(Happy Cinco de Mayo to those who celebrate!)
The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress
Millworth Manor # 5
Millworth Manor # 5
By: Victoria Alexander
Releasing April 28th, 2015
Zebra
Blurb
To Do:
Swim naked in the moonlight
Play in a high stakes card game
Ride an elephant
Be painted sans clothing.
Take a lover…
Lucy Merryweather has inherited a
fortune—and her great-aunt’s list of unfulfilled wishes. What better way to
honor her memory than by accomplishing as many of them as possible? And with
Lucy’s family an ocean away in New York, nothing stands in her way—if one
ignores the private investigator hired to spy on her.
Yet Cameron Effington is infuriatingly
difficult to ignore…
As a reporter, Cameron is always looking for
a good story. An American heiress running rampant between Millworth Manor and
Mayfair is the perfect subject. Not to mention captivating. And extremely
kissable. And if Lucy believes he’s a detective? Well, the truth should never
get in the way of a good story—or hinder delicious, impetuous passion…
Excerpt
When the family had finished dinner, his
mother drew a deep breath. “Cameron, your father has something he wishes to
discuss with you.”
Father’s brow furrowed. “I had planned to
have that discussion privately.”
“Absolutely not.” Mother shook her head.
“I do not intend to take sides, but I will not be left out of this.”
“Nor will I,” Grandmother said in a
deceptively pleasant tone. Obviously she too knew what this was about.
“Very well.” Father’s tone was sharp.
“The rest of you may leave.”
“I believe I prefer to stay,” Spencer
said mildly.
Thad glanced at Grace and Simon and
nodded. “As do we.”
“As you wish.” Father paused, then his
hard gaze met his youngest son’s. Unease clenched Cam’s stomach. “I have not been
happy at this rift between us. So, a few days ago, in the spirit of harmony or
even perhaps compromise, I read an edition of the Daily Messenger for the first time.”
“For the first time?” Cam said slowly.
“Good Lord, Father!” Grace stared. “He’s
been writing for the paper for over a year and you haven’t read it until now?”
“No,” Father snapped, and glared at his
daughter. “I have not.”
“Don’t you think you should have?” Simon
asked.
“The rest of us have,” Thad added.
Cam stared at his father, disappointment
and something that might well have been hurt rising within him. “You haven’t
read anything I’ve written?”
“I have.” Mother raised her chin. “I have
read every single issue since Cam began his work there.”
“And I have read most of them as well,”
Grandmother said.
“As have I.” Spencer gestured at his
siblings. “We all have.”
“You needn’t look at me like that, any of
you.” Father glared. “I said I haven’t read the Daily Messenger. In point of fact, I have read every word
Cameron has written.” Father slanted Mother an annoyed look. She refused to
meet his gaze. “Your mother has clipped every story, every article for me in
what I now see as a most devious attempt to keep me in a state of innocent
ignorance. However, three days ago I read the Messenger in its entirety and I now understand why she
went to such great efforts to prevent that.” Father’s eyes narrowed. “I have
never before read something as filled with slander and gossip and salacious
skewing of facts and events. Something so scandalous and so . . . so liberal. It’s appalling and not worth the paper
it’s written on.”
“I don’t think it’s any worse than any
other paper, Father,”
Spencer said.
“The Cadwallenders are an honorable
family and I do not understand how they can publish this sort of rubbish.”
“Admittedly there is a great deal of
emphasis on scandal and gossip and sensationalism, but unfortunately, Father”— Thad
shrugged—“that is what sells papers. It’s what people want to read.”
“It’s not what I want to read,” Father
said firmly. “It’s not what respectable members of society want to read.”
“Then perhaps you would do well not to
read it again,” Cam said in as calm a manner as he could muster.
“Cam’s work is very good, Father.” Thad
offered Cam a smile of support. “He is an excellent writer.”
“I know that,” Father snapped. “But he
should put that talent to a better use.”
“What would that be, Father?” Cam’s voice
hardened. “Should I occupy myself with the family’s business interests alongside
Simon and Thad and write reports on investment strategies and import regulations?
Should I work with Spencer and write about the newest agricultural methods for
increasing profitability of the estates?”
“Don’t be absurd.” Father scoffed. “You
know as well as I you aren’t suited for any of that. You could write books. That’s
respectable enough.”
Cam’s jaw tightened. “One doesn’t just
sit down and write a book. It’s not that easy.”
“Balderdash.” Father waved off the
comment. “Your grandmother did it.”
“Thank you, dear,” the dowager said in a
wry tone.
“I don’t have anything to write about.”
Cam drew a deep calming breath. “I have led a life of privilege and wealth. I
have been well educated and have been fortunate enough to have had the means to
travel. All in the comfort we are accustomed to. I think one should know the
world in its fullness, the good and the bad, before one attempts to create worlds
of one’s own. But I know nothing of the real world and the real people in it. I
know nothing of life.”
“I thought we were real people,” Grace
murmured.
“Stuff and nonsense.” Father huffed.
“Your grandmother knew nothing of life and yet she—”
“She,” Grandmother said sternly, “had a
mother who died when she was quite young and a father who gambled and drank
away the family fortune and honor. A father prepared to sell his daughters to
the highest bidders to finance his vices. She and her orphaned sisters lived in a
country house that was barely held together by little more than prayer and
hope. She
knows what it’s
like to have little to eat, no dowry, no prospects for improvement, and no
future. I should think that would give me some sense of life beyond the privileged
world we now inhabit.”
“My apologies, Mother.” Father grimaced.
“I had forgotten about all that.”
Cam stared in surprise. This was a story
he had never heard before, and judging from the looks on the faces of his
siblings, neither had they.
“It’s best forgotten, really.”
Grandmother shrugged. “It was a very long time ago and most of my life has been
quite lovely. But those early days taught me a great deal about life I never
would have known otherwise.” She turned toward Cam. “Every experience, every
new person you meet, every new situation you observe is all fuel, Cameron. Muses
are notoriously hungry, but if you feed them they will shower you with
inspiration.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
Father stared for a moment. “That’s the
most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Why, I wrote as a young man. Certainly, I
never had anything published—”
“They do say certain talents are known to
skip a generation, dear,” Mother said pleasantly.
“Regardless, I had no need for a muse.”
Father snorted.
“Which explains a great deal,”
Grandmother said under her breath.
“Thank you, Mother.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, Jonathon.
I am an old lady and I deserve respect if nothing else.” Grandmother pinned him
with a firm gaze. “I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. Although I
will say, your writing was better than your father’s poetry.” She shuddered.
“Sentiment is not the same thing as good, although he did try, the dear man. And
while you may have been a dreadful writer, you have been an excellent duke. The
family is as sound as the Bank of England itself, thanks to your leadership, in
terms of its finances and reputation. And I am extraordinarily proud of you.”
Father’s mouth dropped open and a stunned
look crossed his face. “I don’t think I have ever heard you say that before.”
“Don’t be absurd, Jonathon.” She picked
up her sherry. “I say it all the time.”
“Well, that’s that then,” Mother said
brightly, and started to rise, her sons getting to their feet as well. “I think
we should all retire to the—”
“Sit down all of you, I am not finished.”
Father glared and they all sat back down. “I have yet to make my point.”
“I thought he made any number of points,”
Grace said in an aside to Simon beside her.
“Exactly what I hoped to avoid.” Mother
sighed. “Very well then, go on.”
“I intend to,” Father said sharply, then
turned to Cam. “Regardless of the fact that you are writing under a different name,
this reporting of yours for that disreputable rag of a newspaper is scandalous
and embarrassing and puts this family in the poorest of lights.” Father’s tone
hardened. “You will resign your position at once.” Mother groaned. “Jonathon!”
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Author Info
New
York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award-winning
television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real
life. She turned to writing full time and has never looked back. Victoria grew
up traveling the country as an Air Force brat and is now settled in a very old
house in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two allegedly grown children and
two bearded collies. She firmly believes housework is a four-letter word, there
are no calories in anything eaten standing up, procrastination is an art form, and
it's never too soon to panic.
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My Review
4 out of 5 stars
The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress by Victoria
Alexander is part of the 'Milworth Manor' series
and follows American Lucy
Merryweather who accompanies her erstwhile fiancé to England where he claims
his inheritance, but pursues her own agenda once there. A private promise to the great-aunt she was
named after results in a series of unconventional experiences, complicated by
the presence of the man who she believes was hired to watch over her but who
has his own very different agenda. A
complicated web of half-truths and dissembling mixed with the struggle against
family expectations cannot help but backfire for the participants, hopefully
with results that both can live with—unless they pass the point of no return
and find that forgiveness is an impossibility.
by Victoria
Alexander is part of the 'Milworth Manor' series and follows American Lucy
Merryweather who accompanies her erstwhile fiancé to England where he claims
his inheritance, but pursues her own agenda once there. A private promise to the great-aunt she was
named after results in a series of unconventional experiences, complicated by
the presence of the man who she believes was hired to watch over her but who
has his own very different agenda. A
complicated web of half-truths and dissembling mixed with the struggle against
family expectations cannot help but backfire for the participants, hopefully
with results that both can live with—unless they pass the point of no return
and find that forgiveness is an impossibility.
This fun historical romance provides a twist on the typical
stories of this genre and gives a view of the rigidity of society of this era
from the perspective of a woman who has grown up in a brash new country that
has made its own rules. It is fun to see
the way the culture and mores conflict between those in America and those in
England, while in other respects there are still strictures that have
traditionally circumscribed the roles of women over the years, as is seen in
the flashbacks provided by Lucy’s great-aunt’s writings. I like that this is a non-traditional hero
who is doing his own excellent job at rebelling against the rules imposed on
him by his position in society and his family.
The combination of curiosity, stubbornness and creativity gives
the heroine a delightful personality that makes her adventures fascinating
while the hero’s actions dig him deeper and deeper into a quagmire of his own
making. I enjoy the combination of humor
and passion that permeates the blossoming relationship although I think that
some of the revelations took a bit too long to discover and the resolutions
were drawn out a little too long for my tastes.
This author pens enjoyable tales peopled with complex individuals whose
exploits provide both humor and heat in an entertaining combination and this
story is no exception. I look forward to
getting more in-depth looks at some of the intriguing secondary characters from
this tale and, although I had no trouble reading this as a stand-alone, there
were cameos by several characters from earlier in the series whose story I
would like to read, therefore I am going to be looking for earlier books in the
series as I seemed to have missed a few.
© Night Owl Reviews
I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.
