The Reinvention of Love

written my fill. I have had my say. Work is a continuing solace to me, but I do not feel the burning need to produce another book.
    There is just one thing I would like before I die. One thing I would like above all others. I have wanted this for many years and so, when it finally does happen, it seems entirely miraculous.

HALIFAX, CANADA

DEDE

    MY DARLING ALBERT ,
    I know you will be anxious for news of me, and so I am sending word that my ship has docked and I have taken a room at the Halifax Hotel. I have registered under the name Miss Lewly, and you will find me waiting for you any afternoon that you are free to come. I have used a
nom de plume
because I want to avoid any association with Papa. It seems that he is as popular in the New World as he is in France, and I do not wish to engage in conversation about his books. I do not wish to be known here as Victor Hugo’s daughter. I long, instead, to be Albert Pinson’s wife.
    As your French is better than my English, I am writing to you in my language.
    Your beloved Adèle
    My darling Albert,
    I am worried that you did not receive my last letter. I think perhaps the mail service in Halifax is not what it was in France, so I have delivered this letter myself to the garrison where I know you are stationed. The soldier in the guardhouse assured me that it would find its way into your hands, and so, knowing that you will read this, I wait eagerly for a reply. Or better still, a visit. I have taken a room in the Halifax Hotel under the name of Miss Lewly. I will wait in every afternoon for your arrival there. It will be so wonderfulto see you again. I have missed you so much and simply long to be in your presence.
    Your beloved Adèle
    Dear Maman,
    Do not worry for me, Maman. I had to leave. You know how Papa is, how he would never have let me marry Albert if I had remained on Guernsey. I could only follow the man I loved, even to this dismal town that grows colder with each passing day. There was no other choice. Please understand that I did this not to hurt you, but rather to be with my beloved. Now we can be married. Nothing will make me happier than to be Madame Pinson. Please be happy for me, Maman. I beg you.
    Your Dédé
    My darling Albert,
    I do not understand why you haven’t come. I will take this letter to the garrison, and again I will ask the soldier in the guardhouse to deliver it to you. I know you are busy with your duties, but you must have a few hours free each day. I see many soldiers around the town. I have asked after you, and several of the soldiers have reported to me that you are indeed here at the garrison, and that they have seen you. Oh, if only I could be so fortunate! It was no small undertaking to leave my family, to lie about my whereabouts, to take passage, alone, across the North Atlantic. I was frightened on the ship, but I consoled myself with thoughts of you. I would do anything for you, Albert. Will you not come and see me and let me prove my love to you?
    Your impatient, beloved Adèle
    Dear François-Victor,
    Is it not possible to prise some more coins from Papa’s talons? It is costly preparing for the wedding, and I have had to outfit myself in warmer clothes for the coming winter. It is very cold in Halifax, a cold you could not imagine. Remember that day when we were children, and we awoke to snow? It was a mere dusting on the roofs and grass, but it made us so happy. Remember, dear brother? Well here, apparently, when the snow comes it can be as high as a man’s chest, and so cold that one is forced to remain indoors for weeks at a time. The wind off the sea in Guernsey is nothing compared to the bitter gales that blow in from the sea here.
    Nothing of the Old World is adequate to meet the demands of the New World, including my allowance. It is one thing to have a pittance while I am living at home on Guernsey, but quite another to have to survive on it here. I know you will understand, François-Victor. Please see what you can do with Papa.
    Your loving sister, Adèle
    My darling Albert,
    You must be very busy with your duties. Vexing as it is not to see you, I understand how frustrating it must be for you to be unable to walk the few blocks to the Halifax Hotel and take me in your arms. So I will come to you, my darling. I have found out that there is to be a dance tonight at the big house at the top of the hill. (Forgive me, Albert, for not having learned the street names yet, even though I walk out every day with