Forever and Forever (Historical Proper Romance) by Josi S. Kilpack

Author:Josi S. Kilpack [Josi S. Kilpack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Published: 2016-04-05T07:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Hopeful Romantic

Cornelius Felton cleared his throat and lifted his wineglass above the table, scanning the other occupants until his gaze settled on Henry, who smiled back at his dear friend.

“A toast,” Felton said with a smile. The other men raised their glasses. “To Henry. May your heart and your pen put the stepping stones of success at your feet for the journey yet ahead.”

Cheers and agreement rang out from the other men as they tapped their glasses together and then drank in both celebration and reverence for the accomplishment Henry had finally—gratefully—achieved. Almost six years after the release of Outré Mer, Henry had published another book. This one was a romance, though perhaps a tragic one. He had loosely based his new book—Hyperion—around his second European tour, and he was eager to see how it would be received. He’d picked up his own copies that very afternoon from the publisher, and, since it was not yet in bookstores, it was unspoiled by critical review which would likely follow.

But tonight was not a night to dwell on pessimistic possibilities. Tonight was a night to enjoy good friends, fine wine, and the glow of accomplishment.

“I should be saluting each of you,” Henry said to the company at the table. “I could not have done this without your support.”

“Ah, not true,” George Hilliard said with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulder. “Then again, who am I to dispute the possibility that you owe every bit of success to the rest of us?”

The men laughed, and Henry marveled at how close he could feel to these men who a handful of years ago were strangers. Now they were like brothers: united, ready to spar or tease or give whatever they could for another brother’s mercy.

“Do you think you’ll hang up your cape?” Felton asked once the meals were set before them. They were staying in the St. Charles Hotel, taking a few days to live above their privilege, though Henry Cleveland could afford such style on a more regular basis if he had a mind to. Charles Sumner and Hilliard were both lawyers, the former more successful than the later, while Felton was a bachelor professor at Harvard just as Henry was. “Now that you’re publishing again, will you give up teaching?” Felton clarified.

When Henry had started his serious pursuit of a writing career nearly two years earlier on the heels of Fanny Appleton’s rejection, he had expected to give up teaching as soon as he could afford to. Now that the opportunity was upon him, however, he was not so eager. “I would be a fool to turn my back on a solid career, at least this early on.”

“But you will quit eventually,” Sumner said in that direct style that was his own. “You won’t let sentiment hold you back from your destined course.”

“Your faith in me is well-appreciated,” Henry said with a dramatic hand to his chest that made Sumner’s mouth twitch in a rare smile. “But I’m hesitant to expect my pen to buy bread for the rest of my life.

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