Murder in the Air: A 1920s Murder Mystery (Augusta Peel Mysteries) by Emily Organ

Author:Emily Organ [Organ, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

“Ma’am?” inquired Mrs Curran. “Are you alright?”

The housekeeper was a distant blur through Jacqueline Somerville’s tears. “Yes, I’m fine. Just leave me be.”

As Mrs Curran left the room, Jacqueline raised herself up from her cushioned chaise longue and stumbled over to the large windows that overlooked the garden. The thick rug felt soft beneath her bare feet as she pulled her silk shawl tighter around her body. Fresh tears began rolling down her face.

When will my work ever be accepted?

Even though she had ripped the letter into tiny pieces, its words were still ringing out in her head: ‘We have carefully considered your work, but regretfully we have decided that it is not suitable for publishing with us at the present time.’

How many rejection letters have I received now?

Jacqueline had lost count. She had kept the first few, thinking they would serve as amusing mementos when her work was finally published. Something for the successful poet to show people to prove that the struggle had once been real. But now it felt far too real.

Her tears eventually subsided as she pulled her hair over one shoulder and stroked it, as though it were a precious pet. Outside, the sky was a leaden grey and orange leaves were floating down from the cherry tree. She watched a blackbird hopping about on the lawn and felt a heavy weight in her chest.

Should I spend my time doing something else? I don’t know how to do anything else!

Poetry was all she had ever wanted to write. She would never be able to produce the type of lengthy articles her husband did. She couldn’t face the idea of all that research or having to speak to lots of different people… or working to a deadline and being constantly under pressure. That wasn’t her at all. She would crumple if she had to deal with any such thing. Besides, her own words flowed from her readily, naturally; as if she had been born to do nothing else.

She walked over to her writing desk and ran her fingers over the smooth, antique oak. A treasured possession, it had once belonged to her grandmother. Jacqueline had written most of her poetry here.

Poetry was subjective, and she knew she couldn’t expect everyone to like her work. But she wasn’t bad at it. She had won a poetry competition once and various people had told her that her work was good. So why can’t it be published?

Jacqueline had submitted her poems to countless publishers, periodicals and magazines. She knew she shouldn’t give up, but she simply couldn’t face being turned down anymore. She felt weary. Why do I feel so tired all the time? There had been a time when she had enjoyed socialising. I’m only young. So why do I feel like an old lady?

She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief and tried to think happy thoughts. How can I think happy thoughts? What could possibly be happy about this world?

Mrs Curran probably thought she was spoiled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.