Adventures with Jane and her Legacy 01 Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo Read Free Book Online Page A

Sir Walter Scott? Or Shakespeare? Or, God forbid, Milton?"
    Adam laughed at my allusion to Edward. Well, at least my sense of humor hadn't totally forsaken me.
    "C'mon," Adam said, starting the engine and slipping the car into gear. "Maybe the church is a bit more impressive."
    St. Nicholas Church, Steventon, was a surprisingly far distance up the road--more than half a mile, I surmised. The narrow lane obviously didn't see much traffic. Overhead, tree branches met in a thick tangle. I couldn't imagine a tourist coach lumbering up the lane without damaging its roof. A minute or two later down the country lane, and suddenly there it was. Myview of the church was partially blocked by a giant yew tree. But then Adam pulled into the small parking area, and I had my first full look at my assigned destination.
    "It's charming," I breathed, afraid to speak too loudly lest it disappear like a mirage.
    The thirteenth-century building was constructed along simple lines, a basic stone rectangle rising in a Norman arch to a small, square turret topped by a steeple. The yew tree grew close to the left front corner, as if it needed to lend the building its support. A small fence, built to keep tourists' cars at bay, stood between the empty parking area and the gravel walk that wound its way to the front door.
    "What if it's not open?" The terrible thought struck me as I scrambled from the car. Stupid, stupid, I scolded myself. Why hadn't I thought of that before?
    "Don't panic yet," Adam said.
    Easy for him to say. His entire future didn't depend on getting inside that church.
    I tried not to run around the fence and up the walk, but I still moved pretty fast. I beat Adam to the door by several yards. With a trembling hand, I reached out, grabbed the handle, and pulled. It was locked.
    "No," I wailed. I wanted to beat against the door with my hands, but somehow I restrained myself. I turned to face Adam, my shoulders sinking. "I can't believe it's not open." One way or another, I had to get inside that church. "What do we do now?"
    He remained unperturbed, much to my annoyance. "The sign over there said we could contact the rector. Looks like he divides his time among several parishes."
    I slumped against the door. "No, it has to be today."
    Adam glanced down at my feet. "Too bad there's no mat with a key under it."
    His offhand comment sparked a memory. I looked toward the yew tree. "I wonder ..." I moved toward it. The ancient branches grew almost to the ground. I pushed aside some leafy obstacles and disappeared into the tree's shadow.
    "Emma? What are you doing?" I heard Adam call after me.
    Underneath the branches, the air was cool and dim, a sanctuary in its own right. I moved closer to the tree's enormous trunk. It was close to four feet across and had split wide open with age. I'd read somewhere that once a yew tree gets that old, it didn't actually need the trunk to survive, and so the trunk decays and becomes hollow. I could certainly identify.
    "I wonder if they still hide it here," I said, half to myself and half to Adam who had followed me into the shadowy shelter of the yew. I reached my hand inside the trunk and felt around. A moment later, I found what I was searching for. "Bingo," I breathed and lifted it from its hook.
    It was a church key, but far bigger than any key I'd ever seen, nearly a foot long. I let my fingers trace the curves at the top. "It must weigh a ton," Adam said.
    "Pretty much." I had remembered, of course, that in Jane Austen's day, the key to the church had been kept in the yewtree so that any parishioner needing to enter the building might do so.
    "Do you think it will work?" I asked Adam.
    "I doubt they'd still keep it here if they didn't actually use it. How did you know it was here?"
    "I read about it somewhere along the way."
    He grinned. "So only true Austen devotees would know where to look. Garden variety vandals wouldn't have a clue."
    "Yep." I returned his smile, pleased with my success. We