Meara Platt

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Spotlight on “A Duke for Josefina” in Desperate Daughters

A Duke for Josefina by Meara Platt

Lady Josefina would much rather spend her time studying plants and their healing properties, but her father, the Earl of Seahaven, has died and left the family impoverished. Marriage seems her only alternative until she meets the handsome Duke of Bourne in an apothecary in York’s ancient Shambles. He offers her an intriguing proposition, a fake betrothal and a king’s ransom as reward if she returns with him to his estate and finds a cure for his sister’s illness. But will the true reward be his heart?

And 8 other great stories.

Excerpt

Josefina regarded him as though he were demented. “Marry you? Marry you? You are asking me to marry you?”

She did not realize their steward had just come up behind her and had heard her repeat his proposal. The man rushed to the major domo to report the news, was overheard by several other stewards who were now reporting it to the patrons they were charged to serve.

It took no more than a minute for the whispers to swell to an excited buzz around the tea room, as though a thousand bees were now buzzing around their hive.

Josefina was now laughing at the preposterous notion, a response the other patrons mistook for joyful acceptance. After all, who would not be overjoyed to marry the Duke of Bourne?

Was he not the catch of the season?

The catch of a lifetime?

Well, he had truly gotten himself into a fix.

He had meant to say, a pretend marriage…or rather, a pretend engagement. Then he could scoop her away to meet his sister and aunt, all proper since everyone would believe she was his betrothed. After she had reaped her plants and turned them into medicinal powders and tinctures, he would have dumped an enormous monetary settlement on her and allowed her to quietly end their betrothal.

But he had said ‘marry’.

Forgotten that crucial word…pretend.

There was no help for it now.

He took Josefina’s hand in his and raised it to his lips. “Smile, Josefina. Everyone is looking. And yes, I am going to marry you.”

See the project page at the Bluestocking Belles’ website for more information.

Desperate Daughters is on preorder for publication on 17 May. Order now to get the preorder price of 99c

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Tea with the Duke of Bourne

The Duke of Bourne had the usual arrogance of his rank—bred in the bone and trained from the cradle, but he also had excellent manners. When they chanced upon one another in Miss Clemens bookstore, Eleanor invited him to take tea with her so that she could ask after his aunt and his sister. He agreed immediately and without any visible signs of racking his brains to think of an urgent engagement elsewhere.

He was also very happy to talk about his women folk. “Lady Philidia is well, Your Grace. She is staying with friends in the country at the  moment. We both miss Clarissa while she is away at school in Yorkshire, but my aunt most of all, perhaps. They are very close.”

“My regards to her when you next speak, Bourne. And how is Lady Clarissa?”

“My sister seems to be enjoying her school, at least as far as I can tell from her letters. I plan to open our estate up there for Christmastide, so we can enjoy the holiday together. I shall tell her you ask after her.”

“Do that, Bourne. And let her know that Frances is still talking about the fortnight they spent together at the Chirburys in the summer.” Eleanor chuckled. “Seven girls, all on the verge of putting away their childhood and beginning to explore stepping into their future role as young ladies! I quite understand my niece’s motivations in suggesting the house party, for they will already have friends when they face their first season, but I imagine keeping their feet on the ground and their high spirits under control was quite a challenge.”

“Clarissa will have friends from school, too,” Bourne agreed. “Not that I wish to think of her on the marriage mart, ma’am. To me, she is still my sweet little sister.”

“And so she always will be,” Eleanor told him. Her eyes twinkled. “Perhaps you should think of marrying, Bourne. A wife would be a huge boon when it comes to your sister’s debut. You would be able to leave her and Lady Philidia to be her guard dogs while you retire to the card room with the rest of the gentlemen.”

Bourne actually paled. “An interesting idea, Your Grace,” he managed to say. Which, interpreted, meant, “Over my dead body, you interfering old biddy.”

Eleanor smiled and offered him another cup of tea.

The Duke of Bourne is the hero of Meara Platt’s  “A Duke for Josefina”, a story in Desperate Daughters. On preorder now. Only 99c until publication.

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Spotlight on The Journey of Love

Sometimes it takes getting lost to truly find one’s way home.

What happens when a blazing hot Brayden hero matches wits with a strong-willed Farthingale heroine and the mysterious Book of Love?

Camellia Farthingale, the youngest of the Devonshire Farthingale sisters, wants nothing to do with London and the Marriage Mart. However, she has agreed to go along with her sisters, Juniper and Willow, preferring to face the ordeal of a society debut with them rather than alone. But now her sisters have found love, and Cammy is on her own after all. She cannot go to London and runs away, for she harbors a secret she dares not tell anyone, not even Lorcan Brayden, the man charged with bringing her home. She has taken the Book of Love with her as she fled, but while reading it in quiet moments, she realizes that sometimes it takes running away to find the courage to face one’s fears. And that in pledging her heart to Lorcan she has found the strength to stand on her own.

Lorcan Brayden has been charged with finding Cammy and delivering her safely to London. He is determined to fulfill his mission since he is one of the Crown’s best agents and this is what he is trained to do. But he soon realizes there is more to Cammy’s fears than making her society debut. There is a killer waiting for her in London and she is the only one who can identify him. Lorcan has fallen in love with Cammy and will never let anyone hurt her. But even with all his training and prowess, can he protect the woman he loves? Especially as Cammy gains the courage to stand on her own?

Not every journey is measured in miles. Join Lorcan and Cammy as they take their Journey of Love.

Buy link: https://bit.ly/TheJourneyOfLove