Descent Into Dust (40 page)
husks.
It seemed so very apt. She mentioned bruising and cuts, and quite specifically told me that this damage was done about the neck, just under the ear. She believed they had been murdered, and all in the same manner.
The mention of my mother landed in the center of my chest like the thump of a fist. I gasped out loud, my jaw jerking open. I had not been prepared for that. My beautiful tragic mother was something of an obsession with me. She had haunted me all of my life, even more so now that I had learned the truth about her. It was a terrible truth.
My hands began to tremble, making it necessary to lay Sebastian’s letter flat on the table, with my fingers splayed over it to hold it steady.
I smiled softly despite my troubled mind. Sebastian had a very amusing flourish, and I could imagine if he were here to speak these words, he would do so with gesticulating hands and a moue of disdain worthy of a king. He meant none of it, of course, as the proceeding lines bore out.
The reference to himself as humble won a dry chuckle from me, as Sebastian had intended it would. He signed the letter “With Affection” and then his loopy, bold signature.
So it was Sebastian who called me home.
W
riting a novel is not as much of a solitary process as one might think. Like Emma, I have my band of compatriots, each of whom played a role in the writing of this book.
I want to thank Christina Hogrebe at Jane Rotrosen Agency for her suggestions and enthusiastic representation. Big thanks go to Kate Nintzel at HarperCollins. Her insightful additions and editorial expertise have been invaluable not only to the book but also to the series as a whole.
I owe a great debt to the people who helped me during the writing of the book, all of them excellent writers in their own right. They are Krisann McFarland, Kate Klemm, Lori Kaiser, and Kay Cochran. They contributed so much to my writing that I wonder where I would be without them. More than that, they are dear friends and I count myself lucky to have them. Much love to Donna Birdsell and Sally Stotter, both of whom made significant contributions.
Very special thanks to my family: Kelly (whose key suggestions got me on the right track early on), Lindsey (who in
troduced me to other vampires), and Luke (who played a lot of video games and left me alone to write). I saved the best for last: my husband did the most. He debated, discussed, and pondered with me the various points of development in this Emma Andrews idea. His input was instrumental in pounding out everything from the basic concept to the final read. For this and so many other things—thank you, Mick.
Cover design by Adam Johnson
Cover photographs: Sandford Orcas Manor, Dorset © Simon Marsden/The Marsden Archive, UK/ The Bridgeman Art Library International; woman © Dougal Waters/Getty Images
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DESCENT INTO DUST. Copyright © 2010 by Jacqueline Navin. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lepore, Jacqueline.
Descent into dust / Jacqueline Lepore.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-06-187812-1
1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History—Victoria, 1837–1901—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3612.E64D47 c2010
813’.6—dc22 2009029005
EPub Edition © January 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-198618-5
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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