Come the Spring ~ Excerpt

Part One

For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the seasons of snows and sins;

But for the grace of God and an untied shoelace, she would have died with the others that day. She walked into the bank at precisely two forty-five in the afternoon to close her account, deliberately leaving the task until the last possible minute because it made everything so final in her mind. There would be no going back. All of her possessions had been packed, and very soon now she would be leaving Rockford Falls, Montana, forever.

Sherman MacCorcle, the bank president, would lock the doors in fifteen minutes. The lobby was filled with other procrastinators like herself, yet for all the customers, there were only two tellers working the windows instead of the usual three. Emmeline MacCorkle, Sherman’s daughter, was apparently still at home recovering from the influenza that has swept through the peaceful little town two weeks before.

Malcom Watterson’s line was shorter by three heads. He was a notorious gossip, though, and would surely ask her questions she wasn’t prepared to answer.

Fortunately Franklin Carroll was working today, and she immediately took her place in the back of his line. He was quick, methodical, and never intruded into anyone’s personal affairs. He was also a friend. She had already told him good-bye after services last Sunday, but she had the sudden inclination to do so again.

She hated waiting. Tapping her foot softly against the warped floorboards, she took her gloves off, then put them on again. Each time she fidgeted, her purse, secured by a satin ribbon around her wrist, swung back and forth, back and forth, like a pendulum keeping perfect time to the ticktock of the clock hanging on the wall behind the tellers’ window.

The man in front of her took a step forward, but she stayed where she was, hoping to put some distance between them so that she wouldn’t have to smell the sour sweet mixed with the pungent odor of fried sausage emanating from his filthy clothes.

The man to her left in Malcom’s line smiled at her, letting her see the two missing teeth in the center of his grin. To discourage conversation, she gave him a quick nod and turned her gaze upward to the water stains on the ceiling.

It was dank, musty, and horribly hot. She could feel the perspiration gathering at the nape of her neck and tugged on the collar of her starched blouse. Giving Franklin a sympathetic glance, she wondered how any of the employees could work all day in such a dark, gloomy, stifling tomb. She turned to the right and stared longingly at the three closed windows. Sunlight streaked through the finger-smudged glass, casting jagged splotches on the worn floorboards, and fragments of the dust particles hung suspended in the stagnant air. If she had to wait much longer, she would incite Sherman MacCorkle’s anger by marching over to the windows and throwing all of them open. She gave up the idea as soon as it entered her mind because the president would only close them again and give her a stern lecture about bank security. Besides, she would lose her place in line.


Continue Reading ~ Excerpt for Come the Spring

Come The Spring

Description

Cole Clayborne had always walked a dark path and flirted with a life of crime. While his three brothers chose to settle into married life, Cole rebelliously refused to be tied down. Now, and elusive stranger draws him into a shadowy chase that will bring unexpected turns to his uncertain future–and may determine which side of the law the restless Cole favors.

A tragic, heartbreaking loss drives U.S. Marshal Daniel Ryan on a quest for vengeance–and leads him to a beautiful young woman, who may be the sole witness to a terrible crime. But the lawman finds that love is the greatest trial of all as he unwittingly draws her into the line of fire. The power and drama of their blossoming passion, entwined with the surprising destiny of the wayward Cole, make COME THE SPRING a superbly entertaining adventure inside the heart of a “family whose love and loyalty will truly inspire” (Romantic Times).

The Viscount Who Loved Me ~ Excerpt

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The topic of rakes has, of course, been previously discussed in this column, and This Author has come to the conclusion that there are rakes, and there are Rakes.

Anthony Bridgerton is a Rake.

A rake (lower-class) is youthful and immature. He flaunts his exploits, behaves with utmost idiocy, and thinks himself dangerous to women.

He doesn’t flaunt his exploits because he doesn’t need to. He knows he will be whispered about by men and women alike, and in fact, he’s rather they didn’t whisper about him at all. He knows who he is and what he has done; further recountings are, to him, redundant.

He doesn’t behave like an idiot for the simple reason that he isn’t an idiot (moreso than must be expected among all members of the male gender). He has little patience for the foibles of society, and quite frankly, most of the time This Author cannot say she blames him.

And if that doesn’t describe Viscount Bridgeton – surely this season’s most eligible bachelor – to perfection, This Author shall retire Her quill immediately. The only questions is : Will 1814 be the season he finally succumbs to the exquisite bliss of matrimony?

This Author Thinks …..

Not.

LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 20 APRIL 1814

“Please don’t tell me,” Kate Sheffield said to the room at large, “that she is writing about Viscount Bridgerton again.”

Her half-sister Edwina, younger by almost four years, looked up from behind the single-sheet newspaper. “How could you tell?”

“You’re giggling like a madwoman.”

Edwina giggled, shaking the blue damask sofa on which they both sat.

“See?” Kate said, giving her a little poke in the arm. “You always giggle when she writes about some reprehensible rogue.” But Kate grinned. There was little she liked better than teasing her sister. In a good-natured manner, of course.

Mary Sheffield, Edwina’s mother, and Kate’s stepmother for nearly eighteen years, glanced up from her embroidery and pushed her spectacles farther up the bridge of her nose. “What are you two laughing about?”

“Kate’s in a snit because Lady Whistledown is writing about that rakish viscount again,” Edwina explained.

“I’m not in a snit,” Kate said, even though no one was listening.

Continue Reading ~ Excerpt for The Viscount Who Loved Me

The Viscount Who Loved Me

The season has opened for the year of 1814, and there is little reason to hope that we will see any noticeable change from 1813. The ranks of society are once again filled with Ambitious Mamas, whose only aim is to see their Darling Daughters married off to Determined Bachelors. Discussion amongst the Mama fingers Viscount Bridgerton as this year’s most eligible catch, and indeed, if the poor man’s hair looks ruffled and windblown, it is because he cannot go anywhere without some young miss batting her eyelashes with such vigor and speed as to create a breeze of hurricane force. Perhaps the only young lady not interested in Bridgerton is Miss Kathrine Sheffield, and in fact, her demeanor toward the viscount occasionally borders on the hostile.

And that is why, Dear Reader, This Author feels that a match between Bridgeton and Miss Sheffield would be just the things to enliven an otherwise ordinary season.

LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 13 APRIL 1814

**************************************

Anthony Bridgerton, a rake and confirmed bachelor, has decided it's time to marry and produce an heir, like his father and seven other generations of fathers before him. The woman must be intelligent, beautiful, calm, easy to live with, and no one with whom he would ever fall in love. Edwina Sheffield fits the bill on all accounts, only he must win the approval of her older sister Kate to win the match.

Kate is not beautiful but is pretty, intelligent but opinionated, and not easy though not difficult on purpose - in short, not the woman he is looking for. But in the course of trying to woo Edwina and persuade Kate to the match, his affections begin to sway. When he and Kate are caught in an unfortunate yet innocent compromising position, they are forced to marry despite his suit of her sister. There they are stuck in an acceptable life, she worried that he would always think of her sister first; he, terrified he is falling in love with his own wife.

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes to not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself.

Affair ~ Excerpt

Excerpt

Chapter One

London, three years later

“You leave me no opinion but to be blunt, Mr. St Ives. Unfortunately, the truth is the matter is that you are not what I had in mind in the way of a man-of affairs.” Charlotte Arkendale clasped her hands together on top of the wide mahogany desk and regarded Baxter with a critical eye. “I am sorry for the waste of your time.”

The interview was not going well. Baxter adjusted the gold-framed eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose and silently vowed that he would not give in to the impulse to grind his back teeth.

“Forgive me, Miss Arkendale, but I was under the impression that you wished to employ a person who appeared completely innocuous and uninteresting.”

“Quite true.”

“I believe year exact description of the ideal candidate for the position was, and I quote, a person who is a bland as a potato pudding.”

Continue Reading ~ Excerpt for Affair

Affair

Description

Charlotte Arkendale has found a unique way to earn a living: she investigates suitors for women who want to be sure they're being married for themselves and not their money. When her man of affairs retires, she must hire a new secretary-someone who would not be noticed, someone as bland as pudding. To Charlotte's eyes, that someone cannot be Baxter St. Ives. He appears too dangerous and passionate.

Most people, including Charlotte's sister, find Baxter rather plain. His passion for chemistry has kept Baxter working on his own until his aunt asks him to help investigate her friend's recent murder-a woman who once visited Charlotte for help. Working as her servant will enable Baxter to ferret out her true nature.

Though a man of science, Baxter finds himself strangely intrigued by the bright and independent Miss Arkendale. When she asks him to get involved in the murder investigation, he finds that they make their own chemistry very well.

To Charlotte, it is as if Baxter is an alchemist of love. When they masquerade as a betrothed couple and get involved in an affair, they have no idea that a malicious killer is scheming to tear them apart...or see them dead.

Sorry...

Graphics for Sorry CommentsSorry for no updates, been busy with life recently. Will update ASAP.