Dr. Ximena Lockhart - Belief

[Vicki]

In the last book, I personally find myself very skeptical of Dr. Lockhart's acceptance of the existance of the supernatural and willingness to still marry Sir Adam Sinclair after the kidnapping experience. Even if it had not involved the supernatural, I would think it would be very, very natural for her want to postpone the wedding and perhaps go back to her family in San Francisco, for nothing else, if to get away from the site where such horrendous, traumatic events have so shaken her. When you bring in the supernatural, I find it very hard to accept that Dr. Lockhart would react in any way but disbelief and the feeling that they are all crazed foreigners and  that such things simply don't happen in the real world of the United States.

Personally, once I got back to San Francisco, I would be determined never again to leave American soil and bitterly hate all aliens and foreigners becoming so xenophobic as to become a supporter of George Bush as protection against anything that is not 110% pure, red-blooded, true-blue American. Seems to me that as Dr. Lockhart is an MD, she was trained to be a scientist, and that anything that could not be measured, touched, felt, heard, smelled and seen did not exist and steeped in that reality. I'm a chemist and while I love reading fantasy, if anything of this sort intruded on my real world, I would probably lose my mind to the point of even voting for Bush in 2008.

[Braniana]

I'm not sure exactly where you're coming from with the comments on foreigners, but here's a few thoughts of mine.

If all Ximena knew of the supernatural was what she witnessed during the rescue, I'd agree that delay/doubts might be expected.  But she knew there was something different about Adam early on, from the car attack, and she was exposed the the Hand of Glory and the search efforts of Adam's associates.
And though she may not have always known the full depths of Adam and his abilities, she clearly liked him enough as a person to be willing to pursue a long-distance relationship with him even through her father's illness.  While I may not be an expert on relationships, I do know that loving someone means accepting them for who and what they are and not trying to remake them into what I want.  And though I'm also not a scientist, or so inclined, I imagine that Ximena would recognize that there are somethings in life that can't be rationally explained, and must be taken on faith.

[duck]

i seem to recall that a lot of the development of the Adam / Ximena relationship takes place off camera over a couple of years. all we really see in the books are the exciting and/or naughty bits, like going to Newcastle for a quick bonk.  one might suspect that Adam must have been doing some fairly serious spadework to prepare Ximena in anticipation for when he finally does unveil his esoteric bits.  and if other potential cogent arguments fail to pass muster there is the final argument "well she is from California" which surely would explain everything. 

the topic may well be explored further as the editors of the Mearan Sunday Herald have discovered a really advanced advance copy of the next (unwritten) Adept book provisionally titled "Divorce of an Adept"  the three Adept wives: Jane, Ximena and Julia are the central focus of this story as it follows the events over an evening they spend together after Noel, Adam and Peregrine have disappeared off into the moors.  as they drink champagne the three wives discuss the humourous and tragic aspects of their respectie marriages and more than one of them, can't say who, begin to question whether they should stay married.  meanwhile the Adept Gang find themselves chasing a ghostly apparition bearing a striking resemblance to Richard Hannay across the moors and they begin to unravel the mystery of the 39 Schlepps...   

[derynifanatic64]

I believe that Ximena loved Adam enough to marry him despite the dangers of the supernatural world that she encountered.  Her educational background apparently made it easier for her to accept that there are things/forces? out there that don't conform to normal conventions of existence.