Thank you to everyone who came by my blog to help me celebrate! The next Release Day celebration will take place September 17, when 10 Things I Hate About the Earl releases. So I hope to see you all then!
So this week I’m moving on to my current novella that’s up on pre-order on Amazon. It’s book two in The Matchmaker’s Ball series, called 10 Things I Hate About the Earl.
Between love and hate there is a pencil-thin line to walk…
Miss Katherine Locke is irked to start her third Season dancing with the disagreeable Lord Haversham, her brother’s friend and her own arch enemy. After a particularly odious run-in with the earl, Kate declares she hates everything about the man. When her brother challenges her to come up with even ten things she doesn’t like about Haversham, a gleeful Kate is itching to put quill to paper to point out everything she finds wrong with the man. Unexpectedly, she finds the task harder than she thought because she keeps remembering things she secretly likes about the gentleman instead. Frustrated, Kate shoves the list in a drawer, determined to stop thinking about Haversham. But can she?
Marcus, Lord Haversham, is in a tight pinch. His estates are failing and, worse, he’s just lost three thousand pounds to his best friend, Lord Ainsley. Ainsley’s solution: have Marcus marry his shrewish sister, and he’ll cancel his gambling debt plus give him ten thousand pounds for her dowry. With nowhere else to turn, Marcus agrees, praying he can keep word of the wager from Miss Locke long enough to charm her into marrying him.
When Marcus discovers Kate’s list however, he can’t keep himself from trying to show her how wrong she is about him. But in the process, will he be able to avoid falling in love with the stubborn woman?
I’m very excited to see what you think of my newest book in The Matchmaker’s Ball series. Meet Miss Katherine Locke–a young lady going into her third Season with few options for matrimony because of her shrewish nature. Her brother has a notion that she should marry his best friend. Trouble is, Kate hates the man with a passion! Enjoy! I’m beginning at the very beginning. 🙂
Stuffed to the gills, Lady Hamilton’s ballroom glittered with candlelight, fine silks and satins, and every type of precious jewel known to the world. The music had a lively air, the first dance being a waltz, and Miss Katherine Locke would’ve thought herself fortunate to be out again in Society after a long, dull winter in Somerset save that her partner, Lord Haversham, was the rudest man in London.
Well, his lordship was about to discover that Kate Locke wasn’t one to suffer fools lightly.
“So, you refuse to allow your sister to waltz, yet you are quite willing to stand up with me and dance this, according to you, most scandalous of dances.” Kate smiled into the odious wretch’s face. “My lord, I should say that smacks of hypocrisy.”
“Indeed,” Lord Haversham turned them skillfully at the end of the floor, “I would say it showed a want of character in your brother for allowing you to dance it with me. The waltz should be danced by married couples and no one else.” He pulled her close against him, so their bodies almost touched.
She gasped at her proximity to the rogue. How dare he make a spectacle of them on this crowded dance floor?
“You see?” he whispered, peering into her face, his gaze intent upon her mouth.
All she could see were his dark eyes, and the crisp scent of his sandalwood cologne filled her nose.
“Ainsley should be horsewhipped for allowing it.”
“I’ll see to it he horsewhips you if you don’t let me go.” Kate gave a hopping step and smashed her foot down on top of his.
Lord Haversham lurched forward, jaw clenched.
For the briefest moment, they stood pressed together in a warm embrace that made Kate tingle all over. Then outrage swept through her, and she pushed him away. “How dare you?” she seethed, trying to get away from him.
“That was your fault, and you know it. And if you make a scene that results in me having to marry you, I swear I will lock you in the tower at my grandfather’s castle and throw away the key.”
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
Book 4 of the series was a bit special for me as the hero is my father’s namesake. All the Marriage Wager heroes bear the middle names of my father and his brothers and grandfather, something I wanted to do to honor my Jackson heritage. So in this book Julius is the hero–a name my father actually disliked but I always loved.
This book gave me fits to write because although I had an idea what the storyline was going to be–and I wrote it almost completely at my writing retreat in March–the history of the characters kept getting in the way of the romance. Throughout the first three books of the series the characters of Julius, Lord Boxted and Lady Augusta Hardy have been present as secondary and even tertiary characters who are always at odds because Julius kept proposing to her and she kept saying no. Let me tell you, having a five time rejected suitor as a hero is a challenge!
So when I turned the book in, my editor was less than impressed with both characters. They always had a volatile relationship–Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedict come to mind–which tended to make them not as sympathetic as they might be. My excellent editor basically said I needed to make the hero more heroic and make the heroine’s motive for refusing him crystal clear–which is how I came to re-write almost three quarters of the book. I basically had to start their relationship from scratch, kind of ignoring part of their history as it had been written, and show an attraction between them that could blossom except for one impediment: Lady Augusta is in love (or so she thinks) with somebody else.
In the back of my mind I’d always known that Lady Augusta wanted to defy society and go
off adventuring around the world, but she was stuck in her role as the daughter of a peer. So I took that as her motivation for rejecting Julius–who has a title and has his life mapped out for him. And history very kindly came to my rescue because the time period of the mid-Victorian era was filled with men exploring the wildest places of the world, with none more famous than Richard Burton (the explorer not the actor) who during the time the novel is set was off adventuring in Africa and the wild American West. So he’s the man Lady Augusta met when she was an impressionable teenager and fancies she wants to marry so she can explore the world with him. And it became Julius’s motivation to convince her he was the better choice as far as husband and adventurer went.
This is why the title changed from No Rival for Your Love to Romancing Lady Augusta, now definitely an homage to the wonderful 1980s movie Romancing the Stone (which I absolutely adore). And this book has now become my favorite of the series because when it came together, it just clicked into place like a missing puzzle piece and made for some of my easiest writing.
It’s RELEASE WEEK for Romancing Lady Augusta! Release Party on this blog on Tuesday, August 20! Excerpts, book trivia, and giveaways all day long!
If the players are evenly matched, romance can be the most exciting game of all.
Over her parents’ protests, Lady Augusta Hardy has set her matrimonial sights on a renowned adventurer. With him, she knows she’ll live an extraordinary life. But as that gentleman is off exploring, she resigns herself to being courted while waiting for her hero to return. Would-be suitor Julius Price, Lord Boxted, is admittedly handsome, witty, an amazingly good dancer, and extremely well-traveled. In fact, he’s a worthy rival for her affections, save for one major drawback: his title would ensure that Augusta ends up living the boring life she so detests. Despite her growing affection for him, she sadly relinquishes all thoughts of marrying Lord Boxted.
From the moment Lady Augusta beats him at chess, Julius is fascinated by the intelligent, strong-willed lady. During the Season, he takes heart as he makes inroads with her affections, determined to win her over. Elated when passion between them sparks, Julius plans to redouble his efforts, until an overheard conversation convinces him Lady Augusta would never be happy with the only life he can offer her.
With a heavy heart, Julius determines he must allow her the freedom she longs for—just as Lady Augusta realizes love has the power to change one’s mind. But has she discovered that lesson a little too late?
I’m very excited to see what you think of my newest book in the Welwyn Marriage Wager series. Meet Lady Augusta Hardy–a very headstrong young lady who knows very well what she wants. Enjoy! I’m moving a little bit further in the story, to where Lady Augusta and Lord Boxted meet over a chess board.
“And what will you forfeit in the event you lose, my lord?” Her intense blue eyes were on him, and suddenly Julius found himself swallowing hard.
“Um…,” he couldn’t look away from her penetrating azure gaze, “I lose the first dance with you?”
“Perhaps you should lose all chance of partnering me tomorrow evening.” Her even tone coupled with the power of her regard unnerved Julius to no end.
“I will accept that wager, Lady Augusta now,” he certainly had an incentive to win, as if he’d needed one, “will you begin the play?”
Lady Augusta nodded, then without hesitation moved her pawn, calling the move as “King’s pawn to King four.”
“King’s pawn to King four,” Julius countered, interested to see her next move as it would tell him so much about her level of skill.
“King’s bishop’s pawn to King’s bishop four.”
Julius stared at the board–was the lady going for the King’s Gambit opening or simply moving the pieces?
“Pawn takes pawn.”
“King’s knight to King’s bishop three.” She moved the piece so quickly it seemed to fly.
That settled one thing. This was definitely the King’s Gambit opening. And Lady Augusta was apparently very familiar with it. Julius pulled his tumultuous thoughts back to the board and considered his options. “King’s knight’s pawn to king’s knight four.”
“Queen’s knight to queen’s bishop three.” Lady Augusta moved the knight then sat back, gazing at him evenly.
What a random move on her part. She’d started out well, but that move had left her vulnerable on several fronts. “Pawn to king’s knight four.” He smiled and began to think of a popular waltz tune in his head. Perhaps he could make certain the orchestra played a waltz for the first dance tomorrow night.
She moved her knight and he countered by bringing his queen into play threatening her king.
Holding Lady Augusta closely in his arms would be oh so satisfying. She really was quite a stunning wo—
“Queen to king’s knight four.”
The tune in his head halted abruptly as the board came into focus and Julius stared uncomprehending at the white queen that now threatened his queen. He shot a surreptitious glance at his opponent, whose face stared serenely back at him.
This lady was a worthy opponent indeed. But he could recover. “Pawn to king’s knight seven.” She would obviously then take his queen but he would get it back when his pawn took her rook and he would threaten her bishop and king.
Two moves later her queen’s knight took his bishop’s pawn and Lady Augusta sat back, a smile on her lips once more as she announced, “Checkmate.”
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
Continuing on this week with snippets from Romancing Lady Augusta.
If the players are evenly matched, romance can be the most exciting game of all.
Over her parents’ protests, Lady Augusta Hardy has set her matrimonial sights on a renowned adventurer. With him, she knows she’ll live an extraordinary life. But as that gentleman is off exploring, she resigns herself to being courted while waiting for her hero to return. Would-be suitor Julius Price, Lord Boxted, is admittedly handsome, witty, an amazingly good dancer, and extremely well-traveled. In fact, he’s a worthy rival for her affections, save for one major drawback: his title would ensure that Augusta ends up living the boring life she so detests. Despite her growing affection for him, she sadly relinquishes all thoughts of marrying Lord Boxted.
From the moment Lady Augusta beats him at chess, Julius is fascinated by the intelligent, strong-willed lady. During the Season, he takes heart as he makes inroads with her affections, determined to win her over. Elated when passion between them sparks, Julius plans to redouble his efforts, until an overheard conversation convinces him Lady Augusta would never be happy with the only life he can offer her.
With a heavy heart, Julius determines he must allow her the freedom she longs for—just as Lady Augusta realizes love has the power to change one’s mind. But has she discovered that lesson a little too late?
I’m very excited to see what you think of my newest book in the Welwyn Marriage Wager series. Meet Lady Augusta Hardy–a very headstrong young lady who knows very well what she wants. Enjoy! I’m moving a little bit further in the story, to where Lady Augusta and Lord Boxted meet over a chess board.
Startled by the lady’s request, Julius stared first at her, then shot a glance over to the others hoping to gauge their reactions, only to be met with foolish grins. “You play chess, my lady?”
“From time to time.” Her smile continued, although it seemed to be masking some other emotion as well–humor, perhaps? She moved to the small table where the chessboard sat and began resetting the pieces. “My father taught me to play when I was quite young.”
Though it was not unheard of for ladies to play chess—his own mother had been known to play occasionally with his father—Julius still was startled at the notion of playing against Lady Augusta. Another glance at his cousins and brother showed their faces filled with mirth at the idea that the lady proposed not to simply play him in chess but actually to beat him. If it didn’t seem rude to refuse, Julian would have declined the offer, however the lady had declared her wish for a wager, and that he could not refuse.
“Then I shall be happy to accept your wager and play with you.” He moved back to the table and indicated the chair opposite him. “Please be seated.”
She finished setting up the chessboard, then sat in the chair Harry had vacated. Julius took his seat and looked at her expectantly.
“What do you wish to wager, my lord?”
“The first dance at tomorrow night’s ball, my lady.” The notion of that bet had occurred to him as soon as the lady had mentioned the word “wager.”
A chorus of groans arose from his audience, Harry’s voice being the loudest.
Lady Augusta peered at them briefly then returned her attention back to the board. “That is if you win or I take longer than ten moves to win.” She looked up, that puckered smile back in place. “I think if I best you in less than ten moves, I should not pay a forfeit.”
“Of course not, my lady.” The idea that she would win in less than ten moves was rather charming.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
Sorry I was absent last weekend, but I was driving to upstate New York all last Sunday, to a writing retreat in my friend’s cabin that’s off grid. Now I’m in a hotel in upstate New York, recovering from COVID, but as I now have internet, I am happy to be back with WWW this week. And continuing with snippets from Romancing Lady Augusta.
If the players are evenly matched, romance can be the most exciting game of all.
Over her parents’ protests, Lady Augusta Hardy has set her matrimonial sights on a renowned adventurer. With him, she knows she’ll live an extraordinary life. But as that gentleman is off exploring, she resigns herself to being courted while waiting for her hero to return. Would-be suitor Julius Price, Lord Boxted, is admittedly handsome, witty, an amazingly good dancer, and extremely well-traveled. In fact, he’s a worthy rival for her affections, save for one major drawback: his title would ensure that Augusta ends up living the boring life she so detests. Despite her growing affection for him, she sadly relinquishes all thoughts of marrying Lord Boxted.
From the moment Lady Augusta beats him at chess, Julius is fascinated by the intelligent, strong-willed lady. During the Season, he takes heart as he makes inroads with her affections, determined to win her over. Elated when passion between them sparks, Julius plans to redouble his efforts, until an overheard conversation convinces him Lady Augusta would never be happy with the only life he can offer her.
With a heavy heart, Julius determines he must allow her the freedom she longs for—just as Lady Augusta realizes love has the power to change one’s mind. But has she discovered that lesson a little too late?
I’m very excited to see what you think of my newest book in the Welwyn Marriage Wager series. Meet Lady Augusta Hardy–a very headstrong young lady who knows very well what she wants. Enjoy! I’m moving a little bit further in the story, to where Lady Augusta and Lord Boxted meet over a chess board.
Seven moves later, Julius had taken Harry’s queen, two bishops, a rook and a knight. “I believe that is checkmate, cuz.”
“How do you do that?” Harry stood up, bewildered.
“I’m never exactly sure how.” Julius began to put the pieces back on the board. “I see the moves in my head, sometimes six or seven ahead. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“I do the same thing, my lord.”
Julius’s head snapped toward the study door that had opened silently, allowing Lady Augusta to enter the room without warning.
“You might have ended it in six if you’d moved the knight to king’s four one move earlier.” Apparently, she’d been standing there for some time.
Staring at her and rising slowly, Julius nodded. “I thought I’d give my cousin an extra move. He’d wagered he’d go ten, but I knew he wouldn’t last that long.”
A smile touched her lips, making her face suddenly quite beautiful. “Generous in victory, although not too generous.” The lady moved further into the room, coming to stand in front of Julius. “If I wager I can take you in ten moves, will you allow me to play, Lord Boxted?”
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
If the players are evenly matched, romance can be the most exciting game of all.
Over her parents’ protests, Lady Augusta Hardy has set her matrimonial sights on a renowned adventurer. With him, she knows she’ll live an extraordinary life. But as that gentleman is off exploring, she resigns herself to being courted while waiting for her hero to return. Would-be suitor Julius Price, Lord Boxted, is admittedly handsome, witty, an amazingly good dancer, and extremely well-traveled. In fact, he’s a worthy rival for her affections, save for one major drawback: his title would ensure that Augusta ends up living the boring life she so detests. Despite her growing affection for him, she sadly relinquishes all thoughts of marrying Lord Boxted.
From the moment Lady Augusta beats him at chess, Julius is fascinated by the intelligent, strong-willed lady. During the Season, he takes heart as he makes inroads with her affections, determined to win her over. Elated when passion between them sparks, Julius plans to redouble his efforts, until an overheard conversation convinces him Lady Augusta would never be happy with the only life he can offer her.
With a heavy heart, Julius determines he must allow her the freedom she longs for—just as Lady Augusta realizes love has the power to change one’s mind. But has she discovered that lesson a little too late?
I’m very excited to see what you think of my newest book in the Welwyn Marriage Wager series. Meet Lady Augusta Hardy–a very headstrong young lady who knows very well what she wants. Enjoy!
Young woman in authentic regency dress near a window of a classical interior
“When is he supposed to arrive?” Lady Augusta Hardy demanded of her mother, shifting anxiously from one silk slippered foot to the other as they stood in front of the bay window of the front reception room. Carriage after carriage deposited the myriad guests her parents had invited for a long weekend at their country house just before the beginning of what would be her second Season, but Augusta was interested in only one particular guest.
“Who do you mean, my dear?” Mother waved cheerily at Lady Tolliver, her two very eligible sons now accompanying her up the graveled walkway to the manor’s front door. “We have invited a host of young gentlemen for you to meet and become acquainted with this weekend.”
“You know very well who I am speaking of, Mother.” Augusta cut a speaking glance to her parent, then instantly back out to the driveway as another carriage pulled up and disgorged four strapping gentlemen, none of whom Augusta knew in the least.
“Ah, there are the Duke of Welwyn’s grandsons.” As if ignoring her completely, Mother nodded at the four gentlemen who were laughing and talking amongst themselves very amiably.
“They will manage to keep the party lively, I’ll be bound.” She turned to Augusta and leaned toward her, whispering, “You could do much worse than one of them, my dear. The tallest of them is the Duke’s heir, Lord Royston, the one with the rugged face is Mr. Quartermain, and the other two are Lord Boxted and his brother, Mr. Price.”
Augusta frowned as she perused the quartet of would-be suitors. Lord Royston she dismissed out of hand. She’d not marry a man who would one day become a duke with all that attendant pomp and circumstance. Long ago—at the ripe old age of fifteen—she’d decided that kind of life was not for her. The other three, however, she gave more scrutiny to. The rugged faced one, Mr. Quartermain, had the dashing looks of an outdoors man. That appealed to Augusta and she made a mental note to converse with Mr. Quartermain about what pastimes he was most interested in. The other two she wasn’t so sure of. “Which one is Lord Boxted and which is his brother?”
“Lord Boxted has the short, dark, straight hair and the genial smile. His brother is somewhat more slender than him, and has the lighter, curly hair.” Her mother’s eager voice made Augusta sigh. No doubt she’d be paired with each of these gentlemen during some point in the weekend. “I am certain they will prove delightful companions during the party.”
“Mr. Quartermain certainly does take the eye, I will admit.” In appearance he was certainly head and shoulders above the others. “Although Lord Boxted has an animated look about him as well.” She might as well make her mother happy by assessing the gentlemen her parents had taken some pains to gather for her perusal. But none of these young men could hold a candle to the gentleman for whom she was waiting. “But Mother, you have not answered my question.” She turned to her mother, her lips pressed together sternly. “When is Mr. Burton to arrive?”
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
It’s currently available on Amazon for .99 and by this weekend will be available wide–on Smashwords, B & N, Kobo, and Apple. It’s also available in print from Amazon.
This book (and the Handful of Hearts series) came about because in the summer of 2011, I was in Washington, DC attending a seminar on Shakespeare at the Folger Library. It was July, and I wanted to post something on my blog with the Christmas in July theme, so each week I was there, I posted a short, short Christmas story–what we might call flash fiction today–of about 2500 words each week in July. The one of these was called ‘Tis the Season, about a Christmas dinner for a young lady named Jenny Crowley in which she finds out that she’s actually betrothed to Alec, the boy next door. Jenny is totally against this, but she and Alec talk and he tells her he plans to go to London in the spring and make her change her mind about him.
After I published this on my blog, I got a comment from an anonymous commenter who said they enjoyed the story, but really wanted to hear the story of Jenny’s Season and whether or not Alec won her heart.
This got me to thinking I should expand the story, but I wanted to keep it a Christmas story, so setting the book during the actual social Season wouldn’t work. So instead I came up with the idea that Jenny would have a Christmas social Season at a house party where she’d be able to meet lots of eligible young men and Alec could come and try to sweep her off her feet. So by that Christmas of 2011, I’d written and published the next version of the story, called A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe.
That fall, however, I’d written another short story called Heart of Deception, about a
young lady determined to marry the man of her choice no matter what her father said. I really loved the heroine of this story, Lady Celinda Grantham, and began to plan a series of sweet books that all took place during the Season of 1820, a series called Handful of Hearts. And I decided Celinda needed to be introduced to my readers as the friend of Jenny Crowley in A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe.
Eventually, I wanted all the books in the series to have the word “Heart” in the title, so I changed the name to Hearts Beneath the Mistletoe, got my indie editor, Danielle Fine, to create a fabulous new cover, and the book became the prequel to my Handful of Hearts series.
Now, over ten years later, I came to the realization that my brand has shifted completely to steamy historical romance, so I’m recreating all the Handful of Hearts books, adding additional content (and in the case of Mischief Under the Mistletoe new motivations as well) and ramping up the steam. I hope you enjoy this re-imagined version of Jenny’s plight.
You can still read the original story, ‘Tis the Season, in my collection of the four flash fiction pieces called All Wrapped Up. It’s available for Free here on Amazon. Two of the other shorts in this collection have also gone on to become novellas in their own right. One, The Present, is now His Christmas Present, about a girl who has to do her sister’s dirty work and break up with her boyfriend two days before Christmas, is available on Amazon. It is a contemporary, erotic novella. The other one, originally called the Kissing Tree, was turned into a novella two years ago in an anthology called Nine Ladies Dancing. It’s called The Christmas Pact, about two children who make a marriage pact when they are quite young and what happens when one of them wants to claim the pact years later. I hope to release it this Christmas as a stand alone novella.
So that is the story of how Mischief Under the Mistletoe came to be.
Anyone else who wants a signed copy of Mistletoe, send me an email and we can set that up!
This will be the last week for snippets from Mischief Under the Mistletoe. The book releases on Tuesday and next week I’ll go on to my next pre-order book, Romancing Lady Augusta, my upcoming release from Dragonblade!
Every romance needs a bit of mischief. . .
At her eighteenth birthday celebration Jenny Crowley’s parents announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years, Jenny has actually 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 festive Christmas house party–complete with many eligible young bachelors–Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps find the man of her dreams.
Alec Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny about as much as she does, but when his family’s dire financial status comes out, 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 horrible mistake. Struggling with his unexpected 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?
I’m jumping ahead again to one of the most fun sections of the book were the young ladies and gentlemen are “running the mistletoe,” a game of chase that ends with a kiss if the gentleman can catch the lady. Here’s what happens when Jenny runs the mistletoe with Lord Somersby! Enjoy!
Jenny squealed and pounded through the clearing, kicking up tufts of wet, dead leaves as
she fled for the far side of the circle. She could hear her pursuer’s soft laugh as he drew closer to her. She glanced back to find him only a few paces behind her, his eyes intent on her as he reached for her. He’d have her in his arms in moments. Had she made her point that she would not simply fall into his arms as Celinda had done with Alec? Could she now slow her stride and show him she did wish to be captured? Wanted his kiss?
Her steps faltered. How wonderful would it feel to have his body close to hers, closer even than in their waltz, his warm lips grazing her cheek? Anticipation stirred deep within so she slowed her pace and turned to face him.
The grin that lit Somersby’s handsome face spread so wide the lines alongside his cheeks deepened. His eyes snapped with a triumphant gleam, and he stopped several paces in front of her, scarcely breathing hard.
Somersby raised an eyebrow and stalked toward her. “You should have made it more of a challenge, Miss Crowley,” he said as he drew near.
Oh, so she had not been enough challenge for him? That put Jenny’s hackles up.
“Although I’m flattered you’re that eager for another kiss from me,” he said softly. “We must find a more private opportunity next time.” He reached for her to claim his prize.
Entranced, as though she were a mouse confronted by a snake, Jenny could only stand there, heart pounding with an insistent beat, watching him close the distance between them. In another moment, he would take her arm then claim his kiss.
A sharp movement to her side drew her attention to Alec, standing beside Celinda. He’d crossed his arms over his chest, his face creased into a frown that somehow bespoke not only anger but sadness.
Then Somersby’s arms came up to snare her.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There are some great stories out there!
Every romance needs a bit of mischief. . .
At her eighteenth birthday celebration Jenny Crowley’s parents announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years, Jenny has actually 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 festive Christmas house party–complete with many eligible young bachelors–Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps find the man of her dreams.
Alec Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny about as much as she does, but when his family’s dire financial status comes out, 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 horrible mistake. Struggling with his unexpected 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?
I’m jumping ahead to Jenny’s introduction to Lady Celinda Grantham at the Christmas house party Jenny’s Aunt Arabella invites her to. They are talking about coming out in the spring when Celinda mentions The Matchmaker’s Ball. Enjoy!
“Well, the reason it’s called that is that, several years running now, almost all the young ladies who attend the ball end up meeting the man they marry.” Celinda grasped her tea and took a long sip. “The second year that happened, the ton noticed and started calling it The Matchmaker’s Ball.”
“How delightful.” Jenny smiled and picked up her cup. Perhaps she could relate this to Mama and Great-Aunt Harriet when she returned home. One never knew what might change her great-aunt’s mind. About to take a sip, Jenny stopped, eyes widening. “But Celinda, you attended the ball this year, you said. Why are you not married?”
Her friend shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, it’s not a hard and fast rule that a young lady will find her true love there. I thought I had, but then Papa disliked him and wouldn’t agree to our marrying.”
“Why did he object?”
“Lord Kensington, while his title is old, has less money than a church mouse. Papa called him a fortune hunter and wouldn’t budge when I pleaded with him.” Celinda scowled. “I had to tell his lordship that we couldn’t marry, after all.”
“Did he pledge you his undying love?” Such a romantic story her friend had been caught up in.
“No, he turned around and married Lady Harlow, who is at least ten years older than he but possessed of the sizeable fortune her first husband had left her.” Celinda shrugged. “I have come to bear my trial, as you are doing, Jenny, with as much fortitude as I can muster.”
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the WWW snippets here! There’s some great stories out there!
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 