Jemma remembered the flood of pride she had felt; but she also remembered her nausea when they were searching for Brian, and the shock that had gone through her when she removed that first enchanted book. Can I really do it? she thought. Can I face that fear, possibly every day, and master it?
‘But wouldn’t it be an adventure?’ whispered her inner voice. ‘Wouldn’t it be an incredible adventure?’
Carl walked out of the wings and faced the audience, and Jemma strolled back to her front-row seat. Tonight there was the rest of the play to enjoy, and dinner with her family and Carl’s. But then— She closed her eyes and imagined a strange and wonderful future rolling out ahead of her like a magic carpet. Do I dare? Her toes tingled with anticipation, and she smiled to herself.
Acknowledgements
As usual, my first thanks go to my wonderful beta readers – Carol Bissett, Ruth Cunliffe, Paula Harmon, and Stephen Lenhardt – and my meticulous proofreader, John Croall. As usual, any remaining errors are mine only. Thank you all for your support – and while Jemma and Raphael will be putting their feet up for a while, they may well return!
My husband Stephen gets additional thanks for his ongoing support and encouragement, which has been more valued than ever in these interesting times.
And my final thanks are for you, the reader. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed book 3! If you did, a short review or rating on Amazon or Goodreads would be very much appreciated. Ratings and reviews, however short, help readers to discover books.
FONT AND IMAGE CREDITS
Cover and heading fonts: Alyssum Blossom and Alyssum Blossom Sans by Bombastype
Houses: Set of hand drawn houses by freepik: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/set-four-hand-drawn-houses_1926210.htm
Camper van: Vintage adventure logo collection by freepik: https://www.freepik.com/premium-vector/vintage-adventure-logo-collection_4400531.htm
Cat: Cats silhouettes pack vector by freepik: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/cats-silhouettes-pack_719787.htm
Stars: Night free icon by flaticon at freepik.com.
Chapter vignette: Opened books in hand drawn style Free Vector by freepik at freepik.com.
Cover created using GIMP image editor: https://www.gimp.org.
About the Author
Liz Hedgecock grew up in London, England, did an English degree, and then took forever to start writing. After several years working in the National Health Service, some short stories crept into the world. A few even won prizes. Then the stories started to grow longer…
Now Liz travels between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, murdering people. To be fair, she does usually clean up after herself.
Liz’s reimaginings of Sherlock Holmes, her Pippa Parker cozy mystery series, the Caster & Fleet Victorian mystery series (written with Paula Harmon), and the Maisie Frobisher Mysteries are available in ebook and paperback.
Liz lives in Cheshire with her husband and two sons, and when she’s not writing or child-wrangling you can usually find her reading, messing about on Twitter, or cooing over stuff in museums and art galleries. That’s her story, anyway, and she’s sticking to it.
Website/blog: http://lizhedgecock.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lizhedgecockwrites
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lizhedgecock
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lizhedgecock
Amazon author page: http://author.to/LizH
Books by Liz Hedgecock
To check out any of my books, please visit my Amazon author page: http://author.to/LizH. If you follow me there, you’ll be notified whenever I release a new book.
Maisie Frobisher Mysteries (3 novels)
When Maisie Frobisher, a bored young Victorian socialite, goes travelling in search of adventure, she finds more than she could ever have dreamt of. Mystery, intrigue and a touch of romance.
Caster & Fleet Mysteries (6 novels, with Paula Harmon)
There’s a new detective duo in Victorian London … and they’re women! Meet Katherine and Connie, two young women who become partners in crime. Solving it, that is!
Pippa Parker Mysteries (6 novels)
Meet Pippa Parker – mum, amateur sleuth, and resident of a quaint English village called Much Gadding. And then the murders began…
The Magical Bookshop (3 short novels)
An eccentric owner, a hostile cat, and a bookshop with a mind of its own. Can Jemma turn around the second-worst secondhand bookshop in London? And can she learn its secrets?
Mrs Hudson & Sherlock Holmes (2 novels)
Mrs Hudson is Sherlock Holmes’s elderly landlady. Or is she? Find out her real story here.
Sherlock & Jack (3 novellas)
Jack has been ducking and diving all her life. But when she meets the great detective Sherlock Holmes, they form an unlikely partnership. And Jack discovers that she is more important than she ever realised…
Halloween Sherlock (3 novelettes)
Short dark tales of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, perfect for a grim winter’s night…
For children (with Zoe Harmon)
A Christmas Carrot
Copyright and Dedication
For John,
who keeps me on the right lines
Copyright © Liz Hedgecock, 2020
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.