The Echo of Old Books: A Novel

Belle arrives early at the farm, though she still regrets inviting the writer. As she waits at the stables, she remembers how Helene, her mother, used to love it there at Rose Hollow. She also remembers the strange prayers her mother used to share with her, which Helene was eventually punished for. Helene was prone to “melancholia,” and she struggled with loneliness and depression after the births of her children and the death of her young son. Belle doesn’t want to be weak like the women in her family and thinks about how she has succumbed to her father’s edict that she marry Teddy.

The writer arrives, and after they decide the weather is not fit for riding, Belle gives him a tour of the stables. She reveals it was recently renovated to house her new horses, a bribe her father paid to secure her acceptance of Teddy’s proposal. As Belle shows the writer around, he is impressed by her equestrian knowledge. He suggests Belle name one of the horses that has great potential “Belle’s Promise,” revealing he has been thinking of her often since their first meeting. Belle, in turn, gives the writer the nickname “Hemi,” after the writer Ernest Hemingway.