Page 14 of The Austen Escape
“That seems too easy.”
“Who said your solution isn’t going to be easy? I suspect it’s right there.” He tapped my temple so gently I sensed rather than felt he’d touched me.
He reached into his pocket and handed me a tiny brown paper bag. “I forgot earlier. I got something for you.”
“You already gave me a cupcake.” I shook out an oval-shaped stone. It was cloudy and unpolished, but cool and ground smooth. “Amber.”
“I’ve had it for a while. It’s the same as your necklace. I saw it in a shop in Clarksville and thought you might like it. The owner said it’s a rubbing stone, a stress reliever.”
“Thank you.” I touched my ever-present necklace with one finger, his stone within my palm. It was a little larger than a robin’s egg.
Movement around us caught my attention. People were listening. They always were. I dropped the stone back into its small bag.
Something passed through Nathan’s eyes. He scrubbed at his chin and nodded. There was an odd finality to the gesture.
“Thank you.” I repeated the words.
“You’re welcome.” Nathan leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Have a great trip and please keep in touch. Let me know when you’re back.”
Before I could draw a breath, he was gone.
Chapter 6
Friday night passed in another flurry of texts, a phone call, and an unexpected visit.
Isabel arrived around eleven o’clock. She was dressed in slim jeans, boots, and a black silk top. Her eyes trailed from my head to my bare toes. “You stayed in tonight?”
I waved her into my apartment, fluttering my hand toward the mess. “It was a long week and I needed to pack.”
She stopped and rested her handbag and another bag on my high kitchen counter. “We’ve got trouble. I completely forgot you’ve never traveled. You need a passport.”
“Like this one.” I pulled it off the small pile I’d created on the same counter. “All you need is a form, two pictures, $349, and two business days.”
“Of course you took care of it.” She gave me a small bow. Dad always said if there was a job to do, I’d get it done and Isabel would make it look good.
I followed her gaze around my apartment. It did not look good. Usually neat and spare, it looked like a tornado had struck. Gadgets and junk covered the coffee table; clothes were scattered across mybedroom, which we could see through the open door; and tonight’s takeout containers still rested on the counters.
Despite Isabel’s copious instructions and the fact that the estate was supplying my wardrobe, I had no idea what to pack or how much. She was right; I’d never been anywhere. The farthest I’d gone was from Round Top to Austin when I left for college—a ninety-minute drive—and I’d taken everything I owned.
“It’s going well, I see.” She walked toward my bedroom. Her boots made a firm rap against the wood floor. “Good call.” She pointed to the discarded swimsuit and flip-flops that lay on the floor by my dresser.
She then noticed my unwieldy Austen book and reached for it. Her wrist gave from the weight and she grabbed for it with her other hand. “This thing is huge.”
“I got to thinking about Mom. She loved real books, the smell, the weight. So last week I found the biggest copy I could. But for the trip, I also downloaded them all to my Kindle.”
“She did love herself some Austen.” Isabel turned the book over in her hands. “Remember how she’d prop books on her knees? She said they kept her warm.”
“I expect they did.” I pointed to the book and scrunched my nose to get the words right. “It is a ‘truth universally acknowledged’ that reading that whole thing in less than a week proves I am the best friend in the universe.”
“Bravo.” Isabel flattened her palm on the book’s green cover. “And?”
“And...”
She sat, waiting for my answer.
“They surprised me. And to be truthful, I’m not quite finished withPersuasion.”
“You’ll like that one. But you can’t expect to understand them fully with one quick reading.” Isabel pushed off my bed and returned to the small hallway area between my front door and kitchen. She carried the huge book with her and placed it on the counter next to her bag. Reaching in, she pulled out six books and stacked them one on top of the other. “You’ll need to spend more time with them.” She leaned against the counter. “We’ll trade.”
