A Flower for the Queen: A Historical Novel (35 page)

But his legacy is not limited to items that can be found in dusty archives. After all, he went to the ends of the earth so that we can now find the most exquisite treasures in our own gardens or at the counter of a local fishmonger’s.

He also left us to imagine what his own dreams might have been as he was discovering new worlds and making history. But above all, he left us to wonder what part of a man’s life is most precious when that life has become a legend, when the journey has gone from ordinary to extraordinary. He left us to remember that, of all the battles and all the prizes won, the only one worth dying for is so ordinary and yet so elusive, one that can be lost and won in a heartbeat: love.