Marie Brennan - A Natural History of Dragons

I said as much to Lord Hilford, then added politely, “But I would be grateful to hear of what your expedition learns.”

“ My expedition! My dear Mrs. Camherst, I cannot go to Nsebu. The heat, the humid air—my health would never permit it. Let me phrase this in a way you cannot misinterpret: I intend to fund an expedition, and if you wish to join it, all you need do is say so.”

Fortunately, my blindly groping hand found my chair again before I attempted to sit where it was not. Once I was securely planted, with no risk of falling, I said, “But—”

Lord Hilford put up one hand. “You needn’t say anything now, one way or another. The expedition won’t happen tomorrow. But I wanted you to be aware of it. You can make your decision later.”

“Thank you,” I said faintly, and so he departed.

After what seemed an eternity of staring blankly at the wall, I picked up the green-bound volume of Jacob’s and my work and went to set it on my desk. There I paused, staring at the slim spine of Sir Richard Edgeworth’s A Natural History of Dragons —the volume I had read so many times as a child, the one my father had given to me upon my marriage to Jacob.

Life without dragons was grey and empty. Sparklings had led me out of the grief that followed the loss of my first, unborn child; might not their larger cousins do the same for the loss of my husband?

The mere prospect of it was already lifting my spirits. To define myself first and foremost not as a widow, but as a scholar …

The dragon within my heart stirred, shifting her wings, as if remembering they could be used to fly.

Tucking errant strands of hair behind my ears, I took A Natural History of Dragons off the shelf and curled up in the window seat to read.

A Natural History of Dragons

Midnight Never Come

In Ashes Lie

A Star Shall Fall

With Fate Conspire

Warrior

Witch

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS

Copyright © 2013 by Bryn Neuenschwander

All rights reserved.

Interior illustrations by Todd Lockwood

Maps by Rhys Davies

Design by Greg Collins

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Brennan, Mary.

A natural history of dragons: a memoir by Lady Trent/Mary Brennan—First edition

p. cm.

“A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”

ISBN 978-0-7653-3196-0 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4299-5631-4 (e-book)

1. Women scientists—Fiction. 2. Dragons—Fiction. 1. Title.

PS3602.R453N38 2013

813'.6—dc23

2012038819

First Edition: February 2013

Printed in the United States of America

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