The Island of Doves

Praise for

In Need of a Good Wife

“
In Need of a Good Wife
is as wonderfully candid as it is epic. Kelly O’Connor McNees creates unforgettable heroines (and anti-heroines), and infuses dreams of the American West with fresh spirit, humor, and yearning. I love this novel so much!”

—Wendy McClure, author of
The Wilder Life

“Reading
In Need of a Good Wife
is like going on a great adventure into the past. As you turn the pages, you’ll find love, imagination, and a kind of charm I didn’t know existed anymore. It’s a wonderful book—sturdy and delicate all at once.”

—Rebecca Rasmussen, author of
The Bird Sisters

“You will fall in love with the brave, resourceful women in this utterly captivating novel . . . Kelly O’Connor McNees writes with warmth, drama, humor, and tenderness, of love, loss, and hope, and how happiness can be found in the most unlikely situations if you open your heart.”

—Stephanie Cowell, author of
Claude & Camille

“
In Need of a Good Wife
is a beautifully wrought story, every page bursting with poetry and adventure . . . A simply gorgeous book that will stay with you long after you read the last word!”

—Susan Gregg Gilmore, author of
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

“The three central, compelling women of
In Need of a Good Wife
are each, in turn, terribly lost and deeply brave. I adored them and rooted for them in their struggles, worrying about them when life forced me to set the book down to eat, work, and sleep. I found it deliciously satisfying that the redemption I wished for each of them arrived in completely unexpected ways, taking both me and the characters by surprise.”

—Katrina Kittle, author of
The Blessings of Animals

“With graceful prose and historical settings that shine with vitality,
In Need of a Good Wife
is unforgettable.”

—Kristina Riggle, author of
Keepsake

“Rare is the book these days that captures my undivided attention, but this story enchanted me, reminding me of a time in my life when reading was a comforting adventure, and my hope was to fall in love with a book and its characters . . . McNees weaves a hopeful, compelling story of love and resilience so engaging it is impossible to put down.”

—Robin Oliveira, author of
My Name Is Mary Sutter

“
In Need of a Good Wife
is a thoroughly charming novel, written with a gentle wry humor and an eye for detail I found delicious. Clara, the gutsy heroine, is delightful, as are a number of the other characters, the good and the bad alike. Beautifully imagined, beautifully crafted: I absolutely loved it.”

—Sandra Gulland, author of
Mistress of the Sun

“Anyone who grew up on
Little House on the Prairie
will instantly fall in love with this book. Kelly O’Connor McNees brilliantly captures the hope and hardships of the American West, and has created a story destined to be a classic.”

—Tasha Alexander, author of
Death in the Floating City

“Vivid, generous, funny, and often quite moving,
In Need of a Good Wife
casts light on a little-known corner of American history—and the women (and men) who struggled to make their way in an unforgiving world.”

—Joseph Wallace, author of
Diamond Ruby

“McNees has written a warm, generous story . . . She combines vivid historical detail with such emotional accuracy that I was convinced I, too, needed to escape grimy post–Civil War Manhattan and make the long train journey to Destination, Nebraska . . .
In Need of a Good Wife
is a richly drawn portrait of a uniquely American experience; this novel is an absolute treasure.”

—Nancy Woodruff, author of
My Wife’s Affair

The Lost Summer of

Louisa May Alcott

“A charming novel, grounded in scholarship and fact but relying on imagination for the romance and fun.”

—
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“McNees gets the period details just right . . .
The Lost Summer
is the kind of romantic tale to which Alcott herself was partial, one in which love is important but not a solution to life’s difficulties. Devotees of
Little Women
will flock to this story with pleasure.”

—
The Washington Post

“A bittersweet, stirring debut novel . . .”

—
BookPage

“So compelling and well written that I hated to see it end.”

—
Historical Novels Review

“I gladly followed Louisa down McNees’s path, enjoying it so much I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. For those romantics among you, it’s a real keeper.”

—
Lincoln Journal Star

“
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
provides a tale of romantic fiction that will have fans of
Little Women
falling in love with Alcott in much the same way they fell in love with Jo March . . . a wonderfully creative and innocently sweet story.”

—
Express Milwaukee

“McNees deftly combines historic figures and documented aspects of Louisa’s life with speculations about what might have been. Fans of
Little Women
may be first in line to read the novel, but the book will also appeal to others who enjoy historical romance.”

—
Library Journal

“The line between fiction and biography is tight and well-balanced. This book is a must-read for anyone who grew up with a dog-eared copy of
Little Women
.”

—
Fine Living Lancaster

Berkley titles by Kelly O’Connor McNees

THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

IN NEED OF A GOOD WIFE

THE ISLAND OF DOVES

The Island
of Doves

Kelly O’Connor McNees

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

Copyright © 2014 by Kelly O’Connor McNees.

“Readers Guide” copyright © 2014 by Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (U
SA) LLC.

The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

eBook: ISBN 978-1-101-60794-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McNees, Kelly O’Connor.

The island of doves / Kelly O’Connor McNees. — Berkley trade paperback edition.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-425-26458-4

1. Kindness—Fiction. 2. Mackinac Island (Mich.)—Fiction.

PS3613.C58595I85 2013

813'.6—dc23

2013003492

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley trade paperback edition / April 2014

Cover art by Trish Cramblet. Cover design by Lesley Worrell.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For W. J., who turns the pages

. . . I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers . . .

—Pablo Neruda, “Sonnet XVII”

Prologue

1816

W
hen the warm spring air cracked the ice on Lake Huron, a sleepy fog began to curl across the water. Therese Savard was sitting beside the fire in her family’s cabin on Mackinac Island, sewing the lining of a mitten, when she heard the knock. She stepped carefully around her nephew, Jean-Henri, who was stacking blocks on the floor, and put her finger to her lips to keep him quiet as she peeked out through the slight gap between the weathered door and the jamb, though she already knew who was knocking.

“Mademoiselle,” Paul Pelletier called through the door. “Is Josette here?”

Therese winced. She had promised her sister Magdelaine that she would keep Paul away from their younger sister—
petit lapin
, they called Josette, their little rabbit—who was no longer little but a young woman, ready for marriage. The sisters were orphans now and had no one but each other to guard them from the world’s dangers. Paul seemed determined to possess Josette. She had enjoyed the intensity of his attention at first, until she got a glimpse of his anger a time or two. Now she steered clear of him.

“Mademoiselle, I know you’re in there,” Paul said, his voice hardening. “I can hear you breathing.”

Though the island was still blanketed in snow, the thaw had begun and spring would arrive in earnest in a few short weeks. Magdelaine would return and she would expect that Therese had kept her promise to keep the lovers separated. After all, Therese thought bitterly, Magdelaine was accustomed to giving orders. As a young widow with her late husband’s money, Magdelaine enjoyed power and freedom as she carried on his work on the fur trade route, doing business with the Odawa hunters throughout the Michigan Territory, trading beaver and rabbit for guns and blankets and axes. Josette too had a kind of power: At seventeen she had beauty and a good many prospects for marriage. But because Therese had hesitated, had failed to commit to any of the few offers that had come her way years ago, the door to marriage was closed for her. Now, at twenty-seven, she found herself charged with the duties of a mere nursemaid. Magdelaine’s husband had taught
her
to read and do figures, but no one had offered Therese the same instruction and now she felt too old to learn. The world had pushed her aside.

She sighed and opened the door. Paul stood with his arms crossed, his fur cap matted with dirt, and whiskers shadowing his jaw. He was a handsome man, Therese thought, despite being such a rough character. But why shouldn’t he be rough?
The fur trade was a dangerous business. A man could get rich on it, but he could get himself killed too. The strain of it must have weighed on Paul.

Therese smiled at him. “Welcome home.” Perhaps he had chosen the wrong sister, Therese thought. After all, while Magdelaine and Josette shared their Odawa mother’s tawny skin and thick black hair, Therese resembled their Quebecois father: pert nose, dark curls, and pale skin. No one could guess that she had Indian blood. Josette shied away from Paul’s intensity, but it intrigued Therese. Maybe he needed a woman who was more French than Indian.

“You’re looking well,” she said to him, testing the waters. It was a lie, of course; he needed a bath and a good meal.

Paul sighed impatiently. “Josette—where is she?”

Therese’s smile faded. She could see from his expression that she was a fool to think, even for a second, that he could see her as anything other than an obstacle in his path. Therese was invisible to him. So much had come easily to Magdelaine and Josette, but never to her. He would be angry when she told him where Josette was, but what of it? If her little sister was old enough for love, she was old enough for its consequences too. Josette had encouraged his affections, then changed her mind as a fickle young woman was wont to do. Why should Therese have to clean up her little sister’s mess?

“She went with the Leveque boy to get firewood,” Therese barked.

Paul’s face darkened and without another word he stalked off toward the lane, leaving his packs on the ground in front of the cabin. Therese stood in the doorway and watched as he stepped onto his sled and shouted for the dogs to pull. The brief moment of satisfaction she felt was quickly replaced by a swell of panic when her gaze found the hunting knife that hung at Paul’s hip.

“Paul—wait!”

He was out of sight by the time Therese shook off her paralysis and got her legs to work. She set out on foot through the snow in the wide tracks left by the sled’s runners, and as each minute passed the terror clawed at her lungs, making it hard to breathe. Her heart pounded in her ears and all she could think was
faster, faster, faster
. But her feet were heavy—cold in her thin slippers—and she moved slowly, the way one moved in a nightmare.

When Therese finally made it to the other side of the island, what she saw brought her to her knees. Josette—her
petit lapin
, the one she had promised to protect—lay in the snow, a red cloud spreading out around her.