The Flight of Gemma Hardy_ A Novel - Margot Livesey [182]
“Here’s to living under our rightful names.”
I drank my first fizzing mouthful and ducked his kiss. Through the window, far below, I saw several small islands in the grey Atlantic. I took a deep breath hoping, even here, to catch the scent of apple blossoms. In the seat in front of us the two brown-haired women were also leaning towards the window. “Smavegis,” I heard one say. “Himnariki.” Surely Kristjana would have told me if I too was about to fall on the rocks. I turned back to Hugh. He was still holding his glass, watching me intently.
“What I said at the registry office,” I went on, feeling my way, “is true. We can be married next week. Or next year. I don’t want a promise to govern my feelings; I want my feelings to lead to a promise. And there are other things I want too.”
I began to list them: to be a student, to write cheques, to buy cakes, to make friends, to visit the hot springs, to see a lyre-bird—
Desires were springing up on all sides when Hugh interrupted. “You want,” he said, gazing at me steadily, “to be beloved and regarded.”
“I do.” His eyes had grown lighter, or perhaps they were reflecting the sky. “You’ve been sitting at the adult table for twenty years. I want to sit there too, and sample a few of the courses. I want to see if I’m ready to spend ten thousand days with you, and ten thousand nights.”
“But that’s only thirty years.”
He was arguing for more—fifteen thousand, twenty—as I raised my glass and drank again. Then I leaned forward and kissed him.
Acknowledgments
I have tried to be faithful to the geography of both Scotland and Iceland but have taken occasional liberties. Blackbird Hall does not appear on maps of the Orkneys, and the jetty where Gemma’s father kept his boat may be hard to find. My thanks to the many people in both countries who stopped to answer my odd questions. I am especially grateful to the woman in the harbour shop at Stykkisholmur who talked to me about Mount Helgafell.
My main literary debt is obvious. The following books also helped to shape Gemma’s story: Tales of the Seal People and Fireside Tales of the Traveller Children by Duncan Williamson; The Mermaid Bride, told by Tom Muir; The Northmen Talk: A Choice of Tales from Iceland, translated by Jacqueline Simpson; Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda; Sagas of Warrior-Poets, introduced by Diane Whaley; Njal’s Saga, translated by Robert Cook.
My deep thanks to Jennifer Barth for her brilliant comments as she read and reread these pages. I also want to express my gratitude to Amy Baker, Jane Beirn, Jonathan Burnham, Jason Sack, Emily Walters, and all the people at HarperCollins who helped to make this book. Once again I am happily indebted to Amanda Urban.
My family plays a role, witting and unwitting, in all my novels. My thanks especially to Janet for driving me round the Orkneys, to Sally for revisiting the sixties, to my nieces for reminding me of what it is like to be a teenager, and to Merril for showing me Saint David’s Well and teaching me the names of flowers. Eric Garnick endured many tedious dinner conversations. Susan Brison read the novel with wonderful empathy and attention to detail. Andrea Barrett read and commented and imagined and corrected Gemma’s journey at every stage. Thank you seems a very small thing to say.
About the Author
MARGOT LIVESEY is the acclaimed author of the novels The House on Fortune Street, Banishing Verona, Eva Moves the Furniture, The Missing World, Criminals, and Homework. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Livesey was born in Scotland and grew up on the edge of the Highlands. She lives in the Boston area and is a Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College.
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Also by Margot Livesey
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