The Lost Bride Trilogy, #3
The Seven Rings
by Nora Roberts
Contents
Chapter Four
Overview
Sonya advances her Ryder campaign, then begins an attic search and discovers Lisbeth Poole’s kidney desk and chair with personal mementos. Drawn through the mirror, Sonya witnesses Lissy’s joyous engagement and senses Hester Dobbs’s cold presence. With Trey and Owen, she confirms Lissy’s bedroom and plans to relocate the desk there, strengthening their restorative project and resolve.
Summary
Sonya closes a productive workweek, finalizing a mood board for an expanded Ryder campaign and coordinating upcoming wardrobe shipments. She decides to start a top-to-bottom attic search, marking furniture for future placement and potential use in the manor.
Uncovering a curved kidney desk and matching chair, Sonya finds Lisbeth Anne Poole’s stationery, hairpins, playbills, ticket stubs, and photographs, including one with Edward Whitmore. Touching the chair triggers the mirror’s pull, and Sonya steps through.
In Lisbeth’s bedroom—snow beyond the windows and a fire burning—Sonya observes Lissy writing an ecstatic letter to her friend Dina Triburn announcing her engagement after a romantic sleigh-ride proposal. Lissy briefly senses an unseen presence, then a chilling, dark weight signals Hester Dobbs’s attention before both presences fade.
Back in the attic, Cleo steadies a shaken Sonya, who recounts the vision and the different mechanics of this passage—she went to where the desk had been, not merely back in time. Outside, Trey arrives; they regroup over cocktails as Sonya explains the experience and the ominous sensation of Dobbs nearby.
With Trey and Owen, Sonya examines the desk—identified as burr walnut, Victorian—and gathers Lissy’s items. They tour the second floor, match features, and confirm Lissy’s bedroom by its view and mantel. The friends plan to restore the desk to its original spot as part of their broader effort to honor the brides, then settle into an Italian dinner, outlining weekend tasks for attic work and room setup.
Who Appears
- SonyaProtagonist; discovers Lissy’s desk, experiences a mirror vision of Lissy’s engagement, senses Hester Dobbs, and identifies Lissy’s bedroom.
- CleoSupports Sonya after the mirror crossing, hosts cocktails and dinner, and helps plan attic searching and restoration.
- TreyArrives with Mookie, listens to Sonya’s account, helps inspect the attic finds, and aids in identifying Lissy’s room.
- OwenEvaluates attic furniture (burr walnut kidney desk), helps confirm Lissy’s room, and coordinates weekend restoration work.
- Lisbeth Anne Poole (Lissy)Seen in a vision writing to Dina about her engagement to Edward; her desk and mementos are found.
- Hester DobbsFelt as a cold, dark presence during Sonya’s vision, signaling continued threat and surveillance.
- Edward WhitmoreLissy’s fiancé; appears in photographs and is described in Lissy’s engagement letter.
- Dina TriburnRecipient of Lissy’s engagement letter; her name helps confirm historical context and connections.
- YodaDog; underfoot companion during searches and welcomes arrivals, echoing household normalcy.
- PyeCat; previously helped dispel the smoke-wolf; roams during the attic visit.
- JonesEye-patched cat; follows Owen and prowls during the attic inspection.
- MookieTrey’s dog; arrives and roughhouses with Yoda amid the evening gathering.