Yours Is the Night Read online

  And always, the light. Searing through the night.

  In penning this story, I have meant no disservice to the courageous World War I soldier entombed at Arlington. This book never aimed to fictionalize him; in fact, it aimed to avoid fictionalizing him at all costs. His life is true. His anonymity allows him to represent the countless ones who never came home. The tomb is a place of grief, hope, healing, closure, promise, and so much more. I hope that only respect, gratitude, and a fierce guarding of the real soldier’s true story—untouched by this imagined one—is found in these pages.

  In this year that marks the 100th anniversary of his final burial, it is an honor to remember, and to learn.

  Acknowledgments

  In Yours Is the Night, there are countless lives and people who have inspired the journey as well as those who have made the writing of this book possible. I owe thanks to so many. . . .

  Always, to my family. You are the story of my heart. Thank you for sharing this journey and putting up with my randomly wrinkled brow whenever a story idea hits.

  To my Ben, who this book is dedicated to. None of this would be possible without you. We’ve been cooking up journey ideas ever since we decided in our high school library to tie our shoelaces behind our ankles and revolutionize the world. Can’t imagine why the trend never caught on, but it was the start of a great many laughs and an even greater many adventures with you, and I’m so thankful.

  To the courageous publishing team who helped to wrangle this manuscript: Raela Schoenherr, Jennifer Veilleux, and Elizabeth Frazier, and the entire wonderful Bethany House team. Agent Wendy Lawton and the Books and Such Family. I am grateful for the honor of working with each one of you!

  To Erika Hays, who eight years ago showed me pictures of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier—it planted the seed of this story. Thank you, my friend!

  To Allen. I believe your name was Allen. In January of 2019 you were kind enough to let me and my baby sit in your row on a flight from Dallas. You worked at the Pentagon and shared about a small museum you discovered quite by accident beneath the Lincoln Memorial while out on a run. I shared about a story idea I had, pertaining to the Unknown Soldier at Arlington. You told me more about the tomb, and spoke of your courageous friends who were laid to rest at Arlington. Ten months later, I got to go see that hidden museum beneath the Lincoln Memorial. I got to go to Arlington to pay respects to “the Unknowns,” as you called them. I thought of your friends, and thank both you and them for your service. I hope this story finds you, someday.

  To my sister April, whose history-loving heart takes her on many adventures, from which she comes home to tell of things like the garlands and trench art. Your footsteps have guided this story in a thousand nuanced ways, and your friendship in my life has done the same. Thank you.

  To Danielle Esquivel, who graciously checked and corrected my usage of French. Any remaining errors are mine alone. I thank you for your generous help and for your friendship over the years. What a treasure it is!

  To the real lives that inspired many of the people and events in this story: General Pershing, Major Charles Whittlesey, Sergeant Alvin York, Colonel Hayward, and Lieutenant James Reese Europe, to name a few. Also from my research: the officers who took tea at a table amidst rubble. Couples who met and wed within days or less, on the brink of shipping out. The soldier who marched a whole line of Germans, unarmed, into captivity. The composer whose musical ability equipped him to hear and identify the direction of incoming artillery more quickly than others. Ernest B., whose pocket-sized volume of soldier’s prayers inspired George’s prayers. The men of the preparedness movement, who gave of their own time and money to train at Plattsburgh long before America entered the war.

  To the real places depicted or echoed in fictional versions, particularly Épermay’s (fictional) location, so similar to the (real) town of Épernay. Beaulieu-en-Coteau is based loosely on the village of Fleury, the “village mort pour la France” (“village that died for France”).

  The ceremony in the prologue, depicting the choosing of the soldier for the tomb, did happen as described.

  And now . . . a sincere note on the shadowed forces Matthew and Mira each faced. War can bring unthinkable things. I deliberated long and hard over Mira’s circumstances brought upon her by the stranger in the woods. My hope is that it has not been treated here as a mere story element. It’s sobering that such attacks were heartbreakingly frequent during the war. But beyond the staggering statistics lies the hearts of the women who were so real and so deserving of the utmost care. In including echoes of that here, I deeply hope it holds their stories with even a little of that care they deserved. I’ve sought out voices who have shared their own experiences in this realm, hoping that by listening to what they have shared, their hard-won hope might also be present in this story. If this is your story, too . . . may I offer my prayers? Coming before the God whose heart rends over every mistreatment, every tear. May the aching places be gathered up, held close, defended, and cherished.

  In similar manner, it is my very deep prayer that the effects of war upon body and mind—“shell shock,” as they called it back then—are handled in these pages with respect and care. Matthew is the primary character who takes us a little into the world of what we now know as PTSD, and Jasper to some degree as well. To those who have experienced PTSD or have loved ones who have, please know that any small reflection of this reality in this book was included in hopes of holding this experience with care and respect, and never to exploit it for story’s sake. Your very real sacrifices have been deep and lasting, perhaps more than we will ever know. For what you have given, I offer you my very deepest thanks and prayers.

  And finally, to my Lord. The day I finished this book’s nearly final read-through was the day I sat, heart entirely spent from the story, and heard a song on the radio speak of your pursuing, rescuing love. Sending out an army, rescuing from darkest night. How the tears spilled. How thankful I am . . . for your rescue, for your pursuing, rescuing love. Thank you, for owning the night—and for the light you infuse into it, too.

  Amanda Dykes is the winner of the prestigious 2020 Christy Award Book of the Year, a Booklist 2019 Top Ten Romance debut, and the winner of an INSPY award for her debut novel, Whose Waves These Are. Her second novel, Set the Stars Alight, was recognized as a Historical Novels Review Editors’ Choice and received a Library Journal starred review. A former English teacher, Amanda is a drinker of tea, dweller of redemption, and spinner of hope-filled tales who spends most days chasing wonder and words with her family. Find her online at www.amandadykes.com.

  Instagram: Bethany House Fiction

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Praise for Amanda Dykes

  Half Title Page

  Books by Amanda Dykes

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Contents

  Map of France

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  1. Matthew Petticrew

  2.

  3. Mira

  4. Captain Jasper Truett

  5. George Piccadilly

  6. Mira

  7. Matthew

  8. Henry Mueller

  9. Captain Jasper Truett

  10. Matthew

  11. Mira

  12. Chaplain George Piccadilly

  13. Matthew

  14. Captain Jasper Truett

  15. Mira

  16. Matthew

  17.

  18. Mira

  19. Matthew

  20.

  21. Mira

  22. Henry

  23. Matthew

  24. George

  25. Mira

  26. Matthew

  27. Captain Jasper Truett

  28. Mira

  29. Henry

  3
0. Mira

  31. George

  32. Matthew

  33. Henry

  34. Mira

  35. Matthew

  36. George

  37. Mira

  38. Matthew

  39. Henry

  40. Captain Jasper Truett

  41. Matthew

  42. Mira

  43. Henry

  44. Mira

  45.

  46. Captain Jasper Truett

  47. Matthew

  48. George

  49. Mira

  Epilogue: Matthew

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Ads

  Back Cover

  List of Pages

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