Tag Archives: Regency Romance

First Kiss Friday with Matilda and Charles

07 Friday May 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Welcome, dearest readers, to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my dear friend Jude Knight who will be sharing an excerpt from Melting Matilda. In this excerpt, the kiss is the first one in this book. They had another kiss a year before, and it haunts them. You’ll have to read the book to find out more. 

Excerpt:

He had dressed with enormous care, driving his valet demented by changing his mind three times about his waistcoat, rejecting six cravats before settling on the seventh, and hesitating for twenty minutes on his choice of fobs. The valet would probably slit his wrists in despair if he could see how Charles had set his hair in disarray by running his fingers through it, and ruined the hard-won perfection of the cravat by tugging it further open because he felt it choking him.

Then the door opened. Matilda entered the room and he lost his breath again. She was magnificent in a violet gown that hugged her curves before sweeping out into a deceptively simple skirt that avoided fashionable ruffles in favor of more subtle stitching that added detail without fuss. The neckline was low enough to rivet his attention while still high enough to be demure by the current standards. She wore pearls at her neck, her wrists, dangling from her ears and glowing in her dark hair, and the blue eyes he met when he wrenched his attention from the snowy skin displayed by her décolletage had taken on a violet cast from the gown.

He gazed, losing track of time and space, until she said his name. “Charles?”

“I had a speech.” His voice croaked, and he swallowed. “I do not remember a word.”

With one hand, index finger outstretched, he traced an inch or so away from her face. “Why did I try so hard to resist you, you beautiful woman?”

It was the wrong thing to say. Her nostrils flared. “Because I am the base-born daughter of a harlot.”

“I cannot remember why I thought that important,” he confessed. “You are the beloved sister of the next Duke of Haverford, the ward of the current duchess, and a lady of impeccable education, training and manners. That is not why I love you, though.”

Her eyes softened. “You love me?”

“That was part of the speech. It is the only bit I remember. I look into your eyes, and I forget my own name.”

“Why?” Matilda asked.

“Why do I forget? No? Why now?” She colored, and he realized what she was asking. “Why do I love you? How can I explain something that has grown in my heart without my knowledge, even against my will?” He took both of her hands, and suddenly the words began to flow.

“I have been attracted to you since the first time we danced, but that is desire, and desire is a part of love but not the whole. I do desire you, my love, more and more each day, but I also admire you, I like being with you, I enjoy talking to you, I respect you. I want to see you every morning when I wake, to spend my days with you, to have the right to dance the first waltz with you at every ball, and to go home with you every night. I want to see your belly rounded with our child, and watch you as you gently teach them the way I’ve seen you teach your little sister. I want you and only you as my countess and the mother of my children. I want to grow old with you, Matilda Grenford.”

He dropped to one knee. “Miss Grenford, I esteem you with all my heart. Will you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

He waited, his anxiety rising as she said nothing, despair taking over as tears rose and began to leak from her pansy eyes. Then she began to nod as she slipped to her own knees and reached out for him. “Yes. Oh, yes. Charles, I love you, too.”

For more than a year, Charles had kept to himself the fact that the Haverford Ice Princess kissed like a flame. As he abandoned his own granite facade for once and for all, he rejoiced in her heat. This time was even better than the last, and the best was yet to come. Though perhaps not here in a family parlor where her brother or sisters could walk in at any time.

“I hope you do not want a long betrothal,” he whispered, between kisses.

She broke off her attempt to completely unravel his cravat. “Not long,” she agreed.

Her fervent answer demanded that he kiss her again, losing himself so deep he didn’t know they were no longer alone until a voice behind him said, “I trust you are betrothed to my sister, Hamner, for it would be most inconvenient to start the evening’s celebrations by killing you.”

Melting Matilda
By Jude Knight
Release Date: March 23rd

Can the Ice Maiden soften the Granite Earl?

Her scandalous birth prevents Matilda Grenford from being fully acceptable to Society, even though she has been a ward of the Duchess of Haverford since she was a few weeks old. Matilda does not expect to be wooed by a worthy gentleman. The only man who has ever interested her gave her an outrageous kiss a year ago and has avoided her ever since.

Can the Granite Earl melt the Ice Maiden?

Charles, the Earl of Hamner is honour bound to ignore his attraction to Matilda Grenford. She is an innocent and a lady, and in every way worthy of his respect—but she is base-born. His ancestors would rise screaming from their graves if he made her his countess. But he cannot forget the kiss they once shared.

Melting Matilda is a novella in the series The Return of the Mountain King. Chronologically and by publication order, it comes after To Mend the Broken-Hearted, published in March, and before To Claim the Long-Lost Lover, available in July.

To preorder Melting Matilda before the publication date, 23rd March, go to https://books2read.com/MeltingMatilda

Note. Melting Matilda was first published in Fire & Frost, a Bluestocking Belles collection.

About Jude Knight

Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was Jude ten years ago.

For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to be a novelist. She even started dozens of stories, over the years. 

But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, her own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat.

As the years passed, the fear grew. If she didn’t put her stories out there in the market, she wouldn’t risk making a fool of herself. She could keep the dream alive if she never put it to the test.

Then her mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of Jude’s, and now it would never happen.

So Jude faced her fear and changed it–told everyone she knew she was writing a novel. Now she’d make a fool of herself for certain if she didn’t finish.

Her first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, she plans to keep publishing until she runs out of years.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

Subscribe to newsletter: http://judeknightauthor.com/newsletter/

Bookshop: https://judeknight.selz.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudeKnightAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/jknight1033/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jude-knight

First Kiss Friday with Grace Burrowes

30 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

It’s another First Kiss Friday and today it’s my pleasure to welcome the fabulous Grace Burrowes to my blog. Grace is sharing the first kiss scene from her novella A Kiss By The Sea currently in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter. Enjoy this first kiss scene, my lovelies, and happy reading!

Excerpt:

He fell silent, and Sarah found she had no need to chatter. A glow on the horizon of the vast silvery sea to the east presaged an imminent moonrise.

The conversation with Mr. Penn had been extraordinary. No talk of the weather. No malicious gossip about other women. No speculation about who would offer for whom. The whole day, from Mrs. Peabody’s odd friendliness and scrumptious shepherds’ pie, to the hum and bustle of the village, to the sight of Mr. Penn without his shirt, had been a revelation.

Proof that life—and good life—existed outside of Mayfair, beyond Uncle’s lectures, out past Miss Framington’s hypocritical sermons. People lived and loved without consulting Debrett’s or etiquette manuals. They had things to do besides fittings, at homes, and calls. They cared for one another without a thought for who had large settlements or a large bosom.

The relief—the vindication—Fenwick on Sea had provided in the space of a day was as immense as the ocean.

And Mr. Penn was part of that vindication. He’d been naked before her from the waist up, and hadn’t turned the moment scandalous. He was sitting alone with her in the dark, and his hands weren’t wandering. He had commendedher on breaking her engagement, and he had done her the precious courtesy of listening to her.

The first sliver of golden light broke the horizon gilding the waves and whitecaps.

“I have not watched a moonrise in too long,” Mr. Penn said, “much less in such congenial company. I hope you’ll tarry a while in Fenwick, Mrs. Winston.”

“My maternal grandmother was Mrs. Winston. My given name is Sarah, and I am nobody’s missus, thank heavens.”

Another slight pause followed. Perhaps Mr. Penn was allowing Sarah a moment to give him the rest of her name, or perhaps she had shocked him.

“The locals know me as Thaddeus Penn, but my full name is Thaddeus Pennrith—at your service.” He added that last with an ironic smile.

She did not say, Your secret is safe with me, because he had to know that, just as she knew he would not spread her confidences in the high street. His name sounded vaguely familiar—Sarah had studied Debrett’s thoroughly before making her come-out—but the details refused to come to her.

The moon drifted higher until it cleared the horizon, casting silver beams on the flooded marshes as well as the endless sea. Night birds sang and, in the distance, the roar and retreat of the surf confirmed—as if the whole day had not—that Sarah was blessedly far from London.

“If I don’t seek my bed now,” Mr. Penn said—Mr. Pennrith, “I will fall asleep out here. Tomorrow promises to be hectic, so I’ll bid you good night.”

He rose and stretched, a great beast of a man with more manners and consideration than all the honorables in Mayfair combined.

“Sleep well, Mr. Pennrith.”

He remained at the balustrade, the moonshine putting highlights in his dark hair. “Thaddeus.”

“Sleep well, Thaddeus.”

He turned to regard her. “Are you glad you left London?”

“I am now. Talking to you helped me sort that out. The night air is a bit cool, isn’t it?” She made to rise and found his hand extended to her. Because the chair was low and she needed to keep her shawl about her, she accepted his assistance.

He kept her hand in his. “I am glad you’ve found your way here, and welcome to Fenwick, Sarah.”

She realized he was asking some sort of permission or offering an invitation. Whatever he was about, it had nothing to do with getting under her skirts and everything to do with genuine welcome.

“Sweet dreams,” she said, going up on her toes to brush a kiss to his cheek. “And thank you for the moonrise.”

A Kiss by the Sea: By Grace Burrowes

He’s not really a blacksmith, and she’s not really an heiress… Can they forge a happily-ever-after anyway?

Thaddeus Pennrith finds a way to recover from multiple griefs when he accepts the blacksmith’s post at Fenwick on Sea. Village life gives him a sense of belonging that Polite Society never could, though he must resume his aristocratic responsibilities soon. Along comes Lady Sarah Weatherby, refugee from an engagement gone badly awry, and Thaddeus is faced with both a compelling reason to reveal his titled antecedents, and a longing to keep them forever hidden….

Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection With Friends Blurb:

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

Buy Links: 

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

About the Author:

Grace Burrowes believes in love, and believes that writing happily evers after is the best job on the planet. She’s a recovering foster care attorney, and USA Today and NYT bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at graceburrowes.com.Grace is also on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/grace-burrowes

First Kiss Friday with Mary Lancaster

23 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

It’s a pleasure to welcome my guest Mary Lancaster to my First Kiss Friday Blog. We’ve been celebrating the success of our box set Storm & Shelter and Mary has her first kiss scene to share with you today. Enjoy this excerpt from Mary’s novella An Improbably Hero. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

She could only pad forlornly back to her own makeshift couch, where she lay listening to his breathing which sounded quite peaceful and even, as though he had gone straight back to sleep. 

Only, she was sure he hadn’t. 

A few minutes later, he proved her right by slipping from the bed. She heard the creak of the mattress, a rustle of cloth and the soft thud of feet on the floor. A black shadow moved through the darkness toward the door.

Instinctively, she leapt after him, bumping into the chest of drawers in her hurry. “Wait! Where are you going?” She tripped over something, possibly her own too-long chemise, and seized hold of him at the same moment as his arm swept around her waist to steady her. There seemed to be a bundle of clothing between them, held in his free hand.

“It seems I am not cut out for marriage,” he said sardonically. “I would rather sleep alone.”

“Where?” she demanded.

He shrugged. “In the parlor, or the tap room, I don’t much care.”

“But they will say we have had a quarrel and gossip. Think of the Tattler…”

“I would really rather not.”

“Actually, I don’t care about that at the moment either,” she admitted, “I am trying to persuade you to stay.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Actually, she didn’t know. “Because there is no need…it’s comfortab— You don’t need to run away from me. I am your friend.”

It was too dark to see his expression but she was sure she had taken him by surprise.

“Friend,” he repeated with derision. “And what do you think a friend should do in this situation? Whatever you imagine this situation to be.”

The grip of his arm had altered subtly. She was only too aware of its heat and strength, the intimate touch of his fingers at her waist. “Give you comfort,” she blurted, because she knew that was what he needed even if he would neither admit or accept it. 

A breath that might have been laughter stirred her hair. “Oh, I hoped you would say that. And what would you do to comfort me?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Well, I can help there.” 

The clothes between them slipped to the floor as he changed position. She gasped as his fingers slipped up her throat, sending wild, delicious shivers the length of her spine. Before she could grasp what any of it meant, he took hold of her chin and his mouth found hers.

Too shocked to move, she let it happen. And by the time she realized the danger, her lips were parted and trembling under his, and her whole body thrilled to the novelty. The enveloping darkness felt curiously hot.

“What a sweet distraction,” he whispered against her mouth as he swept her closer. He seemed to be wearing only his shirt, flapping loosely over unbuttoned breeches, and the intimacy overwhelmed her. She flung up one hand to clutch the shirt at his back, to steady herself as much as to pull him away, but somehow her hand tangled in the linen and she touched hot, velvet skin.

Distraction indeed. Her hand flattened over smoothness and ridges and undulating muscle, and the world tilted as he lifted her in his arms and strode to the bed. 

As he laid her down with dizzying speed, his mouth left hers at last. An inarticulate sound of protest escaped her. The exciting heat of his body had gone, though one of his hands gripped her shoulder, then stroked gently across her collar bone to her throat.

His breath tickled her ear, sparking a slew of fresh sensation. “You are a sweet girl and a heady distraction. But perhaps I am not yet quite lost. You sleep in the bed.”

An Improbable Hero by Mary Lancaster

A runaway heiress, a mysterious stranger.

When Letty’s ship founders in a violent storm, she forges a rare bond with her rescuer.

Simon is a troubled man on a final, deadly mission—until the spirited yet soothing Letty makes him question everything. Hiding in plain sight among the refugees at The Queen’s Barque, Simon is more than capable of protecting them both. But when the floods recede, can either of them say goodbye?

Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection With Friends Blurb:

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

Buy Links: 

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

About the author:

Mary Lancaster lives in Scotland with her husband, three mostly grown-up kids and a small, crazy dog. 

Her first literary love was historical fiction, a genre which she relishes mixing up with romance and adventure in her own writing. Several of her novels feature actual historical characters as diverse as Hungarian revolutionaries, medieval English outlaws, and a family of eternally rebellious royal Scots. To say nothing of Vlad the Impaler.

Her most recent books are light fun Regency romances.

Media Links: 

Website: http://www.MaryLancaster.com

Newsletter sign-up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/e2p7c6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.lancaster.1656

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MaryLancasterNovelist/

Twitter: @MaryLancNovels  https://twitter.com/MaryLancNovels

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Lancaster/e/B00DJ5IACI

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mary-lancaster

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing & a Contest!

16 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday, New Release

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Hello to all my wonderful readers and thanks for dropping by my First Kiss Friday blog! Today I’m hosting… well… myself and Before I Found You: A de Courtenay Novella (Book Three) in our just released set Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends box set. Miss Miranda de Courtenay has had quite the journey and she’s come a long way from when she was first introduced in A Kiss For Charity. I hope you enjoy this first kiss scene and don’t forget about the Belles’ contest to find the dastardly reporter who’s hanging out at The Queen’s Barque Inn at Fenwick On Sea (see more below)! Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

After she had seen Grace earlier, Miranda had watched from the upper window of her bedroom overlooking the courtyard as Jasper and Nicholas left on their horses. Even remembering Jasper when he mounted that horse caused Miranda’s heart to flutter in her chest. Both men had discarded their cravats but Miranda’s gaze was focused only on one. Her eyes had wandered down to the brief glimpse of blond hair at the opening of Jasper’s shirt. Fingers tingling, she reached out to the glass pane window as though she could really feel his chest. She closed her eyes briefly as she imagined the texture of his skin. When she opened them again, their eyes met and his smile was truly wicked.

Miranda had jumped back from the window as though burned. How could Jasper be even more handsome in broad daylight than he had been in the candlelight at the ball?

Which, of course, was why she was standing here in the cold waiting for him to leave the manor. She blew air into her icy hands and was just about to give up on this idiotic notion when the door opened. Jasper began putting on his gloves and Miranda heard the distant sound of his horse being brought around from the stables.

Knowing she only had a moment to spare, she rushed from her hiding space around the corner of the house. “Jasper,” she exclaimed, loud enough to get his attention.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled before heading in her direction. Miranda drank in the sight of him. He was properly attired once more. She almost preferred seeing him at his leisure instead of the proper gentleman closing the distance between them.

“Miranda,” he said, in that unnerving French accent that caused her blood to race in her veins. He gave her a bow. “Whatever are you doing outside in the cold, ma chérie?” He took off his jacket and placed the garment around her shoulders. Such a kindness was going to be her undoing, especially when that lock of unruly hair once more fell rakishly across his brow.

The impulse was too great for her to ignore. Reaching up, she moved the hair from his forehead, and he captured her trembling fingers in his warm hands. Keeping his eyes fixated on her own, he bent forward and kissed the inside of her wrist. Dear Lord… her knees almost buckled when his lips connected with her feverish skin.

“Miranda?”

“Yes?” She continued staring up at his face as if to commit every inch to her memory so she would never forget him. From his green eyes to the dark shadow of stubble roughing his square jaw line, she couldn’t take her eyes from him. He was just as fascinating today as last evening and perhaps even more so, in a rugged kind of a way.

“Why are you outside?” he chuckled in amusement as though he had known where her thoughts had gone.

She at last remembered herself and backed up a step. He, in turn, stepped forward and continued to do so until they were out of sight of the front of the manor. It wasn’t until she felt the brick wall upon her back that she realized she had nowhere else to turn.

“I had to see you one last time,” she murmured in a breathy whisper. She leaned her head back just so she could once more stare into his eyes.

“I’m certain our paths will cross often, Miranda, at least when I’m on shore,” he said, coming so close she could feel the very heat of him radiating from his body. She almost moaned but as she placed her hands upon his muscular chest, instead a gasp escaped her. Her action was meant to halt him from coming any closer but it had the opposite effect when he pulled her into his arms.

“I don’t see how that will be possible,” she managed to say, while attempting to hold him off. Her pulse quickened and every fiber of her being craved to be held in his arms forever more. She must remember her goal, and Jasper could never fit into her plans.

“Anything is possible, Miranda. We just need to have a little patience. Time will eventually be on our side. I won’t always be at sea.” He ran a finger down her cheek, causing her to shiver in pleasure.

“It’s not about time, Jasper, because all the time in the world won’t change anything.”

He bent forward until his forehead touched her own. “I know we have only just met but, for whatever the reason, I feel drawn to you. Was I mistaken that you feel the same way?”

Her breath caught in her throat to hear his words. “No,” she said honestly. “You weren’t mistaken.”

He cupped her face so she had no choice than to give him her undivided attention. “Then, hopefully, you’ll forgive me if I do something I’ve been craving to do since last night.”

She gulped. Oh no… please don’t let him kiss me. “What’s that?” she asked instead, even though she knew what was coming.

“This…”

His lips gently slid across her own as if testing to see if she would accept the gift of his kiss. She should have pulled away but how could she deny what she herself wanted just as badly? She tilted her head to give him full access to her mouth and, when his tongue slipped inside, Miranda was completely lost. Shivers of delight swept across her entire body until she found herself wrapped in Jasper’s arms. Her hands made their way up into his hair and her fingers tangled into the soft length. He deepened their kiss without any protest from Miranda until she thought her feet would never again touch the ground.

How long their mouths danced with one another, she could not say. For one brief instant, Miranda never wanted the kiss to end. She never wanted to leave Jasper’s arms or his life. But when a soft moan escaped from her lips, the reality of what this man did to her finally penetrated her numb mind. She broke off their kiss and yet their mouths lingered near as their breaths mingled together. She may want him, but he could never offer her the life of her dreams.

WHO IS THE SNOOPING REPORTER?

As told in Storm & Shelter in eight original novellas, refugees—the injured, the devious, and the lonely, lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all sheltered at the Queen’s Barque Inn. Now concern is buzzing in Fenwick on Sea and across these United Kingdoms, as scurrilous gossip about the goings on during the recent storm spread through the reports in that scandal rag, The Teatime Tattler. Who is the snoop?

YOU CAN HELP

Correctly identify the reporter and be entered to win a $100 gift card and other great prizes. There are details and instructions for entering here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/storm-shelter/wanted-the-snooping-teatime-tattler-reporter/

CLUES

There are clues in every story in Storm & Shelter. Find more clues by following on to each stop in our Snooping Reporter Blog Hop. You may even find a giveaway on each stop so be sure to comment. You can find the first stop again here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/storm-shelter/wanted-the-snooping-teatime-tattler-reporter/

ABOUT THE BOOK ~ Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE SET: Before I Found You, A de Courtenay Novella By Sherry Ewing

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Missto My Lady. But when a handsome stranger crosses her path at a Valentine’s Day ball, her obsession with titles dims. Might love be enough?

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball. He has a new ship to run, passengers to book, and cargo to deliver. But one look into a young lady’s beautiful hazel eyes, and he becomes lost. Does love at first sight really exist?

Their paths continue to cross until they are both stranded in Fenwick on Sea. Their growing connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s childish quest for a title at all cost. But what if the cost includes love?

Today the price for the boxset is only $0.99 but it goes up to the normal price on April 20th. Grab yours at the sale price while you still can!

Buy Links for Storm & Shelter:

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

A young lady’s reputation is at risk again!

13 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by in New Release, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Elsie carefully balanced the tea service on the tray she carried up the stairs at The Queen’s Barque Inn. She had almost reached the top when the owner’s dog came bounding up behind her barking at her heels begging for attention.

“Not now, Hector,” Elsie said while the dog pranced around her feet. “Can’t you see that I’m busy?” The dog seemed to understand and took off for another part of the inn.

Busy! Busy didn’t even begin to describe what Elsie had been reduced to! She was a lady’s maid and not meant for the duties in the scullery, for goodness sake! But once they had arrived at the inn, Elsie had been overrun with chores after Miss Miranda de Courtenay had offered Elsie’s services. Mr. and Mrs. Brewster, who were the owners of the inn, had been more than grateful to have an extra set of hands to help with their overflowing guests who had also become stranded at the inn due to a storm.

It had taken Elsie a while to get accustomed to where everything was located since the inn was a labyrinth of confusing corridors connecting the entire inn and mismatched rooms with décor from every century of past years. You would have thought the builders would have put more planning into its construction but it appeared as though they added onto it over the years as the owners saw fit. And the cleaning! Why some rooms were so worn down they surely hadn’t seen a proper cleaning in years. Only the mice, rats, and spiders seemed to enjoy these rooms and obviously were not happy their messy domain had been ruined by busy maids.

Some rooms had been converted for the injured and Elsie had been reduced to collecting soiled bandages and used bedding to be laundered. She’d mopped and swept floors until she felt that she’d never stop sneezing from the accumulated dust that reached her nose. Finally, after a hot bath, she was now properly dressed and ready to take tea to Miss Miranda. Perhaps afterwards, she might be able to just go back to her room in the servant’s quarters and nap.

She continued down the second-floor corridor until she saw Charlotte Brewster, one of the owner’s daughters, peering down into one of the more presentable parlors of the Queen’s Barque Inn. At Elsie’s approached, Charlotte silently placed one finger over her mouth and nodded down. Elsie quietly stepped forward to view the scene. One elegantly dressed gentleman sat with two ladies who leaned forward and giggled in delight while he opened a newsprint and began to read.

Gentle Readers:

This just in from The Queen’s Barque in Fenwick on Sea!

Who was the fashionable damsel who entered the inn looking like a drenched field mouse, with no one else to give her countenance but her maid? None other but Miss d.C. Dedicated readers of The Teatime Tattler will be familiar with the escapades of this particular young miss. She has been a frequent piece of tittle-tattle in previous editions, barely escaped ruination in the past several years. There’s sure to be a bit of excitement while she’s stuck here.

Which of the several eligible peers also stranded at the inn will she set her cap on? We’ll just have to wait and see. Knowing her past, anything is possible. Stay tuned for further developments.

An anonymous reporter
for The Teatime Tattler

The gentleman finished and the ladies laughter echoed throughout the parlor. The tea service rattled in Elsie’s hand and when the group below began to look around, Charlotte quickly took Elsie’s elbow so they remained unseen by the nearby wall. Charlotte took the tray from Elsie while she attempted to catch her breath.

“Good heavens! How in the world did that rag learn Miss Miranda was here?” Elsie asked.

“The gentry aren’t the only ones who’ve been spreading the latest bit of gossip. My mum has had to reprimand more than one servant daily to keep their mouths shut whenever that newspaper gets delivered,” Charlotte said with a grimace. “You best make your way to your mistress without delay. She needs to learn that a reporter has somehow learned she’s in Fenwick on Sea.”

“It won’t be the first time her reputation has suffered because of gossip, but it hardly seems fair when this time all she’s doing is going to visit a friend,” Elise said with a frown before she realized she was telling a complete stranger Miss Miranda’s business. Elsie’s eyes widened with worry.

Charlotte gave her a small smile. “I understand,” she whispered before handing the tray back to Elsie. “I must be about the chores my mum has given me but know I won’t say a word about what we overheard.”

“Thank you,” Elsie nodded in gratitude hoping the young girl would be true to her word.

Charlotte left and Elsie took a deep breath before heading toward Miss Miranda’s room. She hesitated but an instant before she gave a short knock. At the call to enter, Elsie opened the door to view Miss Miranda sitting quietly reading a book. Elsie’s expression must have said much for Miss Miranda put the book down in her lap.

“What’s happened now?” she asked as though prepared for the worst.

Elsie placed the tray on a table then poured Miss Miranda a cup of tea, not that tea would actually calm the young lady after she learned she was once again the topic of the latest gossip. “I have news…”

WHO IS THE SNOOPING REPORTER?

As told in Storm & Shelter in eight original novellas, refugees—the injured, the devious, and the lonely, lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all sheltered at the Queen’s Barque Inn. Now concern is buzzing in Fenwick on Sea and across these United Kingdoms, as scurrilous gossip about the goings on during the recent storm spread through the reports in that scandal rag, The Teatime Tattler. Who is the snoop?

YOU CAN HELP

Correctly identify the reporter and be entered to win a $100 gift card and other great prizes. There are details and instructions for entering here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/…/wanted-the-snooping…/

CLUES

There are clues in every story in Storm & Shelter. Find more clues by following on to each stop in our Snooping Reporter Blog Hop. The next stop is https://alinakfield.com/storm-shelter-release-day-blog-hop/

ABOUT THE BOOK ~ Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE SET: Before I Found You, A de Courtenay Novella By Sherry Ewing

A quest for a title. An encounter with a stranger. Will she choose love?

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Miss to My Lady.

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball.

Their connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s quest for a title at all cost. What if the cost includes love?

Buy Links:

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

A GIVEAWAY FOR THIS STOP!

To be in the running for an eCopy of either A Kiss For Charity or The Earl Takes A Wife (Books 1 & 2 of my De Courtenay series) comment below and tell me: What are you looking forward to the most when we return to our new normal? I’ll generate a random winner Sunday, April 18th.

Good luck and don’t forget to continue on to the next stop on our blog hop at Alina K. Field’s blog here: https://alinakfield.com/storm-shelter-release-day-blog-hop/

First Kiss Friday with Rue Allyn

02 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday Blog. Today’s guest is fellow Bluestocking Belle Rue Allyn who has an excerpt from her novella Wait for Me in the Belles’ boxset Storm & Shelter. The set releases April 13th. The paperback is now available and the eBook is currently up for a special preorder price of only $0.99. Grab your copy quick before the price goes up after release date. Enjoy this excerpt from Rue’s novella. Happy reading, my lovelies.

Excerpt:

An unidentifiable racket interrupted, but she could not look away. Then an unseen force pushed her in Gilroy’s direction. His arms closed about her as a storm of activity surrounded them.

“Ooof.”

Eyes wide she tilted her head and stared past his shoulder. At full speed, Hector, the dog from the inn fled out the open church door with a stream of boys trailing after him. She straightened and found herself smiling into Brandon’s face. He smiled back.

She could not have said how the kiss happened, or who broke away first. She found herself with her back against the wall, fingers to her mouth astonished at the sensations the brief meeting of lips caused.

Gilroy seemed equally surprised. He did an about face and fled, moving as if Napoleon’s entire army were on his heels.

What in the world? Her lips still tingled and confusion swirled below her stomach. In front of her, the register stood forgotten. She’d never experienced anything like that. She’d kissed men before but had never wished the activity had gone on for hours.

About Wait for Me:  Esmeralda Crobbin, aka the pirate Irish Red, and Captain, Lord Brandon Gilroy were enemies by nature who first met during a battle at sea. But fate trumps nature when a fierce storm creates a chance encounter and forced proximity. Brandon learns the pirate is a woman of serious honor and responsibility. Esmeralda discovers the captain is more than a uniform stuffed with rules and regulations. Both love the sea with boundless passion, but can they love each other?

About Storm & Shelter: When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel. One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

Storm & Shelter is available for Pre-order now for only $0.99 until release day, April 13, 2021 when the price goes up.

About Rue Allyn: Award winning author, Rue Allyn, learned story telling at her grandfather’s knee. (Well it was really more like on his knee—I was two.) She’s been weaving her own tales ever since. She has worked as an instructor, mother, sailor, clerk, sales associate, and painter, along with a variety of other types of employment. She has lived and traveled in places all over the globe from Keflavik Iceland (I did not care much for the long nights of winter.) and Fairbanks Alaska to Panama City and the streets of London England to a large number of places in between. Now that her two sons have left the nest, Rue and her husband of more than four decades (Try living with the same person for more than forty years—that’s a true adventure.) have retired and moved south.  When not writing, enjoying the nearby beach or working jigsaw puzzles, Rue travels the world and surfs the internet in search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting romance. She loves to hear from readers, and you may contact her at Rue@RueAllyn.com.  She can’t wait to hear from you.

Find Rue Online: 

Website~~https://RueAllyn.com

Blog~~ https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/

Facebook~~https://www.facebook.com/RueAllynAuthor

Twitter~~https://twitter.com/RueAllyn

Amazon~~https://www.amazon.com/Rue-Allyn/e/B00AUBF3NI/

Goodreads~~https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5031290.Rue_Allyn

Pinterest~~https://www.pinterest.com/RueAllyn/

Keep up with all the news about Rue Allyn and deals for her books, Sign up for Rue’s News quarterly newsletter here, and receive a free download.

First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

26 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is Caroline Warfield who will be sharing an excerpt from her novella The Tender Flood found in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter. The boxset is currently on sale at a special preorder price of only $0.99. Grad your copy before the price increases. Release date is April 13th! Read on and enjoy this excerpt, my lovelies.

In THE TENDER FLOOD a coachman who believes himself beneath an earl’s granddaughter tries to keep his distance. He fails. This is their first kiss.

Excerpt:

“I’ll check the barn one last time. Be ready to go.”

Patience groaned. Her heart fell, forcing her to admit she had hoped for a declaration—of affection of—she refused to think farther than that. She grabbed up the few things she meant to take in a sack, including a jug of milk for Hercules. A sound at the door drew her attention; he had come back and stood holding the door jamb with both hands.

Before she could speak, he crossed the room and pulled her into a crushing embrace, taking her mouth with his until her knees failed and she had only his embrace to rely on.

***

Insanity born of hope. Zach could think of no other explanation for his behavior. When she responded to his kiss with sweet passion, coherent thought eluded him. One dainty hand slid up his neck and into his hair as if to pull him closer. The other clung to his shirt. He pulled his mouth away forcing himself to gentle the kiss, only to nibble the corner of her mouth and kiss his way across her cheek to her ear.

She groaned and followed his lead, the difference in their height, enabling her to kiss his neck just above his collar. An urge to tear his shirt off to give her access shook him, bringing him to his senses. He removed the hand that had somehow migrated to her round little behind and the one around her back anchoring her to him, gripping her by her upper arms instead.

He held her away, but not far, their mouths still inches apart.

“A gentleman would have offered for you first thing this morning, before Banks even arrived. This display of behavior—”

“Are you saying you aren’t a gentleman, Zach?” She wrinkled up her nose, teasing him adorably.

His laugh tasted bitter on his tongue. “I’m no man of leisure, wealth, or title. Isn’t that the definition of a gentleman?”

“If behavior matters, you’re more gentleman than all the social climbing fops who thought to pursue my uncle’s favor by courting me.”

That startled him. It cooled his heated blood like an ice bath. “Is that what happened? Why you aren’t married?”

She nodded shyly, dipping her forehead to his chest. “It was long ago.”

“Fools the lot of them,” he muttered, kissing the top of her head. “Come sit. We need to speak rationally, and I can’t with you this close.”

ABOUT THE TENDER FLOOD

Neither battle nor loss of his leg destroyed Zachery Newell. Working as a coachman, he tries to build a life in spite of his injuries, while he plans for the sort of life he knew in childhood, happy and content above his father’s print shop, but when a woman races out of the storm and into the stable yard of The Queen’s Barque with a wagon full of small boys, puppies, and a bag of books, he is enchanted.

Dismissed by a charity school, Patience Abney struggles on her own to create The Academy for the Formation of Young Gentlemen to give every boy a happy and productive life. Now the roof has caved in. Though she managed to get her boys to the safety of an inn, she has no idea how she will rebuild.

Zach knows Patience, the granddaughter of an earl, is far above the touch of shopkeeper’s son. He tries to keep his distance, but when the two of them make their way across the flooded marsh to her damaged school in search of a missing boy, attraction grows into passion, complicating everything.

ABOUT STORM & SHELTER

Eight Authors, Eight Heartwarming Novellas, One Catastrophic Storm

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award winning author of family centered romance set in the Regency and Victorian eras, Caroline Warfield has been many things, and believes she is now in at least her third act. She works in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire while she nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart. 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Website

Amazon Page

Good Reads

Facebook

Twitter

Newsletter

BookBub

YouTube

First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand

19 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog with fellow Bluestocking Belle Cerise DeLand. Today Cerise is sharing an excerpt from her novella LORD STANTON’S SHOCKING SEASIDE HONEYMOON. This marvelous story is found in the Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter that releases on April 13th. It’s currently on a special preorder sale for only $0.99. Be sure to grab yourself a copy at this reduced price. We hope you enjoy this excerpt and happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

SETTING: March 28, 1815

Townhouse of Russell Downey, the sixth earl of Stanton, the night before his wedding to Miss Josephine Meadows, the daughter of his associate, a merchant with whom he often deals to buy supplies for Wellington’s Army on the Continent.

Stantontook her hand. “Come. I’ve something to show you.” 

Josephine could have sworn his bright blue eyes danced, declaring enticing things.

Up the grand main staircase he led her to the second floor, down the long hall, to stand before a set of double doors.

He opened both wide. “Your suite. Or rather, soon to be.”

She gazed upon a sitting room, big as her bedroom in St. James’s Square. And nearly empty.

“Furnishings are spare. The two Hepplewhite chairs you may change, of course. The floor needs rugs. Come in here.” He led her into the chamber with a door ajar to a smaller room, most likely her boudoir. Here before her stood only a gigantic clothes press and smaller French lingerie chest. But there was no bed.

She swung, her mouth open to ask why not.

“I ordered my housekeeper and butler to prepare a list of items the room needed for you. They did, but I must say I failed to choose anything.”

“You’re busy,” she said in quick excuse for him.

“That’s not it at all.”

“No?” Dare she hope he intended to take her to his bed? Tomorrow night? And all the nights thereafter?

He threw out his arms in frustration. “I did not know what to get for you. What you’d like.”

I’d like to sleep with you.

“I want you to have everything you desire.”

The lump in her throat grew large.

“I want you to choose. You have excellent taste.”

“Do I?” she asked, wistful, charmed and so unaware he had ever noticed any details about her person.

That gave him pause. “I know you do. From the green gowns you favor that turn your eyes to emerald and the pinks that accentuate the blush in your cheeks. You are quite stunning.”

No one had ever called her stunning. “Thank you.”

He looked at a loss, this man who had commanded hundreds, fought his opponents to the death and who now ran the logistics of supplies that would either make or break the Duke of Wellington’s forces against the little Frenchman who would not stay in exile.

She got her wits about her. “I didn’t expect you to go to such expense for me.”

“Money has no place in marriage. Not in anyone’s. Not in ours.”

“I agree. And for this, I am delighted to do it.” She smiled and spun, arms out, in full circle to welcome the joys of her marriage. Then she went with her impulse and took two steps toward him, and on her tip-toes, reached up to kiss his lips. Briefly. Too briefly.

He clutched her upper arms and as she stepped away, cleared his throat. “I want you to be comfortable. And happy, Josephine.”

“As I will work to make you happy, Stanton.”

“You’ll make me delirious if you use my given name.”

She tipped her head to and fro. “I must practice.”

“Say it now, then.”

“Russell.”

He cocked his right brow. “Russ.”

She let her eyes dance. “Russ.”

“I want this for you, my dear. A completely new start. I owe it to you and to myself. Changing whatever relics of the past that now do not apply to our future.”

“I wish to be your loving helpmate.” 

Once more, he reached out to her and this time, stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “As I will be yours. I am determined to be a good and willing partner, Josephine. Tomorrow I repeat words made by man, meant for God and others. To many who say them, hear them, they are useless. A sign, merely, of lawful commingling. A seal of financial union. I swear to you my words bear none of that. None.”

“Nor will mine.” Ever since I first set eyes on you, I have wanted you for my own. Sans title, money, land. 

His sky blue eyes grew stormy with new happiness and old pain. “Hear me, Josephine. Please, as this revelation is new for me. But I will tell you. I do not wish to belabor you with old sorrows but I will have you know this about me. This, which few have ever learned from my lips.” He seized a breath. “My first marriage was no union of like minds or pleasures.”

He had never spoken of his first wife to her and she doubted to her father, either. While the gossip about the late Countess of Stanton was sparse, the lack of information irritated Josephine especially now that she had accepted his proposal of marriage. A woman who valued an abundance of facts in her work, she knew the past would be vital to understand…and just as vital to avoid duplicating. 

He stared at her. “I married my first wife out of duty. Friendship among our families and land that marched beside each other’s led to an expectation that she and I marry to seal the union of affections. From childhood, I never questioned it. Neither did Henrietta.”

Torment sluiced over his brows and he dropped her hands as if they burned him. Josephine swayed toward him, the magnet of his touch, the hurt of his rejection had always drawn her toward him no matter where he strode.

He took up a stance near the mantel, an Adam’s creation of stark white. His severe black dinner attire created a pillar of harsh contrast to the alabaster. His hand to his lips, the swipe of his fingers across his mouth gave her notice that he meant to continue in this dark vein of remembrance. 

“Growing up together we thought we knew each other. Certainly we valued the same things, didn’t we? The same friends. The Berber horses our fathers raised. The hunt. Poetry.” His pause sent a chill up her back and the hair on her arms lifted. “She wanted to marry young and quickly. Her father had died and her older brother had married. She wished to set up her own house. I agreed to that, to everything. I was free. A carefree lad. Randy, actually. And I had the money. Why should I not marry and indulge us both, eh?

“But I did not see that my agreements were one-sided. I wanted the city. She wanted the country. I wanted the work of Parliament and my friends who worked at Whitehall. She wanted the solitude of her dogs and her roses. When I heard the call of the cavalry and the need to defend my country, she did not approve of my decision to join the Hussars. She demanded I return home and give her babies, days of idling in gardens and reading and pulling deadheads from rosebuds.”

He ran a hand through his hair. The thick mass rumpled wildly around his aquiline features. “She ordered me not to join, not to leave her alone in the country. I refused. For the next few months, she ran hither and yon about the country. Without word of her whereabouts, she kept me guessing. She also kept the ton in ripe gossip. She led me a merry chase. When I learned finally that she had returned home to the Hall, I went there and confronted her. She was wild. She bargained with me. She’d stay in one place if I quit the service and came home to her. She required a constant attendance I could not give her. When I refused, she turned…ugly and took an andiron to me. I bear the scar.”

Josephine’s mouth fell open. She’d never asked how he’d acquired it, assuming it was a battle scar. “Oh, my dear.” 

He swung toward her, the horrified look upon his face warning her off. “I left her that night and never returned. I went off to Portugal and Spain, and learned first-hand the delicate art of supplying thousands of men and animals on the march in a foreign land. A year later while I was there, she died of catarrh. I had her buried in her family’s crypt. Six years ago, when I returned home to England, I had the Hall in Bury St. Edmonds stripped of all she’d put into it. Since then, I’ve had a few essential rooms redecorated. That house, too, awaits your kind touch.”

He’d told her last week that he’d written to tell staff there that they would arrive at a future date for a wedding holiday and that she would attend to the renovations.

He threw her a wan smile. “When I married her, I was twenty years old. She was eighteen. I thought I knew her. She said we were…cut from the same cloth. Ah, but what does one know at eighteen?”

I knew I loved you. That first afternoon, when my father brought me into his offices and introduced his friend, the dashing creature who ensured soldiers had uniforms to clothe them, blankets to warm them, beef to sustain them, shot and rifles and cannon and boots.

“I am sixteen years older now, Josephine, and I do hope much wiser. I see in you, my dear, much that resembles my own temperament. You love people and your work, your father and young brother. You see joy in living and cultivate it. I want to make a good husband to you, Josephine, and I promise to give you the best of me.”

No declaration of love, but she would take it. “Thank you, Russ. I do not marry you lightly. I’ve had suitors.”

His face broke into a rueful smile. “I know you have. Many, I would say.”

She took his good humor and wished to build on it. “I refused them all.”

“Good prospects they were, my darling.”

At his use of that endearment, she noted progress in his regard of her. “You knew, did you?”

He grinned. “Your father and I are very good friends.”

She flowed nearer to him, her hands flat to the silk of his waistcoat. “I was never attracted to any of them.”

“I often wondered why. They were young. James Caffrey of Hammond Lane was only twenty-five when he asked for your hand three years ago. And what’s-his-name English? Thomas English is rich as Midas. Clothier to His Majesty’s Army makes him a good catch.”

She toyed with a button on his waistcoat. “Youth and money have their charms but I was not enchanted.”

“Your father was astonished you refused.”

Years ago, he was. Not lately. “Many times, he asked me why. I’m shocked he told you about their proposals.”

Russ reached for her, his large sure hands cupping her cheeks. “Your papa sprinkled details like lures to a treasure. In truth, I heard more from my friends, tidbits of gossip that you would not have any of them. And I rejoiced.”

Her heart pounded with his admission. “I wish I’d known.”

“Do you?” He hooted, hugged her close and kissed her forehead. “Minx! With every man you refused, I could not keep up with the parade.”

“Surely, sir, you can count to five.” 

He guffawed. “Your father counted eight.”

“That many? How complimentary!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and drew back to admire the man who would be hers at last. Here in this noble, honorable, hard-working creature was all she had ever desired of love. “I wanted only you.”

LORD STANTON’S SHOCKING SEASIDE HONEYMOON,
in Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
By Cerise DeLand

She is so wrong for him.

Miss Josephine Meadows is so young. In love with life. His accountant in his work for Whitehall. Her father’s heir to his trading company—and his espionage network.

Lord Stanton cannot resist marrying her. But to ensure Wellington defeats Napoleon, they must save one of Josephine’s agents.

Far from home, amid a horrific storm, Stanton discovers that his new bride loves him dearly.

Can he truly be so right for her?

And she for him?

STORM & SHELTER, Box set, $0.99 cents on pre-order! 800 pages of delight!

Buy Link: Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/b5k2pO

About the Author:

 Cerise counts more than 50 published novels to her credit, most of them historical romances. She’s won awards, earned fabulous reviews but she treasures most the readers who have celebrated her work since she was first published in 1991. Her days are filled with the characters she imagines come to her home for tea and dinner to discuss their love lives. Those guests have always made for intriguing conversation on her morning walks or during her morning swims. Is she addicted to writing? Of course, she is. And she declares there is no happier way to live!

Follow Cerise on 

BOOKBUB here: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cerise-deland
Subscribe to my newsletter: www.cerisedeland.com
Join The Tea Room: https://www.facebook.com/groups/265460994261469/
Follow me on AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Cerise-DeLand/e/B0089DS2N2/

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

12 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by in 2021, First Kiss Friday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

It’s always a pleasure to have my friend Jude Knight back on my First Kiss Friday blog. Today Jude is sharing an excerpt from her novel To Mend The Broken Hearted. Enjoy and happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Had she not been equally frustrated, Ruth might have been amused at Val’s valiant attempts to hide his dissatisfaction with the additions to their company. She had planned to allow him the kiss she hoped he wished to steal.

Her spirits soared, however, when they came through the gate into the enclosed space. It was larger than she expected, larger even than her mother’s garden. It was also very overgrown, so that one path could not be seen from another. And Jeyhun and Zyba had been courting in decorous fashion for some time. 

She bided her time, allowing Val to conduct the tour of the main features of the garden. Despite his constant refrain of, “Of course, it used to be much more beautiful,” enough remained to charm and delight. The former Lady Ashbury had selected for scent and form, as well as for plants whose blooms were open at night, and all the blooms were white, glowing luminescent in the light of the moon, as did much of the foliage.

At last Ruth suggested sitting for a while on a bench near the central fountain. As she expected, her captain and her companion quickly became restless. They had been comparing eastern gardens with the ones they had seen since their arrival in England, and Zyba was certain that a tree they had passed near the entrance to the enclosure was similar to one that bloomed in a garden they had visited in Istanbul. Jeyhun was equally sure she was mistaken.

“Why do you not go and take another look?” Ruth asked.

Jeyhun opened his mouth to argue about leaving her alone with their host, but Zyba took his arm and led him away. Val looked at Ruth with what she was certain, even in her innocence, was desire, but he stayed sitting on the rim of the fountain.

“There is plenty of room beside me,” she said, her cheeks heating at her own boldness. 

He leapt up and closed the space between them in two long strides, then sat just far enough away that he touched no part of her, except for the heated gaze that swept from her brow to her shoulders, bared by the fashionable gown, and lower.

She returned the gaze, tracing his face, his shoulders, his torso, with her eyes, and when he leaned towards her, she met him partway. Only their lips touched, brushing once, twice, a third time. He straightened, so that his face drew away a few inches. “Ruth?”

She answered what she hoped he was asking. “Yes.” She leaned towards him again, and he shifted so that they were thigh to thigh. He slid his hands—flesh on one side and carved wood on the other—across her arms and around her back, pulling her chest to chest. This time, when their mouths connected, they clung.

She was vaguely aware of the texture of his jacket under her palms, but most of her attention was on the touch of his lips on hers, of his teeth nipping her lower lip, of his tongue surging inside her mouth when she gasped at that gentle nibble. 

She turned her face to give him better access. She had always wondered whether noses interfered with kissing, but apparently her body knew how to prevent that from happening. Someone moaned, and she rather thought it was her. Without her willing it, her body moulded itself to his, but she could not get close enough. She edged up onto his thigh, and it was his turn to moan as her leg slipped down between his and pressed up against something rigid and unyielding.

“Ruth…” he said her name on a groan, then again, this time more sharply, turning his head as her mouth followed his and tried to reconnect. “Ruth. Sweetness. We have to stop.”

Yes. Yes, they did. Heavens! Jeyhun and Zyba were somewhere nearby, perhaps just around the corner, and she was draped over the Earl of Ashbury like a tavern slattern. She jerked away from him, the heat rising in her face. Whatever did he think?

“I beg your pardon,” she murmured.

“I am the one that should apologise, but I find it hard to be sorry. That kiss…!” Val’s voice still sounded strained, as if he were in pain. Her doctor’s mind registered a point from her reading: extreme tumescence could be painful, and when she had been on his lap, she had felt his… If her face got any hotter, it would melt.

She opened her mouth to make some sort of an excuse for her behaviour, or to change the subject to something innocuous. But what came out just added to her embarrassment. “I have never been kissed before. Was it…?” She wasn’t sure what she was asking. Was it exceptional? Was it meaningful to you? Was it something we could do again?Perhaps all of them.

Val, who had dropped his arms when she shifted away, lifted his good hand to cup her cheek and move her face so he could gaze into her eyes. “I have never had a kiss like that in my life. Ruth, you are an exceptional woman, and make me wish with all my heart I was a better man.”

She leaned into his hand. “You are a good man, Valentine Monforte.”

A burst of dialogue came from just beyond the hedge that shielded them. Jeyhun and Zyba were returning.

Val caressed her lips with his thumb before standing, allowing his fingers to trail over her cheek as he dropped his hand and stepped away. He was just in time. Jeyhun and Zyba rounded the turn in the path, and their stolen moment together was over.

To Mend the Broken Hearted

Ruth is a healer, not a social gadfly. She’s glad to leave the foreign world of the ton to run an errand for her sister-in-law. She doesn’t expect to be caught up in a smallpox epidemic, nor to meet the man of her dreams.

Ruth Winderfield is miserable in London’s ballrooms, where her family’s wealth and questions over her birth make her a target for the unscrupulous and a pariah to the high-sticklers. Trained as a healer, she is happiest in a sickroom. When a smallpox epidemic traps her at the remote manor of a reclusive lord, the last thing she expects is to find her heart’s desire.

War and betrayal have wounded Val beyond bearing. The woman who arrives at his retreat with patients who need shelter says she’s a healer. But he is beyond healing. Isn’t he?

Valentine, Earl of Ashbury, was carried home from war three years ago, unconscious, a broken man. He woke to find his family in ruins, his faithless wife and treacherous brother dead, his family’s two girl children exiled to school. He becomes a near recluse while he spends his days trying to restore the estate, or at least prevent further crumbling.

When an impertinent, bossy female turns up with several sick children, including the two girls, he reluctantly gives them shelter. Unable to stand by and watch the suffering, he begins to help with the nursing, while he falls irrevocably for both girls and the lovely Ruth.

The path to happiness passes through danger and scandal 

The epidemic over, Ruth and Val part ways, each reluctant to share how they feel without a sign from the other. Ruth returns to her family and the ton. Val begins to build a new life centred on his girls. But danger to Ruth is a clarion call Val cannot ignore. If they can stop the villains determined to destroy them, perhaps the hermit and the healer can mend one another’s hearts.

Buy link: https://books2read.com/b/3GANrd

About Jude Knight

Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was Jude ten years ago.

For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to be a novelist. She even started dozens of stories, over the years. 

But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, her own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat.

As the years passed, the fear grew. If she didn’t put her stories out there in the market, she wouldn’t risk making a fool of herself. She could keep the dream alive if she never put it to the test.

Then her mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of Jude’s, and now it would never happen.

So Jude faced her fear and changed it–told everyone she knew she was writing a novel. Now she’d make a fool of herself for certain if she didn’t finish.

Her first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, she plans to keep publishing until she runs out of years.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

Subscribe to newsletter: http://judeknightauthor.com/newsletter/

Bookshop: https://judeknight.selz.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudeKnightAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/jknight1033/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jude-knight

Hop along for a chance to win a gift card for $75!

13 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by in 2021

≈ 47 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Welcome to our Valentine’s Day Blog Hop. I’m so happy that you stopped by. Thank you, Ruth A. Casie, for sharing your book, Knight of Runes, and for offering a giveaway. Today I’m sharing a bit of flash fiction with my character Miss Miranda de Courtenay… but more about her story later in this post. Be sure to keep reading to find out what my giveaway is and don’t forget to comment here on my blog to go into the drawing for the Grand Prize of a gift card (US$75 value). So let’s get to that bit of flash fiction I promised you!

Miss Miranda de Courtenay entered the Assembly Rooms in Bath for a charity Valentine’s Day Ball. Her eyes surveyed the already crowded room while her brother-in-law took her pelisse.

“It’s quite the crush,” her sister Grace mentioned as she took Miranda’s elbow steering her towards the ballroom.

Miranda squeezed her sister’s arm, offering her a bright smile. “I’m just glad our brother at last forgave me for the part I played in his current state of wedded bliss and allowed me to attend.”

Grace laughed. “Adrian was just being stubborn, although I must admit you do tend to go a bit overboard in your quest for a title, Miranda.”

“Why should I be the only one in this family without a title?” she fumed before masking her face to not show how upset this particular conversation always made her. She had gone too far on one or two occasions, not that Gracie ever faulted her for her mishaps. “Besides, everyone could see how much Adrian and Celia were in love with one another. And before you say anything, Celia didn’t want the Marques. I thought to take advantage of the situation but it’s certainly not my fault he turned out to be a cad.”

Grace leaned forward to kiss Miranda’s cheek before whispering in her ear. “You were lucky to not have your heart involved with Wyndham, dearest sister. He was only a man with a title and obviously not husband material. Love will find you when the time is right. Perhaps try to not be so impatient and let Cupid find your mystery man when he’s ready to show you the way.”

“I could only be so lucky to stumble into someone like you did, Gracie,” Miranda said fondly knowing how happy her sister was with her second husband Nicholas.

Grace’s laughter burst forth. “I was lucky, wasn’t I?”

Before Miranda could respond, Nicholas came as if they conjured him up with a magic wand and swept Grace away to join the dancing. Miranda surveyed the room again trying to figure out her best options to pursue a possible relationship with one of the titled gentlemen who were present. There were plenty of men here that she had already been introduced to so that formality wouldn’t be a problem. She only needed to find someone who would be willing to forget her past mistakes since the two major ones she had made were public knowledge much to her regret.

She was thankful when she was asked to dance by a man she had met during the previous season. An Earl … but she couldn’t remember his name and she reminded herself she needed to be better at remembering people’s names. But he at least asked her to dance and it was better to be seen dancing than to be a wallflower sitting alone on a chair against the wall. She swore if she didn’t get a proposal soon, she’d be on the shelf for sure.

The dance continued and she briefly caught a glimpse of her brother talking with a man she had never seen the likes of. Good heavens, where had he come from and why on earth had she never been introduced to such a divinely handsome man? She continued to stare at him when the opportunity presented itself and she wondered what color his eyes were. It was hard to tell from this distance and from the hundreds of candles casting a soft glow upon the room.

She missed a step in the dance and mumbled an apology to her partner when she stepped on his shoe. She was hard pressed not to crane her neck to further inspect the man who had caught her attention. She generally didn’t care for men with blond hair but in his case she just might make an exception!

The dance ended and the Earl began talking about the weather of all things, and Miranda tried not to appear bored at such a mundane conversation. She looked up only to see Adrian was no longer standing next to her handsome stranger who was looking directly at her. He raised his champagne flute in a silent toast causing Miranda’s eyes to widen. Goodness but he was a bold one and clearly she should stay as far away from him as possible.

Unsure of herself for the first time in her life, she fled the dance floor, leaving the Earl without even a polite thank you for the dance. She headed to the buffet room hoping she could partake of something to calm her nerves. No man had ever had her this flustered and Grace’s words rambled inside her head making Miranda wonder if perhaps Cupid had shot his arrow in Miranda’s direction.

***

Captain Jasper Rousseau observed the beautiful woman as she left the dance floor. She intrigued him, not that he was used to dealing with a young lady who was probably only interested in finding a husband. But there was something about her that had him following her. It must be this damn ball meant for happy couples. If his mother had not requested he accompany her to this event, he would be at his manor getting ready for tomorrow’s business appointment.

He had a new ship to run and didn’t have time to dally with a woman, especially one so obviously young as he guessed her age to be around twenty-three give or take a couple of years. Yet he still found himself following her to see for himself what caused him to become so infatuated with a lady he hadn’t even spoke to as yet. Afterall… what could it hurt to have a short conversation with a beautiful woman?

Storm & Shelter

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

A collection of eight all-new novellas. One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming stories. Special preorder price of only $0.99! Learn more on the Bluestocking Belles’ website at https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/storm-shelter/

My contribution to the Storm & Shelter box set is Before I Found You: A de Courtenay Novella (Book three).

A quest for a title. An encounter with a stranger. Will she choose love?

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Missto My Lady. But when a handsome stranger crosses her path at a Valentine’s Day ball, her obsession with titles dims. Might love be enough?

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball. He has a new ship to run, passengers to book, and cargo to deliver. But one look into a young lady’s beautiful hazel eyes, and he becomes lost. Does love at first sight really exist?

Their paths continue to cross until they are both stranded in Fenwick on Sea. Their growing connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s childish quest for a title at all cost. But what if the cost includes love?

My Giveaway for our Valentine’s Day Hop!

I’ll be giving away an eCopy of A Kiss For Charity & The Earl Takes A Wife. They’re books 1 & 2 of my De Courtenay series. I’ll randomly choose a winner from all the comments right here on my blog! You’ll have plenty of time to read them before Miranda’s story releases in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter on April 13, 2021.

Go in the drawing to win a gift card

The contest is open for Valentine’s day—from sunrise on 14th February in New Zealand (noon on February 13 U.S. EST) until midnight on 14th February in Hawaii (or 5 AM February 15 U.S. EST). When the contest ends, we’ll collect all comments on all 15 blogs in the hop. We’ll draw one at random, and then announce the winner on our blogs and contact him or her with a gift card to the value of US$75. Good luck! 

Did you miss Ruth A. Casie’s blog?

If you happened to miss Ruth’s blog and the giveaway she’s offering, you can find her blog at https://ruthacasie.blogspot.com/

Next up, Alina K. Field

Thank you again for joining me today. Your next stop is with the wonderful Alina K. Field. Although Alina is one of our guest authors who contributed a novella in the Storm & Shelter box set today she’s sharing some flash fiction from Fated Hearts. You can find Alina’s blog post at https://wp.me/p2YGUG-1Zj.

Happy reading and I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, my lovelies. Good luck in all the giveaways!