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“Right,” Cynthia-not-Cynthia says around a bite of cheesecake. “Thirty-five years ago, Terri Woodard was hired to write the books. She moved into this house and she wrote fivemore books over the next six years. She was killed in a freak accident here at the house twenty-nine years ago. Next,—”
I look around at the house. “She died here?”
Cynthia nods. “Christmas. She was hanging lights on the cathedral ceiling and fell off the ladder. Very tragic.”
“But this house looks so new.”
“That’s because it was rebuilt after the fire that killed Cynthia Bennett number three.”
I stare at Cynthia-not-Cynthia, sure I’m misunderstanding. “They re-built the house where two of their authors died? They didn’t think it might be… I don’t know…” I know exactly, but I don’t want to say it.
“Cursed.” Cynthia leans forward and waggles her eyebrows. “Of course, everyone thinks it’s cursed. Problem is, Cynthia Bennett’s will was very specific and finding a new home for the reclusive iterations of her would cost far more money than just re-building here. No one wants it to get out that Cynthia Bennett has actually died four times.”
Noah chokes on a bite of cheesecake, and I slap his back until he gets control of himself.
“Four times?” I ask once he’s stopped coughing.
“Cynthia Bennett number five. But she died out hiking late at night. Froze to death. Some people claim she was outside in the middle of the night because she was fleeing the ghosts of the other dead Cynthias.”
“And Cynthia Bennett number four?”
Her grin is radiant. “She’s Alexis Werner.”
“The same Alexis Werner who just won the National Book Award for her novel, On a Painted Horse?”
She pops her last bite of cheesecake into her mouth as she nods. “She moved out and passed the job on to Cynthia Bennett number five after seven years, because she wanted to write literature. It worked out well for her.”
“What about you?” I ask.
“I have no interest in writing literature. I love romance and I grew up reading Cynthia Bennett’s books. It’s like the greatest honor to write her books, but I don’t want to write them forever. I have my own stories to write. My contract right now is for five years, during which I can only write Cynthia Bennett's books. After that, I’ll write my own books.”
“Would you like me to call you Cynthia? Or should I use your real name?”
She rolls her eyes. “God, please don’t call me Cynthia. It’s such an old lady's name.” She sticks out her hand. “Lennox Carrington at your service.”
I shake her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you. How long have you lived out here?”
“Eight months,” she says. “Luckily, I don’t scare easily and I don’t believe in curses.”
As though in response to her words, there’s a loud bang above us.
She laughs when I startle. “It’s just the squirrels. I swear they have wrestling matches on the roof.”
Thunder rolls and lightning flashes and the lights flicker on and off again. I glance at Noah, but he seems perfectly relaxed. I’m being silly. There are no ghosts here.
“I came by today because I like to meet the authors I work with in person. Face-to-face meetings can ease some of the awkwardness and misunderstandings that happen when we only use technology to talk.”
“I’m not a huge fan of technology myself,” Lennox says. “So that works for me. Thank you for hiking all the way up here to see me. I would have offered to meet you in town, but I’ve found that it’s better not to make all the concessions from the start. Editors have taken advantage of that in the past.”
“Is that why you left your previous publisher?” I ask.
“One of the reasons.” She scrapes the last bits of cheesecake off her plate with focus. She must really love it. “My previous editor thinks Cynthia’s ideas are outdated and tired, and she wanted to tweak them. That’s not what Cynthia wanted and her stories are still amazing, but the editor wasn’t willing to take any risk that might cost a sale or two. Lovemore Publishing promised to work with me to make Cynthia’s books, as she planned them, successful.”
This surprises me. There’s nothing in Lennox’s book that felt obviously outdated to me. “Cynthia created a basic outline? And you fill in the details? Is that how it works?”
“Yes. But it has to be true to Cynthia’s style and voice and her dream for these books.”
“I’m honestly not familiar with the first Cynthia’s books, but my colleague Gloria is, and she feels you did exactly that. I really love your book, and I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with it.”
