Until the Dawn by Elizabeth Camden

Author:Elizabeth Camden [Camden, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042030, FIC042040, FIC027050, Family secrets—Fiction, Man-woman relationships—Fiction, Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)—Social life and customs—19th century—Fiction
ISBN: 9781441228871
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-11-02T16:00:00+00:00

That morning set the tone for the following days. Sophie was amazed when Quentin materialized each afternoon, coaxing her out onto the back terrace to plan strategies to lure the Weather Bureau to New Holland. He was gruff and demanding as he made her recite the reasons why the Hudson River warranted its own station, but she loved it. He didn’t condescend or belittle her expectations. He actually helped her, dragging out old maps from the library and pointing out other promontories on the river that might be a better location.

“You need to research these spots and be prepared to answer why New Holland has more to offer than the competition,” he said. Sophie had never realized she ought to include such issues in a proposal. She was thrilled when Quentin offered to review her written proposal as soon as she finished her analysis of all the neighboring towns.

Sophie commandeered one of the tables in the hotel lobby to spread out her papers as she polished the proposal. She picked the minds of her father, the cook, and two of the traveling salesmen for insight into the other villages located on promontories along the Hudson. One of the artists who had been living at the hotel pointed out that other spots had more mosquitoes than New Holland, and a salesman told her that nearby Tarrytown had an unreliable telegraph system. Long after the others had gone to bed, she kept the oil lamp burning as she rewrote the proposal to include details about the affordability of living in New Holland and its easy access to Manhattan. It was two o’clock in the morning when she finished the draft, but she went to bed with a surge of satisfaction for a job well done.

The next morning, she tucked the proposal beneath the bowl of oatmeal on Quentin’s breakfast tray then held her breath as she waited for a response.

His reply was delivered less than an hour later. Mr. Gilroy set the proposal on the kitchen counter as she was brewing another pot of coffee. At first she was dismayed to see large X’s scrawled through much of her work, but after further review, his strikes, arrows, and insertions made perfect sense. The scribbled notations in the margins sounded very Quentin. Stop boring your reader with how much you like the work. And No one cares how pretty the old mill is. Most of the comments were critical, but she smiled at the few brusque words of praise. At last, a glimmer of common sense and Good job quantifying the cost of living.

Oddly, it was his overall assessment at the end that thrilled her the most. Too longwinded and sappy beyond belief. Clean it up and get better data for Tarrytown, which is your main competition. Show me another version by tomorrow. Good work, but we can do better.

Quentin was the first person to take her seriously. While everyone else in the village patted her on the head in amusement, Quentin told her we could do better.

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