"A wave of fear washed over Jacquie afresh as she tried to absorb the news.
Father dangled the cigar between his fingers. "I'm delighted about Roland's offer, as you can imagine. I do hope you will be as well. This has been a thoughtful undertaking."
"B-but..." She couldn't seem to manage anything else. The lump in her throat wouldn't allow it.
"He's a good man, and a kind one. I can't deny that the arrangement is advantageous for us all, but I do believe you will settle happily. He will treat you well and give you a good life. And you will never want for anything. Of this, we can be quite sure." Another puff of the cigar followed on her father's end and then a nod. "Roland has a large home in New York and has just purchased the Willingham estate here in Richmond near the Thames."
"Well, that sounds lovely." Jacquie's mother folded her hands in her lap and sat up a bit straighter.
"Yes." Father grinned. "And what a stroke of luck, marrying a man in the automobile industry. Not only will you have an enviable home, but you will also own the best vehicles in the country."
Jacquie swallowed hard as she thought about how to respond. Of course her father found this news to be delightful. He would. But she could not - would not - marry a man she had no feelings for, especially when her heart remained affixed to another. She forced a smile and fought to quiet her racing heart, fearing it might somehow give her away.
As Jacquie's mother quickly whisked her away to her room to begin making wedding plans as her mother's voice lowered to a whisper as she opened the hatbox and pressed several newspaper clippings into Jacquie's hands. " A new ocean liner is leaving Southhampton in five weeks, headed for New York. Arrangements can be made for you to be onboard when she sails, but we must hurry." She pressed the now empty hatbox onto the shelf.
"W-what? You're sending me to America?" Jacquie shook her head as she started down at the newspaper clippings. A photograph of the RMS Titanic stared back at her. "What are you saying, Mother? Have you and Father planned this as some sort of honeymoon gift?"
Mama shook her head. "I've known for weeks that your father was, well...working on a plan with Mr. Palmer, but I'm not talking about sending you two off on a honeymoon. Not at all. Listen to me. I know the pain of a forced union firsthand. My own father, God rest his soul, made sure I was advantageously matched as well." Her expression hardened. "My daughter will not be painted into that same corner. I would soon die that allow it, trust me." (pg 21).
Her mother learned that Jacquie had fallen in love with their gardener, Peter Bowen, but felt she must leave England on the Titanic and stay in New York with her grandmother. Perhaps there she could find the love she was truly searching for. But how could she leave behind the only man she had ever loved? One thing for sure, she knew she could not go through with her father's plans to marry Roland Palmer.
In the latest novel from Janice Thompson in the American Tapestries series, Queen of the Waves, takes the readers back into a historical fictional romance of 1912 as Jacquie Abingdon attempts to runaway aboard the Titanic to escape the arranged marriage to Roland Palmer without her father's knowledge. When she tells Peter of her plan to include taking him on the trip, he turns down the offer telling her that his family depends on his income to support them. He can't leave them. He does offer Jacquie another option, to send his sister Tessa, who is the same age as Jacquie in her place to escape the abuse from their drunken father. Jacquie agrees and they spend the next two weeks preparing Tessa to take her place onboard the Titanic and provide a way for her to escape as well. How can Tessa Bowen attempt to act like a lady of society when all she has ever known is the life of being a pig farmer's daughter?
The two women make arrangements to meet on the dock to make the switch in boarding passes and tickets and Tessa will go by the name of Jacquie Abingdon and head to New York. Jacquie will send a letter to her grandmother in New York explaining that she could not leave because she wanted to marry Peter, someone her parents would never allow her to marry due to his social status. She knew her grandmother would take Tessa in and would send along her lady's maid, Iris to help Tessa as needed. Little did Jacquie know what would later happen and how all their lives would change forever in ways none of them could ever prepare for.
I received Queen of the Waves compliments of Summerside Press and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I've been a huge fan of the Titanic when it first came to the big screen and it really interested me to know more about the lives of so many who boarded the fateful ship that day in hopes of a new life in America only to have so many never make it. When the opportunity came up to review this novel, I knew I would instantly want to read it and in the process LOVE the characters that Janice Thompson breathed to life in the pages of her novel. You feel the emotional anguish between Tessa and Jacquie's choices to make their lives their own through choices neither of them felt they could make. In a twist of fate, one would find love and the other pain beyond belief but in the end, healing would come to them all. I rate this novel a 5 out of 5 stars. For those of you that love romantic novels about the Titanic, then this one is a MUST READ for you!
For more information about Queen of the Waves, Janice Thompson, or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:
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To read more reviews on Queen of the Waves from the Litfuse Book Tour, please click here.
Celebrate with Janice by entering to win a Kindle Fire!
- A Kindle Fire
- Where the Trail Ends by Melanie Dobson
- Queen of the Waves by Janice Thompson
So grab your copy of Queen of the Waves and Where the Trail Ends and join Janice Thompson and Melanie Dobson on the evening of the October 18th for a chance to connect with the authors and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the books – don’t let that stop you from coming!)
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