Author: judeknight

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Tea with a daughter-in-law

Another excerpt post from Paradise At Last, published this week as part of Paradise Triptych. Eleanor has a heart to heart with Cherry, the new Duchess of Haverford.

They took tea one afternoon in the little parlour Cherry had made her own. The previous evening Haverford had escorted them both to a formal dinner, with dancing afterwards, at the home of Lord Henry’s daughter Susan.

“You will be able to take up the work again, now that you are feeling more energetic,” Eleanor told her daughter-in-law. “I’m very happy to hand it all back to you, or to continue with some of it. You must just tell me what you need.”

“We shall see,” Cherry commented. “I expect I will need your help later in the year. You have guessed have you not?”

Eleanor acknowledged the truth of that with a smile and a nod.

“I thought so. You have not fussed over me as much as Anthony, but you are always there with a snack or a drink when I need it, and always ready to take over when a nap overwhelms me.” She put a hand over Eleanor’s and squeezed. “You and Mother are the only ones to know, apart from Anthony.”

“And, I imagine, your dresser,” Eleanor joked. “It is hard to keep such a secret from one’s maid.”

It was Cherry’s turn to smile and nod.

“Dearest, I could not be more thrilled,” Eleanor said. “And not because of that nonsense about an heir to the Haverford duchy. I have seen enough of you together to know that the love you bear one another is far more important than who carries on the title after we are all gone. But you deserve the little blessing you carry. You and my son will be wonderful parents.”

Cherry burst into tears. “Excuse me, Aunt Eleanor. I seem to have little control over my emotions at the moment.” She put her arms around Eleanor and Eleanor hugged her back, then offered a handkerchief so she could dry her eyes.

“And what of you?” Cherry asked. “I always thought you and Uncle James would make a match of it after the old duke died. We would all be so pleased. Can you not talk to him, Aunt Eleanor?”

Eleanor shook her head. “I expect you know what he thinks of me. Sarah was there when he found out what I had done. I cannot even blame him for it, for I was wrong.”

Cherry made an impatient noise. “And I suppose he has never made a mistake in his life? To throw away all of your history and the friendship you have found in the last few years—surely he is not so foolish.”

Eleanor sighed. “Shall we talk about something else, my dear? What dreadful weather we are having.”

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Spotlight on My Love, My Rogue

She faked her death. He now knows she’s alive. Can they survive the treacherous enemy that hunts them and gain a chance for love and happiness?

Lady Honora Radcliff was betrothed to the most sought-after man of the Season— just not the man she loved. Too much champagne and too many dances with a handsome stranger leaves her life in tatters and she finds herself married to an abusive man whose only interest is the dowry her father refuses to release. Desperate to save her life and that of her unborn child, she fakes her death and disappears.

Lord Benjamin Crewe, the Marquess of Willington, planned to enjoy the Christmastide season relaxing. Instead, he accepts a dangerous assignment from the Crown and while working it, comes face to face with the woman he always wished he had married. Only she has been thought dead for three years.

Needing answers, he pursues her at the same time a treacherous enemy of England surfaces, and the two of them become tangled in a web of danger, espionage, and deception.

Can Honora and Benjamin survive the danger in which they find themselves and gain a chance for love and happiness?

Buy Links

Amazon – https://amazon.com/Lord-Rogue-Noble-Hearts-Book-ebook/dp/B09SFFWN1P/

B&N – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-lord-my-rogue-anna-st-claire/1141004890?ean=2940160798554

Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1610262220

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/my-lord-my-rogue

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60419196-my-lord-my-rogue

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/my-lord-my-rogue-noble-hearts-series-book-4-by-anna-st-claire

Excerpt

Saltdean, Brighton, England

March 1815

Lady Honora Aster stood at the edge of the cliff and regarded the black void of the ocean pounding below and wondered if she could blend in anywhere, ever again, or if her life would be the endless onslaught of pain and mockery she endured today. The frothy waves beckoned her, daring her to jump and join them. The cold March winds whipped her auburn curls wildly about her face as she stood in her night rail and wrapper at the edge of the cliff, staring through the thick layer of sea mist. The smell of salt and seaweed hung heavy in the air. Wet fog soaked her night clothing as she watched the water crash onto the jagged rocks below. She felt lost and hopeless.

Her mind spun with memories of the life she had foolishly cast aside. Two months before, she had been on her way to Lady Beaumont’s event, betrothed to Adam Hunter, the Marquess of Greystone. Her disgraceful behavior that night ended her betrothal and forced her to wed another—a man she barely knew, who had waltzed into her life that night and convinced her they were meant for each other. Today, her marriage to that man was anything but what he had promised her. A shiver shook her. Shamefully, in mere months, her former betrothed would return home from the battlefields to find out she had jilted him. And for what? For the man who married her and used her. Tonight, there was only ache, cold, and loneliness.

Closing her eyes, she struggled against the memory of that fateful night.

She had been eager to attend Lady Beaumont’s event. It had been the height of the social season—and the end of life, as she had known it. With Adam off fighting against Napoleon’s armies, her social life had been limited and felt stifling.

As her parents’ carriage slowed to a stop behind the waiting line, she noticed they were already discussing how long they should stay at the ball. Her betrothal to Adam had been the match of the Season, and her parents wanted nothing to mess up the engagement. A sarcastic laugh escaped as she gave thought to it all. Her parents had wanted the engagement more than she had.

Curse her heart, but she had hoped a different lord would offer for her—one who acted as if she did not exist. To make matters worse, it had been weeks since her last letter from Adam. He was everything one could want in a suitor. She would love him, she felt sure of it.

“Honora,” her mother said as she snugged her pelisse closer, “remember you are engaged. Do not dance more than once with anyone.”

“Yes, Mama.” Her mother did not have to worry. She might not love Adam as he professed to love her, but she cared for him and fervently wished he was here tonight to show off on her arm.

However, when Lord David Aster had shown her attention, she had ignored her promises, dancing twice with him, eliciting looks and whispers. The evening had spun out of control when she foolishly allowed him to take her to the garden, knowing he wanted to kiss her. But it had gone so much further—too far. When it did, David had promised they would be happy together. She attributed her foolishness to frustration, loneliness, and too much champagne.

He had professed to love her and had been quite attentive—at first. Honora had thought she loved him, but realized now that she had only been caught up in the moment’s passion. How could she love someone so cruel? Absently, she rubbed her raw wrists. “I had everything I ever could have wanted, and like a dog with a bone, I wanted another,” she muttered wearily. David had lied.

Finally, he had admitted it was all about her dowry. He needed it. Not her. Not this baby. The problem was that her dowry was the settlement promised to Adam with their betrothal contract. The contract she had broken. And her father refused to cede to David’s demands that David be given the money. They had eloped. There had been no contract.

Slowly, she took off her shoes and tossed them over the edge, one at a time, watching them land. One landed on the sandy, rocky bottom, the second on a large, jagged rock just as a fierce wave full of foam slapped at the cliff beneath her. When the wave withdrew into the ocean, the shoe had gone with it.

Honora shifted closer to the edge and stood, her bare toes feeling the wet grass beneath them. Her toes hugged the edge. It gave a sense of control to be there. David had stripped her of her sense of worth, her own sense of being. She had run from him and he followed her, demanding she return to London. She would never return to London as his wife. Tears streamed down her cheek unchecked as she recalled their last conversation.

He had walked in behind her, yelling her name. She hated his voice.

“I have had enough of your family.”

“You are back.” It was more of a statement. She closed her wardrobe and turned to face him.

“Your father refuses to acknowledge me as your husband,” David seethed, his arms crossed.

“David, please . . .our marriage, everything, it all happened so fast.” She glanced where he was looking, curious. He was watching the gardener tending her aunt’s roses in the seaside garden behind her Brighton home.

“You have not supported my needs. I married you as I promised. I gave you my name.” His voice turned ugly, mocking, “Your Marquess would not have married you, once he returned. I did your parents a favor.”

“David, I have pleaded with Father. He refuses.” She touched her belly, unsure of how to break the news. “Why did you follow me?”

He turned from the window and glowered at her. “You are my wife—my property. And you owe me . . .” He grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the bed.

“David, stop,” she pleaded. “My aunt will hear us. Please . . . I am with child.”

His eyes bore into her before he grabbed her by the wrists, twisting them roughly. “What?” he roared. “You tricked me into marrying you so I would give my name to your bastard child.” He released one wrist and backhanded her with his free arm, knocking her back onto her bed before advancing on her.

Shaking, she drew up into a protective ball, watching him through blinding tears. “That is not true. I have only just missed my courses. There has only been you. You know this is truth.”

He had moved toward her, but her words stopped him. Instead, he stood and walked to the door. “Clean up. I shall return at dinner.” With that, he opened the door and stopped. “You shall convince your aunt to support our side, tonight at dinner.” He gave her a last look and slammed the door closed behind him.

Moments later, Bridget tapped on the door before entering into the room. “Your ladyship! What has happened?” The petite maid dropped the linens she carried and rushed to the basin and wet a cloth, carrying it back to Honora.

“Bridget, I cannot take this anymore. He is so cruel. He accused me of having another’s baby.” Honora hiccupped, struggling to catch a breath. “You are the only one that knows what he does to me.”

Her maid pursed her lips and gave a tight nod. “I will see to everything as you have asked, m’lady.”

Bridget was as true a friend as any other. She had grown up with Honora in the Radcliff home. Honora trusted her above everyone, except Evie. She needed to trust that Evie would do one last favor for her. Ashamed and unwilling to hurt Adam any more than she already had, she sat at a small escritoire and withdrew a page of vellum. Quickly, she penned a note to her childhood friend. When it was complete, she sanded it and folded it. Melting her lavender candle, she dripped enough wax for her seal. Satisfied, she reached under her bed and withdrew her valise. Bridget would see the letter here, she thought, stuffing it inside the side pocket.

Honora found herself pregnant, humiliated, and all alone. She had already written to her parents, giving Bridget specific instructions on when she wanted the letters mailed. This was the only way she saw to gain her freedom. Loosening her wrapper’s tie, she pulled it free and watched the wrapper fall. It floated gently on a breeze before disappearing into the fog-laden haze below her feet. She took one last look at the white silk wrapper snagged on a branch partially down the side of the cliff. There were no other options. This was her only way out of a life she hated.

A black carriage rolled up behind her and stopped. She turned and gave a slight nod of acknowledgment to the driver. It was time to leave. Slowly, she backed away from the edge and walked toward the open carriage door her aunt’s footmen held for her. Bridget had a warm pelisse waiting. They needed to make haste before he returned.

Meet Anna St Claire

Anna St. Claire is a big believer that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself. She sprinkles her stories with laughter, romance, mystery and lots of possibilities, adhering to the belief that goodness and love will win the day.

Anna is both an avid reader author of American and British historical romance. She and her husband live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their  two dogs and often, their two beautiful granddaughters, who live nearby. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, and Mimi—all life roles that Anna St. Claire relishes and feels blessed to still enjoy. And she loves her pets – dogs and cats alike, and often inserts them into her books as secondary characters.

Anna relocated from New York to the Carolinas as a child. Her mother, a retired English and History teacher, always encouraged Anna’s interest in writing, after discovering short stories she would write in her spare time.

As a child, she loved mysteries and checked out every Encyclopedia Brown story that came into the school library. Before too long, her fascination with history and reading led her to her first historical romance—Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind, now a treasured, but weathered book from being read multiple times. The day she discovered Kathleen Woodiwiss,’ books, Shanna and Ashes In The Wind, Anna became hooked. She read every historical romance that came her way and dreams of writing her own historical romances took seed.

Today, her focus is primarily the Regency and Civil War eras, although Anna enjoys almost any period in American and British history.

https://www.annastclaire.com

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-st-claire

https://twitter.com/1AnnaStClaire

https://www.facebook.com/authorannastclaire

https://www.amazon.com/Anna-St-Claire/e/B078WMRHHF

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17419205

https://www.instagram.com/annastclaire_author/

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The social setting on WIP Wednesday

 

For once, I’m setting a novel largely in Society, with my heroine–at least in the first quarter of the novel–a 17-year-old debutante. (In the second and larger part, she will be a 32-year-old widow.)

So I’ve been exploring a ballroom and social engagements setting through the eyes of a very young woman. And boy, as every Regency reader knows, there were some bad girls in those Regency ballrooms. My excerpt covers an encounter Regina had with three of them. If you’re an author, please share an excerpt in the comments showing how one of your characters gets on when out socialising.

It was good that she had a good memory for faces and names, for every outing introduced her to new acquaintances, and she soon gathered a bevy of regular admirers. Mama was over the moon, but Regina did not believe that any of them were serious in their pursuit. Somehow, admiring Miss Kingsley had become the fashion.

Making friends of the other ladies proved to be more difficult. Here, her looks and her wealth apparently counted against her. The other reigning beauties treated her like an interloper, and less favoured ladies regarded her with the same cautious distance as they applied to the beauties.

That changed one day when she overheard Miss Wharton and her two bosom friends in the ladies retiring room one evening, attempting to cow another girl. Regina was behind the screen when they entered, three of them clearly on the heels of the other.

“Please, leave me alone.” Regina didn’t recognise that voice, but she did recognise Miss Fairchild’s falsely sweet coo.

“Oh, girls, Miss Millgirl wants us to leave her alone.”

Regina had not met Miss Miller, but she recognised the name, even skewed to be an insult. The pretty girl’s mother had come from a middle class family whose considerable fortune was founded on mill ownership. She had secured one of the marital prizes of twenty years ago and some in Society had not forgiven the trespass.

Miss Wharton hissed. “Go home and we shall leave you alone. You stink of the shop, and we do not plan to put up with you. These are our ballrooms, our suitors. Just because your mother was lucky enough to trap a gentleman, doesn’t mean we are going to let you do so.” The horrid cow.

“Is this because I danced with Lord Spenhurst?” asked Miss Miller.

Miss Plumfield screeched, “You will not do so again.” The sound of fabric ripping brought Regina hurrying out from behind the privacy screen.

All three of them were tearing at Miss Miller’s clothing and hair, while she batted at them, begging them to leave her alone.

Regina caught Miss Plumfield’s raised hand. “I cannot abide bullies,” she announced.

“This is none of your business, Miss Kingsley,” Miss Wharton insisted. “If you interfere, you’ll get the same treatment.”

“Yes,” Miss Fairchild agreed. “Get out of here while you still can.”

“What has happened to the maid?” Regina wondered.

A smug twitch of Miss Wharton’s lips gave her the clue.

“You bribed her to leave, did you? You did not want a witness. Unfortunate for you that I was already here. Come, Miss Miller. Let us go and find our hostess. I am sure she will be interested to know how her guests behave when not under the eye of their chaperones.”

Miss Wharton swung her hand to slap Regina’s face. Regina stepped back. “I would not do that if I were you.” Regina’s mother would have stopped her excursions with the village children much earlier had she known they had taught her to swim, to climb trees, and—most relevant in this situation—to fight.

Slapping would have been regarded by her tutors as a girlie thing to do. If Miss Wharton tried it again, Regina would let her, Regina decided. A red mark on her cheek would be her defence after she punched Miss Wharton in the belly.

Some of this calculation must have shown in her eyes, for Miss Wharton did not repeat the attempt.

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Tea with Cherry

“How was your trip to York, Cherry?” Eleanor, Her Grace of Winshire asked Charlotte,  Her Grace of Haverford, as she handed her daughter-in-law a cup of tea, made just the way she liked it, with a spoonful of cream and a small drizzle of honey.

“Delightful,” Cherry replied. “I understand why Anthony loves spending time on his yacht. The freedom, the sea air, the sense that we might be able to sail anywhere we please.” She laughed. “The knowledge that the door knocker won’t announce unexpected callers, and that a message will not arrive with an urgent summons to Clarence House.”

Eleanor nodded and agreed, though she privately thought that the kind of unexpected visitors who might invite themselves aboard at sea were somewhat more troublesome than a garrulous vicar or a gossip-seeking harridan. “I’m glad the weather stayed pleasant for you. And what of the wedding?”

Cherry laughed again. “That was fun, too. Lord Diomedes is a charming man and I found Lady Diomedes clever and delightful. Pretty, too, though not in the common way. The newlyweds are clearly deeply in love, and it was amusing to see Anthony competing with the Marquess of Pevenwood for most supportive half-brother. Apparently the Pevenwood side has only recently learned that it was their father who cut the connection, not Lord Diomedes himself. The two brothers came to York to find him, and then didn’t know how to approach him, so kept wandering in and out of social events for weeks, hoping to bump into him by accident.”

“Men can be duffers,” Eleanor remarked.

Cherry smiled and nodded. “So Pevenwood was anxious to make some magnificent gesture to show how pleased he was to have his brother back again, and Anthony was just as determined to show that the Haverford connection had an equal claim to flamboyant gestures. ”

Eleanor snorted. “Men,” she repeated.

“It all worked out in the end, and the bride and groom are very happy.”

Cherry is reporting on the wedding of Dom Finchley and Chloe Tavistock, from my story Lord Cuckoo Comes Home, out in the anthology Desperate Daughters on 8th May. The anthology has nine stories, all centred around the York Season and the daughters and other family connections of the dowager Countess of Seahaven.

See more about Lord Cuckoo Comes Home

See more about Desperate Daughters

Order Desperate Daughters at the preorder price of only 99c

 

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Spotlight on Lady Be Wanton

The lady wants to be good.

Lady Imogen has reformed! She’s witty, from an old Irish family, in pursuit of a fine man to marry—and she swears she’ll never indulge in her little…um…peccadilloes again!

She’s arrived in Brighton with her two sisters and her cousin for the Season—and she’ll ignore anyone who gossips about Grandpapa’s notorious odd talents—or her own tiny scandal. After all, a lady can change.

The gentleman wants revenge. 

Returning home after the wars, Lex Rowlandson, the Earl of Martindale, vows to find the cur who sold him and his father into the hell of Napoleon’s dungeons.

With a few clues to the identity of the creature who stole years from his life and caused the death of his father, Lex seeks out suspects at a Brighton ball. But he’s captured by the effervescent woman whose smiles light the dark corners of his heart.

He should not be distracted from his cause. Yet he cannot resist the lure of Imogen’s charm. When he witnesses her plight at the hands of one fellow who threatens her reputation, Lex saves it—and marries her.

Falling in love with her husband, Imogen sees that the best way to thank him for saving her is to commit the very crime she vowed never to repeat.

But can a man whose life was stolen from him love a wife whose skill is taking from others what is not hers?

Release Date: March 8 

Order now on: https://amzn.to/3Hfcm0G

First kiss excerpt

“You are a rare woman. And I applaud you.” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her lips. “Will you come see me to the door?”

His sweetness and his sorrow filled her with relief. “If you tell me when I’ll see you again.”

He tossed his head back and forth as if he considered the possibility. Then he threw her a lop-sided grin. “I will if you kiss me goodbye.”

“Now?” She feigned horror, a hand to her throat.

“The best time.”

She threw back her head to laugh. “Such bribery.”

“Larceny with good purpose. To see you laugh is worth every crime.”

She clutched the superfine of his frock coat. Such endearments lifted her to heaven. “Be careful, sir. You turn my head.”

“I mean to.” He caught her against him, mid-chuckle. His body was made of iron, rippling massive heat that zipped through her like shards of desire. “Though I never planned it. I find that you call to me. Irresistible Imogen. I want to make you laugh each day.”

“And each night, too?”

“Do, but give me the chance,” he murmured as he threaded his fingers up into her hair and cupped her throat. He kissed her with a bright hot promise of delight. His lips eager and searching, hard with need. And oh, such delicious madness, pressing her flesh to his.

He broke away with a start and steadied her on her feet. “Oh, Imogen, tonight, any night, I want to kiss you again.” He stepped away, his brown eyes bright, his countenance tight with control. Then he grinned. And winked at her. And spun off down the stairs.

Meet Cerise DeLand

Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore.

But I bet you knew that!

Did you know that she’s known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail?

That she’s an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and was first published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, later by St. Martin’s Press and independent presses?

That her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild? Right. And she’s won awards. Lots of them. Need details? Write to her. She’ll send you the list!

https://cerisedeland.com/contact/

 

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Flashback in WIP Wednesday

As a reader, how do you feel about flashbacks? Do you use them as an author? Please feel free to share them in the comments. I’m going to make quite heavy use of them in one of my current works in progress, when my hero (a former expeditionary officer and current Thames Police Surveyor) and my heroine (a former freedom fighter and current assassin) look back on their joint past. The first flashback is a dream. Afterwards, Matt realises that, when a fellow officer claimed to have been Ellie’s lover (and not the first) before Matt, he lied.

It was a dream, but it was also a memory, complete with sights, scents, sound, touch and taste.

The wind cut through the camp, howling between the tents, so that canvas flapped and poles creaked. The men on watch were out in it, poor buggers, and would likely still be on duty for the storm it presaged. The horses in their picket line would also have to take whatever nature chose to throw at them. Everyone else was hunkered down.

Except Matt. Matt was using the skills he’d learned in the slums and honed as an exploring officer in the motley group known as Lion’s Zoo because their major’s nickname was Lion. He was ghosting through the camp, silent and stealthy despite the lack of observers. 

There. His destination. A small tent sheltered in the l-shape formed by the major’s two tents—his quarters and his command station. 

Matt’s care increased. He was here by invitation, but didn’t fancy explaining himself to the major. Besides, he needed to be careful of Ellie’s reputation. 

Thanks to Major Ruthford’s influence, backed by his and Bear’s muscle and Chameleon’s lethal reputation, she had been accepted as a warrior and off-limits for dalliance. His pulse kicked up at the notion that she had chosen him to be her lover. No one could know, or even Lion’s Zoo could not keep her safe.

From outside her tent flap, he murmured her name, and then he was inside.

In the way of dreams, it skipped forward—past the conversation, the kissing, the cuddling. Past her shy admission that this was her first time. Past his labours to prepare her, efforts that brought her to her climax and over, and that raised his own arousal to a peak he’d never before known.

In the dream, he was entering her for the first time. She was slick with need, but tight and tense, and his control was held by a thread. “Relax,” he told her, and logic told him to get the pain over. Surge inside. Sheath himself fully in her welcoming warmth. Or was it his own self need that drove him? 

He didn’t know. Couldn’t think. Could only hold her close, kiss her with all the feelings he was afraid to acknowledge, and thrust through the resistance until he was buried balls deep, shuddering with the effort to hold still while she froze in pain and clenched against the invasion.

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Tea with a lover

Eleanor kept peeking at her lover over the rim of her tea cup.  Strictly speaking, she supposed, he was her betrothed. Certainly, he had stated his intention to marry her. It had been thrilling, at the time.

“I want to take you back to the townhouse you have rented, lock all the doors, take you to bed, and show you those young people at the farmhouse had no expertise in what they were doing. And after that, I want to marry you, make you my duchess, and spend the rest of my life loving you.”

She supposed, in accepting his invitation, she had replied, in a way. She would be his wife and his duchess soon. But meanwhile, she had taken a lover for the first time in her life, and she intended to enjoy the naughtiness of it.

“A penny for your thoughts, my love,” James said.

Eleanor felt the heat rise. She must be bright scarlet. She had been thinking about precisely how naughty James had been when he took her to bed not three hours ago.

She had been nervous, and no wonder. Though she had been a wife for thirty-six years and had given birth to two sons, both now adults, she knew next to nothing about bed sports. Just what she had picked up from the gossip of wives who had been more fortunate than she. Since Haverford appeared to have no trouble attracting women of every class, she had always wondered if some sort of a lack in her caused his perfunctory attention to bedding her, as if it was a tedious duty to be completed as quickly as possible.

“I don’t know what to do,” she had told James, shyly, as he helped her out of her clothing. He was kissing her back, going lower with each button opened, and there were a lot of buttons. But at her comment, he stopped. “Anything you wish, Eleanor,” he said.

“But I don’t know what to wish,” she objected, annoyed at herself for her own ignorance. She should have asked more questions when the conversation turned risque, instead of reminding those present that they were ladies by introducing another topic of conversation.

James turned her in his arms so that she was facing him. He had removed his outer clothing, and his shirt gaped at the neck. She stared at a patch of dark chest hair, wondering if it would be soft or wiry to the touch.

“Tell me what troubles you, my love. If you wish, we can wait until we are wed.”

For pique at his obtuseness, and to distract him, she almost reminded him that he had not proposed and she had not accepted. But that was hardly relevant to her dilemma. “I want us to be lovers, James. Now. Today, that is. But I have never done this before. Haverford never…” She took a deep breath and shut her eyes so that she did not have to seem him. That made it easier to explain. “In my marriage, I waited in bed. He visited. He pulled back the sheets, climbed on top, pushed himself into me, heaved a few times until he was done, and then left. I know there is more, and I trust you to show me, but James!” Her voice rose into a wail. “You have to tell me what to do!”

His voice was strained when he replied. “Give me a minute, beloved. I am fighting the urge to mount horse immediately, ride to Kent, fetch your husband out of his tomb, and kill him again.”

Her eyes flew open. Her lover’s face looked as if it had been hewn from granite, and his eyes blazed. His anger reassured her. James didn’t believe that her dismal experience of marital relations had been her fault. “A better revenge, I suspect, would be to thoroughly tup his wife.”

He laughed at that. “True. And show her the many ways that our bodies can give one another pleasure. Let me take you to Heaven, Eleanor. You don’t need to do a thing, but anything that occurs to you is good, too. Do whatever pleases you. And if anything I do does not please you, then tell me, and I will stop.”

It had worked. And it proved to be true that a man of his age had stamina and staying power. She smiled at her lover as she recalled her three occasions of pure bliss before he found his own completion.  “I was thinking that we should finish our tea then go back to bed and do it all again,” she said.

The proposition above is what James, the Duke of Winshire, said to Eleanor, the Duchess of Haverford, towards the end of Paradise At Last. Come on! It’s hardly a spoiler. You knew they were going to end up together, but what a journey they had to get there! Between the end of the last chapter of that book and the Epilogue that follows (a letter to her son who is on holiday in Europe), they clearly followed through on James’s suggestion, but I don’t show that in the book. So here is part of that scene. I left the bedroom door shut for the crucial part, because Eleanor is, after all, a lady and little shy about such things. Except, as it turns out, with James.

Paradise At Last is being published on March 15th, as part of Paradise Triptych, and is available on preorder.  Order now on https://books2read.com/Triptych

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Spotlight on Paradise Triptych

Long ago, when they were young, James and Eleanor were deeply in love. But their families tore them apart and they went on to marry other people.

Paradise Regained

James Winderfield yearns to end a long journey in the arms of his loving family. But his father’s agents offer the exiled prodigal forgiveness and a place in Society — if he abandons his foreign-born wife and children to return to England.
With her husband away, Mahzad faces revolt, invasion and betrayal in the mountain kingdom they built together. A queen without her king, she will not allow their dream and their family to be destroyed.
But the greatest threats to their marriage and their lives together is the widening distance between them. To win Paradise, they must face the truths in their hearts.

Paradise Lost

In 1812, the suitor Eleanor’s father rejected in favour of the Duke of Haverford has returned to England. He has been away for thirty-two years, and has returned a widower, and the father of ten children.
As the year passes, various events prompt Eleanor to turn to her box of keepsakes, which recall the momentous events of her life.
Paradise Lost is a series of vignettes grounded in 1812, in which Eleanor relives those memories.

Paradise At Last

Now Haverford is deceased nothing stands between the Duchess of Haverford and the Duke of Winshire. Except that James has not forgiven Eleanor for putting the dynasty of the Haverfords ahead of his niece’s happiness.
Can two star-crossed lovers find their happiness at last? Or will their own pride or the villain who wants to destroy the Haverfords stand in their way?

Paradise Triptych contains two novella and a set of memoirs: Paradise Regained (already published), Paradise Lost (distributed to my newsletter subscribers) and Paradise At Last (new for this collection).

Preorder now for 15th March: https://books2read.com/Triptych

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Calculating sea journeys

I was trying to work out the length of a sea journey from the borderlands with Scotland on the east coast to near Bristol in the west, and I came across a modern sailing distance calculator, which was just the thing. It allows you to plot your course, and then tells you the nautical miles. From there, it’s a simple (hah!) matter of working out the likely speed of your craft, taking into account the season (and therefore the weather and the prevailing winds and currents), the likelihood of pirates and storms, and any time in port along the way. And there you have it.

You’re welcome.

https://plainsailing.com/sailing-distance-calculator

See also my other posts on this perennial topic:
Average travelling times in the Regency
Travel times from port to port in the Mediterranean in the Regency