Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!
Thank you to everyone who came by to visit last week! I’m continuing with another snippet from my Regency Christmas novella, A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe, that released last week!
This scene is a little further along in the novella. Jenny is at her aunt’s Christmas house party where the handsome Lord Somersby has proposed the company play Blind Man’s Bluff while the orchestra is on a break. Somersby is it and has just caught Jenny.
“How…how did you know it was me?” Jenny gazed into the handsome face and her stomach clenched.
“The smell of jasmine will forever be linked to you in my mind, my dear,” he whispered in her ear.
Drat it, her new perfume had betrayed her. Not that she truly minded being caught by him, but her body froze with dread at the thought of paying his forfeit. Oh, what would he ask of her?
“And for your forfeit, Miss Crowley, I claim…”
Another dance, please, let him ask for another dance.
“A kiss.”
And a kiss in public during the Regency period was swiftly followed by a wedding or the girl was ruined. What will Jenny do?
Blurb for A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe:
Is one kiss ever enough?
Jenny Crowley has been duped! At her eighteenth birthday celebration her parents announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years, Jenny has been betrothed from birth to Alexander Isley, son of family friends and heir to a title. A distraught Jenny refuses point-blank to marry Alec, and when her aunt offers to whisk her away to a Christmas house party, complete with many eligible young bachelors, Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps fall in love.
Alec Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny no more than she does, but when his family’s dire financial status is revealed, he follows Jenny to the house party in hopes of convincing her to marry him after all. When he discovers who else is courting her there, Alec is frantic to keep her from making a dreadful mistake. Struggling with new-found feelings for his childhood friend, can Alec convince her of his love in time to save her from being ruined under the mistletoe?
A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe released this week and is available at Amazon and Smashwords!
And the short story that was the inspiration for the novella, ‘Tis the Season, is currently FREE in my short story collection All Wrapped Up on Amazon!
That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed it!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 
So sweet! And I love the rhythm and timing of this scene. It reads well.
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I love the smell of Jasmine, so it helped bring this scene to life for me.
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No no no – you can’t stop there….what happens next???
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ha ha – betrayed by her perfume.
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A kiss? Whooo! Will the gentleman Isley really press this? Makes me want to read more! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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That’s one tense moment for sure, with no easy way out. A lot of modern folks have a hard time understanding just how serious something like kissing was in this era, not something a so-called respectable girl did as casually as most people do today.
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This is such a great story. What a tense moment for Jenny!
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Thank you, Trish! Yes, there’s a lot at stake for her. Have a great holiday vacation!
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Very much enjoying this – she has quite the dilemma. If only he’d asked for a dance….excellent excerpt!
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I think Somersby has something other than dancing on his mind.:) So glad you’re enjoying this, Veronica! Happy Holidays!
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I wondered if her perfume might give her away… A kiss? Scandalous!
Happy Holidays!
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Hard to believe it was such a big deal, but it was. 🙂 Happy Holidays, Caitlin!
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I suggest they kiss and run like the wind to escape marriage. Hmm. That doesn’t work for Regency. Well done and oh so delicious under the mistletoe.
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Thank you, Charmaine! And there is mistletoe yet to come as well! Thanks for stopping by!
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Big smile on my face! I can hardly wait to read it. Oh, to find the time now…
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Oh, no post for me this week. And I hope you have a happy Christmas!
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Aww, so sad you didn’t have a snippet up this week! But I’ll be looking for it next week. You have a Merry Christmas as well, Teresa!
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Oh, I do hope you like it! It’s a bit different than my usual stuff because it’s sweet, but I think the characters are just as engaging. 🙂 Happy reading!
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A kiss in public! Oh my, what will she do? I love the description. Great snippet!
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When I first started reading the period I couldn’t believe that one simple, even chaste kiss on the lips in public could force a marriage, but it’s true. Jenny really needs to get out of this unless she wants to be leg-shackled to the charming Somersby. Then again, she might! 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Stephanie!
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I love how ruin and glory hovered so close together in those days. Nicely done Jenna, I can feel her heart pounding.
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The Regency was one of the most socially strict periods in England. Not to say people didn’t misbehave, but they risked a lot if they did. And the Victorians were almost as bad! Thanks for coming by, Kim!
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