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The Spice King

Elizabeth Camden
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Books by Elizabeth Camden
  3. Title Page
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Historical Note
  47. Questions for Discussion
  48. In 2020, look forCaroline Delacroix’sstory in
  49. About the Author
  50. Back Ads
  51. Back Cover

Cover

Books by Elizabeth Camden

HOPE AND GLORY SERIES

The Spice King

The Lady of Bolton Hill

The Rose of Winslow Street

Against the Tide

Into the Whirlwind

With Every Breath

Beyond All Dreams

Toward the Sunrise: An Until the Dawn Novella

Until the Dawn

Summer of Dreams: A From This Moment Novella

From This Moment

To the Farthest Shores

A Dangerous Legacy

A Daring Venture

A Desperate Hope

Title Page

One

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MAY 1900
WASHINGTON, DC

Annabelle Larkin hadn’t meant to offend the world’s leading spice tycoon with her bold request, yet it seemed she had. The letter he’d written in reply made that clear, but she read it a second time, searching for a shred of hope in its prickly text.

Dear Miss Larkin,

I am in receipt of your letter asking me to donate my plant collection to the Smithsonian Institution. I spent two decades searching the world to gather those rare specimens, during which I sacrificed, sweat, and nearly died. Please be assured I have a better track record of nurturing plants than the feeble assortment I’ve seen at the Smithsonian, most of which are dead and mounted for display. I must therefore decline your offer to take the collection off my hands.

Gray Delacroix
Owner, Delacroix Global Spice

She dropped the letter onto her laboratory worktable with a sigh. Winning the donation of the Delacroixs’ plant collection had always been a long shot, but desperation gave her few options.

“Dare I ask?” Mr. Bittles inquired from the opposite side of the table.

Mr. Bittles was her supervisor and had had nothing but contempt for her since the day she began working at the Smithsonian only two months earlier. Fresh from Kansas and needing a tourist’s map to find the famous research museum, Annabelle didn’t really belong in Washington, where she felt as green as a newly sprouted hayseed. While everyone else at the Smithsonian had studied at places like Harvard and Princeton, Annabelle’s diploma came from Kansas State Agricultural College. She was not the most glittering ornament among the scientists at the Smithsonian.

“Mr. Delacroix declined our offer, but I still have hope,” she said, refusing to take his blunt refusal as a personal insult. She was merely the latest in a long line of botanists who’d tried and failed to make headway with Gray Delacroix.

The lab where she worked with Mr. Bittles was tiny, and she needed to nudge her way around him to reach the office typewriter. She pecked out a brisk response.

Dear Mr. Delacroix,

I meant no disrespect in my previous letter. Everyone at the Smithsonian is impressed by your remarkable collection, especially given the challenge of transporting exotic plants to America while they are still alive and fruitful. The rarity of your accomplishment is why we hope you will share the plants with world-class scientists who might build upon your success for the betterment of the nation.