Elaine studied her, and the tension on her face melted away to reveal a youthful visage. “Oui, they do.”
They spent the afternoon together as Elaine showed Ava how the press worked, even allowing her to create a few impressions. The ease with which Elaine operated what she called the Minerva was enviable, her slender, tapered fingers like that of an artist as she adroitly performed several tasks at once.
Church bells chimed outside, marking the hour and the time Ava had to leave to catch her plane to England. Before departing, she withdrew two items from her purse—a sealed letter from Sarah to Elaine and the other a folded picture Noah had drawn of himself holding a jar of something red.
When Elaine opened the one from Noah, she exhaled with something between a laugh and a sob. “Strawberry jam.” She touched the image with a smile of affection.
“Is that what it is?” Ava asked.
“It was a treasure during the war.” Elaine pressed her lips together, composing her emotions. “He loved it.”
“That explains why it is his favorite even still,” Ava said.
A tear ran down Elaine’s face. She swept it away with trembling fingers. “You came all this way to see me?”
“Yes. To tell you how very clever and brave I find you and to share with you what an impact your risks have had.” Ava had initially questioned if it was a good idea to come to Lyon, if she would even be able to find Elaine. But standing here now in front of the thin woman whose face glowed with pride, Ava knew she had made the right decision.
Elaine opened her arms and captured Ava in a fierce hug. “This is truly the greatest gift.” She released her and smiled through her tears. “Thank you.”
Ava disembarked from the plane in London where James would be waiting for her, the man whose set of dice even now clicked together in her pocket as anticipation for a fresh adventure blossomed in her chest.
Britain was another world to explore. One that birthed Geoffrey Chaucer, who gave the English language its literary feet, one where Shakespeare’s theater had once entertained the masses with stories that would be retold for centuries to come. It was the city where Charles Dickens set so many of his books, educating people not with instruction, but by connecting the character to the reader and pulling them on a journey. It was where Thomas More framed a perfect fictional society that mirrored a monastic lifestyle in Utopia and where Jane Austen’s characters strolled in their endeavors of marital pursuits.
The wealth of Britain’s history was so rich, Ava could feast on it for decades and never be full.
She had spent her entire life reading of such experiences and was now ready to enjoy them in the flesh. Perhaps even have the opportunity for a chance at love.
Regardless, she was eager to work in the London Library, once more surrounded by tomes that spanned centuries past, doing her part to record the history so it would always live in the minds of future generations. After all, there was nothing Ava loved more than the scent of old books—except, of course, the power of the written word.
AUTHOR NOTE
I was inspired to write The Librarian Spy after reading about the librarians who were sent to neutral Lisbon during World War II to gather books and newspapers in order to glean intel on the enemy. This became especially interesting after learning they were initially thrown into their jobs with very little training and Lisbon was teeming with people from all over the world, agents and refugees alike. Espionage was rife on Lisbon’s crowded coastline, where power and wealth were played like a well-guarded hand and countries operated clandestine activities on the razor’s edge of neutrality beneath the noses of Portugal’s secret police.
While the IDC （Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications） did not send any female operatives to Lisbon, I chose to create Ava Harper—a woman confident in her own element at the Library of Congress, only to arrive in a place where she had more questions than answers. I had the good fortune to know a few librarians who offered great insight with which to build Ava’s character. I also was able to travel to DC to the Library of Congress, where I spent the day researching in the beautiful Reading Room and toured the premises.