Charles Bewitched (10 page)

Persy and Lochinvar’s first
child, a son, was born eleven months after her return from the fairy lands. He
was, in time, joined in the nursery at Galiswood by a brother and two sisters,
all of whom blessed the old age of their grandfather, Lord Northgalis, as did
his unexpected remarriage, late in 1842, to his late wife’s cousin, who bore
her a
remarkable
resemblance.

Pen and Niall Keating
remained in Ireland, with frequent visits between the sisters; they had two
daughters and a son.

Charles Leland passed his
exams at Eton and in due course went on to Cambridge University, accompanied by
his young Romany servant, Ferdinand, who in later years became his private
secretary and a noted scholar and recorder of British Romany folklore. He
succeeded, after his father’s death, to the title Viscount Atherston, and
eventually was created Earl of Atherston by Queen Victoria on being made Her
Majesty’s Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Fairy Lands, an
appointment he held for many years. He and his wife Margaret had four children.

It gives me great pleasure to say good-bye to the
Leland Sisters’ world (at least for now) with this story about Charles Leland,
a.k.a. Chuckles. It was a fun story to write, and I hope will give satisfaction
to the many readers who’ve contacted me over the years since
Bewitching
Season
came out, asking when Charles would get his own story. This novella
is respectfully dedicated to those readers, with my deepest thanks for their
enthusiasm and patience.

Now, of course, a few historical notes. I fudged a
little over Charles’s poor grades in history at Eton because history per se was
not taught there at this time, aside from as it was read via classical Greek
and Latin texts. But my inner history geek couldn’t resist the idea when it
occurred, so Charles got saddled with a whole stack of fictitious but deadly
medieval history texts to read over his hols—that’s slang for summer holiday or
vacation. I enjoyed doing some research into Romany culture and in particular
language, and was fascinated to discover that it is descended from Sanskrit, as
the Romany people originated in India.

I
hope you enjoyed reading
Charles Bewitched
. If you did, please help other
readers find the Leland Sisters stories:

1.
This novella is lendable, so send it to a friend who you think might like it so
she can discover me, too.

2.
Help other people find this story by writing a review on the site where you
purchased it or on a reader site such as Goodreads or LibraryThing.

3.
Sign up for my new releases e-mail by contacting me at [email protected],
so you can find out about the next book as soon as it's available.

4.
And I always enjoy hearing from readers, so drop me a line via my website!

Thank
you!

Bewitching
Season

This wonderfully crafted debut novel braids several very different
story lines into an utterly satisfying whole.

-Booklist, starred review

Fans of historical mysteries will find this a page-turner.

-Kirkus

From the very first page, this book had me hooked.... Very highly
recommended.

-Historical Novel Society, Editors’ Choice

Betraying
Season

Extremely
well written and utterly delightful....

-VOYA

Whether
Doyle is describing the Irish countryside, a magical incantation, or a lover’s
kiss, her writing is compelling, and it will be hard for readers not to be
swept away by this invigorating story.

  -Booklist

The
mixture of historical detail and magic makes this...another page-turner....

-Kirkus

Courtship
and Curses

With vividly descriptive prose and
lively characterization, Doyle balances the strands of this novel.

-School
Library Journal

Doyle has a talent for writing historical fiction....

-VOYA

A nice history and mystery mingle.

-Booklist

Marissa graduated from Bryn Mawr College fully
intending to be an archaeologist but somehow got distracted.  But she’s put her
passion for history into writing young adult fiction: her award-winning books
Bewitching
Season
,
Betraying Season
and
Courtship and Curses
(all from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan) blend history with a
dash of magic and romance.  She lives in Massachusetts with her family and a
pair of bossy pet rabbits.  Visit her on the web at
www.marissadoyle.com
and at her teen
history blog,
http://nineteenteen.com