by Julia Donner
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GENRE: Regency Romance
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BLURB:
Society’s
beloved wastrel, Sir Harry Collyns, pushes his popularity past the point of
acceptability when he poses for a statue that creates a social uproar. People
line up for blocks to see Handsome Harry in the nude, sculpted by a female
artist! Bored with the fuss and scandal, Harry hitches up his fastest team,
heads for the country, and a near fatal curricle accident. When the bandages are
removed from his head days later, he discovers the angel-voiced widow who’d
cared for him is neither elderly nor as mild as her tone, but a straight-laced
do-gooder unimpressed with his flamboyant past and dashing good looks.
Head-battered and heading for a broken heart, he falls into love with Widow
Olivia St. Clair, who might be the one woman in England that Harry can’t charm
into loving him back.
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Exclusive Excerpt:
Dawn came and so did Fanny
with poached eggs and toast, which didn’t do much to fill the gaping hole from
eating so little for days. It did silence the constant growl in his stomach.
“Fanny, would it be possible
to have more toast? Perhaps some jam. And coffee instead of tea?”
“My, sir, you must be
feeling more the thing if you can keep down that much food.”
Another voice, one that sent
a shiver down his arms, said, “Perhaps after we’ve removed the bandages. Mrs.
Hoskins has started a mutton pottage.
First, we must see how your stitches are coming along.”
Sounding hopeful, Fanny
asked, “Do you need me to stay and help, Mrs. Olivia?”
“Thank you, no. It’s only a
few strips of linen, Fanny. Please take away the tray.”
Harry sat up straighter in
bed. Finally, he’d feel air on his face, see the sunlight and the world, the
green fields and pastures. Most of all, he’d look on the owner of the low, slow
voice—the lady who cared for him against everyone’s wishes.
He flinched when she touched
his shoulder. “Please, Sir Harry, stay absolutely still for a moment. I purposely
made the bandage knot too tight to unwind and these shears were recently
sharpened.”
A few snipping sounds, then
came the clunk of metal being set on a side table. It sounded heavy enough to
be a pair of sheep shears.
Layer by layer, she unwound
the linen strips, leaning close, surrounding him with the scent of roses. The
folded pads over his eyes finally tumbled to his lap. Air brushed over his
face, and he opened his eyes to a dim room where no lights had been lit for
days. He’d never smelled wax, tallow or oil burning.
He scraped his fingernails
over his scalp and finger-combed his hair, while Mrs. St. Clair’s shadow went
to the window, saying, “You might want to have a care for your eyes. It’s a
sunny day.”
He squinted to see her as
she pulled back the draperies and opened the squeaky latch. Fresh air rushed
into the room. He blinked to adjust to sunlight. His eyesight finally cleared.
He watched Mrs. St. Clair return to the bedside, then couldn’t remember how to
breathe.
Not elderly, certainly not
with a figure that hovered at the edge of plump, the sort of body that made him
want to cuddle, sink into all that comfort and—
“Sir Harry, is your eyesight
unimpaired?”
A burning sensation seared
across his chest and spread down his arms when he encountered chocolate-brown
eyes. Mrs. St. Clair had the level regard of someone without guile, someone who
knew herself and her place in the world. He supposed the world would consider
her ordinary, but he only saw a gentle loveliness and a haunting familiarity.
He recalled his cynical laugh when his brother confessed that he’d fallen for
Lizzie from her expression on a miniature.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Julia Donner (aka
M.L.Rigdon) grew up in historic Galena, IL, USA, and spent most of her time in
the museum of her aunt, who encouraged her interest in history and understood
the need to cherish a dream. She started writing in secret in her teens and
never stopped, merging it with her mother's encouragement to study theater and
music, which led to performing in the Midwest, California and as far away as
Austria.
Donner never forgot what it
was like to write alone as a girl and is a happy member of Summit City Scribes.
Concern for the failing educational system led her to develop Your Futures in
Ink, a panel of local and regional authors, who go into to schools to encourage
students and answer questions about writing.
THE TIGRESSE AND THE RAVEN,
first book in the regency Friendship Series, is an RWA contest finalist. The
ninth book in the series, A ROGUE FOR MISS PRIM and the tenth, AN AMERICAN FOR
AGNES, are available now. A LAIRD’S PROMISE will be released by Spring 2018.
M.L Rigdon (aka Julia
Donner)
Follow on Twitter @RigdonML
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