And this may be off-topic, but could you clarify a little more (without spoilers, of course) when and how Adrian & Jess were acquainted? He's in Russia with her & her dad acting as their butler, Hurst (love this! adrian as butler! lol!) after he rescues her from Lazarus, right? Does she know him before this? How did he come to be involved in her rescue?
Leesee ... In Spymaster's Lady, Adrian gets picked up by Josiah's smuggler boat and rescued.
He returns the favor by intervening in Josiah's struggle with Lazarus over who's going to get to keep Jess.
Adrian and Doyle spirit Jess away. She's had a bad fall and she's still drugged into unconsciousness. She doesn't wake up till she's on the ship and away from England. She never saw Adrian.
All that's in the two books, someplace or other.
What's not in the books ....
Adrian is assigned as Head of Section for Russia, based in St. Petersburg. Josiah also sets up one of his offices there. He and Adrian re-establish contact and Josiah lets Adrian use his house as British Service Headquarters.
That's when Adrian and Jess finally 'meet'.
That's another bit of the book that I loved--the tiny flashback of Adrian and Jess--Adrian being what, 21 or so in that scene? (Lemme see, Jess must be 12 in MLAS, and Adrian 19, so if she's 14 then...)
ReplyDeleteAnd clearly they were both kinda half kids half adults together there... just a neat scene that has this little own world feel to it but also advances the action.
Hi Anon --
ReplyDeleteJess and Adrian meet not long after the action of The Spymaster's Lady. Adrian is sent to take over Russian operations. He's bery young. He's on his own, with heavy responsibilities.
Jess is the first person Adrian had to mentor and take care of. As you say, they were both of them half kids, half adults.
I totally went "ohhhh!" when I read that bit about Josiah rescuing Adrian. *facepalm* That's pretty neat. I love things that carry over between books like that. Well done!
ReplyDeleteTotally missed the Josiah-the-smuggler connection. I love that the books are practically MINEd with clues and information that you have to pay really close attention to to get. AND I love how the reading experience with your books goes on and on and on. Fantabulous.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you liked the books.
ReplyDeleteI think this business of putting stuff in one book that refs another is called 'Easter Eggs'. Or that may be something else altogether.
Anyhow, when Annique and Grey are in bed, Grey says he's going to send Adrian someplace cold. *g*.
Ok. Now I'm curious. I thought Grey resigned as section head, so how could he send Adrian to Russia? Obviously at some point they get involved with the british service again (hence the deep cover in France) but does he in fact resign?
ReplyDeleteHi Anon --
ReplyDelete....Ok. Now I'm curious. I thought Grey resigned as section head, so how could he send Adrian to Russia? Obviously at some point they get involved with the british service again (hence the deep cover in France) but does he in fact resign?
Hah! You think to throw me off with your fiendishly clever questions.
You will not suceed.
What we got here is a good bit of time passing.
Adrian got sent to Russia soon after the action of The Spymaster's Lady. That is, 1804-ish. Grey was Head of the British Section then, and for a few good long years afterwards.
Sometime (1808-ish is my guess,) Grey and Annique go under deep cover in France. Another man is put in as Head of the British Section for a short while.
Adrian is the next Head after him.
Grey will take over as Section Head in Paris when Carruthers retires. That might be 1812-ish.
Ah! So he doesn't mean it when he says he's going to leave the service and have Doyle take over--that the resignation is in the desk? OR he means it but changes his mind when Annique realizes he can stay head of section without her having to betray her friends?
ReplyDeleteYOU have the pleasure of knowing what happens to these guys...those of us addicted to your book have to sit around and puzzle over it.
Hi Anon --
ReplyDeleteYes. You got it.
Grey means it. He's going to leave the Service, if that's what he has to do to be with Annique.
Annique convices him to stay at the job. And he convinces her that they can make it work.
I suspect Doyle would have conveniently 'misplaced" that letter anyway. Doyle is pretty good about staying out of administrative posts.