About the Book
Step into the beguiling world of 1926 New York and discover the power of resilience, friendship, and love from award-winning author Jocelyn Green.
Elsa Reisner's lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered.
As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate's delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants' futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa's body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn't through with her yet.
With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp?
Excerpt
When she reached the art gallery, she rested on a bench and stared at the stained-glass windows, if only to anchor herself in the present time and place. She was no longer the child she’d been at boarding school, trying to keep up with the other girls and failing, laughter ringing in her ears. She had been playing hide-and-seek with her classmates, only to realize they’d broken the rules and left the agreed-upon boundaries. They left her alone to wander in vain until her weak leg collapsed. The matron had sent her to bed, where she’d stayed for three days to recover. Three more days alone when she desperately longed for companionship. Her parents, who lived less than five miles from the school, did not come to visit her, either.
Elsa would search no more today. Drawing a fortifying breath, she stood and went back to the stairs. Going down would be easier.
Wind buffeted the stone tower. Beyond the windows, lightning forked. Thunder clapped, and she took the stairs a little faster.
“Mr. Dupont? Barney?” Boy, she must be really desperate to want to locate a dog. But having a friendly canine at her side had its charms right about now.
She tried a light switch, but nothing happened. Either the power had gone out from the storm, or Mr. Spalding had already had the electricity shut off. She normally enjoyed a good summer storm. But being here alone when she hadn’t expected to be . . . It was all too Gothic for her taste.
Her mind played tricks. Was that a person or the wind? Then the moaning stopped, and shouting took its place. The tone held not anger but fear. Urgency. Someone was in distress.
At the bottom of the tower, she hurried along the corridor as much as she dared, looking and finding no one. Then a flash of lightning illuminated the silhouettes of two men outside on the covered veranda. One smoked a cigarette between words frayed with shredded nerves. The other voice held steady. She’d heard him speak this morning, but barely. She must have been so preoccupied with the scars and the dog that she hadn’t noticed how rich the sound was.
She couldn’t see their faces with their backs turned to the window. But as Mr. Dupont soothed the other man, he didn’t sound scary. He sounded like . . . well, like someone you’d want by your side in a storm, whether it raged in the sky or in one’s soul. Clearly he’d weathered his own.
Thunder rolled, and rain blew sideways, spraying the windows. Baskets of ferns swung wildly from the veranda’s ceiling.
The man with the cigarette was shaking. “I want to go inside,” Elsa heard him say.
“That’s a good idea, but you can’t smoke in the house,” Mr. Dupont told him. “So you either stay out here and get wet or come inside out of the storm. It is just a storm, Tom. It’s 1926, this is New York, and we’re on a job. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”
“No.” Tom shook his head. Thunder boomed again, and he sank to the floor, covering his head with crossed arms.
In a flash of fur, Barney bounded onto the veranda, ran to Tom, and nudged under his arms to lick his face.
Mr. Dupont waited until Tom buried his fingers in Barney’s fur, returning the affection.
“Come on.” Mr. Dupont took the cigarette and smashed it in a planter. “You don’t need that.” With a hand to his elbow, he helped him up. Barney placed his head beneath Tom’s palm. This time, the dog’s tail wasn’t wagging.
Elsa backed away from the windows and watched the trio walk toward the door. When they came inside, she was waiting by one of the fireplaces in the library.
Both men stood straighter when they saw her. Barney pressed against Tom’s side.
“Hello again,” she said to Mr. Dupont. “I’m afraid we didn’t have a proper introduction this morning. I’m Elsa Reisner,” she added for Tom’s sake, then explained why she was here. “Mr. Spalding told me you’re salvaging some of the architecture for Dupont & Son, correct?”
“That’s right. I’m the son in that equation—Luke Dupont—and this is Tom Lightfoot, assisting me.” He rolled down sleeves that had been pushed to his elbows and buttoned the cuffs.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dupont, Mr. Lightfoot.”
“Oh, please, none of that for me. Tom’ll do fine.” A dimple appeared as a smile formed and then faded. Dark blond hair was pomaded back from a smooth face that would seem boyish if not for the sunken cheeks.
“And just Luke,” added the man whose voice ran deep. He was only an inch or so taller than Tom, but his presence felt far more solid. Tom held his shoulders slightly forward, creating a hollow in front of his chest.
Elsa smiled, happy to shed the stiff high-society manners with which she’d grown up. “All right, then. Let’s dispense with formalities all around, or at least between the three of us.”
Excerpt from The Hudson Collection © 2024 Jocelyn Green, Bethany House Publishers
About the Author
Jocelyn Green (JocelynGreen.com) inspires faith and courage as the bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including the Christy Award-winning The Mark of the King and Drawn by the Current and her On Central Park series.
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