be.
Larence stiffened at the unexpected memory. His step faltered; pain shot through his bad leg and he nearly
stumbled.
You're wrong, he thought fiercely. Maybe you weren't wrong then, but you're wrong now. This time I will be like other men.
This time he wouldn't fail. He was tired of being alone and afraid. It sounded crazy, and he knew it, but somehow this quest was more than just an expedition to find a lost city. It was a quest to find himself.
"Don't let her make you afraid," he said aloud, taking comfort, as he always had, in the sound of his own voice. "You can make it. You can."
Banishing a lifetime of doubt, he hurried up the stairs, 61
62
Kristin Hannah
and limped through the open doors into Cornelius Van-derbilt's
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