The Dead Travel Fast. Deanna Raybourn

      

      This isn’t your average eBook…

      Welcome to the Enriched Edition of The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn! Be drawn even deeper into the mysterious, sensual world of novel with new exclusive material from the author. Bonus content includes:

       Cast of Characters

       A letter from Theodora Lestrange

       Mmlig Recipe

       Extended scene of Theodora’s journey to Transylvania

       A sneak peek excerpt of Dark Road to Darjeeling, book four in Deanna Raybourn’s award-winning Lady Julia Grey series

      We hope you enjoy this Enriched eBook. We’d love to hear about your experience and any suggestions for future editions. Send us an email at [email protected].

      And look for Enriched Editions of Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey novels Silent in the Grave, Silent in the Sanctuary and Silent on the Moor, all three on sale now wherever eBooks are sold.

      Happy reading!

      The Dead Travel Fast

      Deanna Raybourn

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

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      For my husband. For everything. For always.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Dedication

      Characters

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Readers’ Guide Questions

      Acknowledgments

      Deleted Scene from The Dead Travel Fast

      Letter from Theodora Lestrange

      Mmlig Recipe

      Excerpt from Dark Road to Darjeeling

       Copyright

       Characters

      Theodora Lestrange, an aspiring novelist and seeker of adventure

      Charles Beecroft, her publisher and erstwhile suitor

      Anna and William, Theodora’s sister and brother-in-law

      Mrs. Muldoon, Theodora’s housekeeper

      Cosmina Dragulescu, Theodora’s school friend

      Countess Eugenia Dragulescu, her aunt

      Count Andrei Dragulescu, son to the countess and master of the Castle Dragulescu

      Frau Amsel, companion to the countess

      Florian, her son, the acting steward of the castle

      Frau Graben, the cook

      Tereza, a maid at the castle

      Aurelia, her sister, also a maid

      Count Bogdan, the deceased count who may not lie easily in his grave

      Dr. Frankopan, doctor and friend to the countess

      Madam Popa, his housekeeper and wife to a man with a terrible secret

      The villagers, peasant folk who inhabit the valley below the castle and serve the Dragulescus

      The pedlar, a traveller

      Herr Engel, proprietor of a rest home

      I

      As he spoke, he smiled, and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to the other…“Denn die Todten reiten schnell.” (“For the dead travel fast.”)

      —Bram Stoker, Dracula

      It is with true love as it is with ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.

      —François de la Rochefoucauld

      II

      All proper stories begin with the words Once upon a time…. But this is not a proper story—it is mine. You will not believe it. You will say such things are not possible. But you believed once, long ago. You believed in witches and goblins and things that walked abroad in the dark of the night. And you believed in happily ever after and that love can mend all. For children believe in impossible things. So read my tale with a child’s eyes and believe once more in the impossible….

       1

      Edinburgh, 1858

      “I am afraid we must settle the problem of what to do with Theodora,” my brother-in-law said with a weary sigh. He looked past me to where my sister sat stitching placidly on a tiny gown. It had been worn four times already and wanted a bit of freshening.

      Anna glanced up from her work