Author: Guest author Page 5 of 35

Haversham Places a Wager

On August 26, 2020

Seen in White’s Betting Book on Valentine’s Day, this year of 1814. It seems some officers hold their honour cheap. The Earl of Haversham is clearly involved in some action that will see him compete with Captain Clifton – and no one expects Haversham to win. These odds remain very long indeed.

My Dear Miss Haversham,

I have this moment been informed by our cousin the baronet himself that your brother has wagered a large sum on the outcome of a certain event, the details to which I am not privy.

I am ashamed to relate that the baronet saw fit to lay down monies on the blackguard Clifton. I scolded him most profusely but he would not be moved. I am aware of the grave insult you have suffered. I am sorrier than I can say, but will a blood letting restore you to favour with the duchy, or unstain your already unblemished feminine honour?

You must know that the wagers do not favour a successful outcome for the earl. Why, the gentlemen all believe in Clifton to win. It is said that he has never yet suffered a loss in such a contest. I hope such rumour to be ill-founded, however our cousin assures me that the odds are as short on this as it is possible to be. Scarce a pound bet against the Captain, to some hundreds against the earl. Such rumours have me much excited in distress.

Dearest Amelia, I ask that you write to your brother and beg him to reconsider his rash action. Your brother is not a soldier. I fear for him but I cannot claim the influence of a sister. I must request you petition him with all haste, lest the ‘action’ result in the most deplorable outcome for us both.

By Easter, we shall be sisters, dearest Amelia, if your brother will only remain in one piece long enough to wed.

Yours, very sincerely,

Catherine

It is to the credit of the Earl of Haversham that he seeks to defend his sister’s honour, but I do wish he faced a less formidable opponent. It’s hardly a wager when the outcome is forgone.

About the Book: Always a Princess

For Romany Princess Syeira, allowing herself to be loved by an Englishman is an act of bravery as great as facing a loaded duelling pistol.

A love that cannot be denied

When Captain Warwick “Wil” Clifton offers to assist the Romany family he has injured, he’s unprepared for the warmth of Romany camaraderie, and he is no where near ready for the force of nature that is Princess Syeria Brishen. Keeping a lid on his desire for the Romany beauty takes all his self-control. A notable rake, he is well out of practice at showing restraint and finds himself asking: What is he willing to risk for love?

As the eldest daughter of the Romany king, Syeira’s pride in her heritage is matched by her finely-honed distrust of Englishmen. Captain Clifton surprises her with his affection, passion, and…love. She trusts her heart, but is caught between family duty and an unrelenting desire to be with the man she loves.

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https://linktr.ee/clyverose

About the Author

Clyve Rose is an award-winning author of historical fiction both in Australia and the US. She has been writing historical romance fiction for the best part of two decades. She works in the Regency and Georgian periods, with occasional detours into Ancient Greece.

What Sort of Man?

By Guest author

On August 12, 2020

In Teatime Tattler

That Tattler has learned that General Beresford is currently considering a request from Capt. Warwick Clifton (the Duke’s son) to purchase his promised commission. We hear the General is reluctant to support the advancement of such a man. Why? Dear readers, you may well ask!

Miss Louisa Beresford, traveling in Switzerland at present ‘to improve her French’ knows nothing of the matter. So say all her intimate friends and relations — in which case your author asks, how came such as the below to be written?

A Letter from Major Musgrave to his cousin, Louisa.

My dearest cousin,

Firstly, may I say that your last letter last greatly distressed both myself and the General. You need not fear the family. We would not dream of abandoning you, and will ensure the child is well-placed. Why, Evers recently spoke of a family ready and willing to assist us, for a relatively minor consideration. Rest assured you will not be inconvenienced in any way once your continental sojourn is complete.

I insist we meet Evers directly on your return to England, that we may resolve this matter entirely. The General joins with me in requesting again – most urgently – that you give up screening the man.

You report that he is ‘too mighty a gentleman’ and to expose him risks you and yours. My dear Louisa, you are a general’s daughter and your father has the ear of the Regent. There is no man in all England more favoured than my uncle at present, and there is no favour he will not request on behalf of a most beloved daughter.

Pertinent to the above, your Papa begs you will answer his letters. He asks that you not resent his temper too deeply or for too much longer, my dear. Anger is the least of the feelings he holds towards you, and his resentment is long since passed.

May your memories of his kindness and duty as a most affectionate parent outdo any final impressions. Depend on the former, gentler sensations my dear cousin, and place no faith in your last. You know his pride, Louisa, and his temper.

I ask you again to consider my request regarding the man involved. The term ‘gentleman’ is in this case mis-applied. Only speak his name, cousin, and you shall find yourself at once defended, and your honour avenged.

Your (always) affectionate cousin,

Maj. Henry Musgrave

For delivery of these words we am indebted to a source I cannot name. Rest assured, dear readers, that our authority is irreproachable. Let it serve, too, as a warning to those managing large establishments that they’d best take better care of their staff than they do of their clothing.

About the Book

Captain Warwick ‘Wil’ Clifton returns from the Peninsula Wars too world-weary for English social niceties. He wants nothing more than to return to the army but finds his father, the duke, his greatest obstacle. Frustrated and restless, Wil seeks solace in the bedchambers of Regency England, skirting such scandal with finesse. When Clifton finds himself facing an entirely different man on the duelling field to the one he expects, he starts to wonder if even he may have gone too far this time.

When Clifton offers to assist the Romany family he has injured, he’s unprepared for the warmth of Romany camaraderie. Neither is he remotely ready for the force of nature that is their princess. Keeping a lid on his desire for the Romany princess takes all Wil’s self-control. This rake is well out of practice at showing restraint but soon, the Captain has a new decision to make: What is he willing to risk for love?

As the eldest daughter of the Romany king, Syeira Brishen carries the title of Princess as proudly as she does her finely-honed distrust of Englishmen. When the Romany prince faces the surest shot in the country and loses, Syeira is determined to see to it that her brother heals fully. To do this, she reluctantly accepts Captain Clifton’s help and finds that, while the English may not conduct family matters the same way as her Romany, some at least are capable of affection, passion – even love. As a Romany, she trusts her heart – but what if her heart loves an Englishman?

Caught between family duty, and a desire to be with the man she loves, can the Romany princess choose happiness over duty, or will she need some convincing?

About the Author

https://www.clyverose.com

Stolen Kisses Home to Roost

By Guest author

On July 29, 2020

In Teatime Tattler

Dear readers, we present a bit from a purloined diary regarding a similarly stolen kiss.

Wednesday—29th July, 1763… This afternoon, while removing ink stains from shirts, I watched that meddlesome miss from the house across the field, Miss Henrietta Smith, kiss Marcus Hardwicke. Just the thought of it brings me fits of giggles that leave me hiccupping. I know I should feel sorry for her, but the look on Marcus’s face can never be unseen. Instead of closing his eyes like he taught me last summer, his eyes grew twice as large as turkey eggs. He stood there, stiller than the statue at the center of town, arms like oak limbs stiff and hanging at his sides, and pallor as pale as putty.

I can’t keep my quill from shaking, I’m laughing all over again.

You could tell by the enthusiastic way she leaned into him, color high on her cheeks, she intended the kiss as a conquest. It lasted, and lasted, and lasted, to the point where I almost stepped away from my chores to save them both from the misery of it. At long last, she released him. Poor girl had a face like a kicked kitten—and now I’m feeling sorry for her! Miss Smith took a step back, and then retreated. She lifted handfuls of her skirts and ran all the way home. (I would have done the same, had I been soundly rejected. But when I kissed Marcus, I was kissed back!)

Now I suppose we won’t be seeing the likes of Miss Smith around here anymore. No loss for me, that’s for sure. Doubtful it’s a loss for poor Marcus either.

The Laundress, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1761
(Public Domain)

About the Book

Henrietta Smith was fifteen when she stole a kiss from Marcus Hardwicke. Over a decade later, she’s still waiting to be kissed back…

Henrietta learned the hard way that when you get what you pay for you might end up with a British soldier quartering in your home threatening your friends, an enormous dog tracking mud through your house and stealing the chickens, and Marcus Hardwicke disrupting your uncomplicated life by trying to improve it. And to think she just wanted her roof fixed.

Marcus, wickedly handsome carpenter and rebel rogue, fell off Henrietta’s leaking roof. He can’t leave until his broken ankle heals, giving him plenty of time to consider his past mistakes, including Henrietta’s indelible kiss from a lifetime ago. But Henrietta could lose more than her home if she doesn’t encrypt British secrets, and the latest puts Marcus in the crosshairs.

The first installment in debut author Hallie Alexander’s steamy Sons of Neptune Series introduces readers to a band of heroic rebels at the brink of the American Revolution.

Available on Amazon & KindleUnlimited: amzn.to/2ZxZqhJ

Excerpt

“Hetty Betty, a man couldn’t easily forget you. But you haven’t been Hetty Betty Smith in a long time, have you?”

“It’s Caldwell. Is. Was.” Henrietta rolled her eyes. Sam died last year, and she still hadn’t mustered the emotional resources to mourn.

“My condolences, Mrs. Caldwell.” Marcus bowed theatrically over an extended leg.

“Don’t be a fool.” She swatted him with her fan as if the last thirteen years hadn’t shaped them into adults. When was the last time she joked?

His face brightened with a wide grin. Nice to see he had all of his teeth. Was he assessing her too? For a woman nearing thirty, she could look a lot worse. Would he see her that way, or would he recall the mousy girl he had rejected?

“Pretty Hetty Betty.” He shook his head, clicking his tongue.

Dear God. He remembered everything, didn’t he? The one time she took a risk.

“Stop. No one’s called me that since childhood.” Since playing tag by the pond in the shade of the old great barn. Since stealing a kiss not meant for her.

“Pity.”

About the Author

Hallie Alexander’s debut historical romance, A Widow’s Guide to Scandal, was published in 2020 by Soul Mate Publishing. It was a finalist in the 2019 Cleveland Rocks Romance Contest. She writes steamy, feminist historical romances that take place in America with heroines who become the heroes of their own story as their swoon-worthy partners work to deserve their love. She is a Northerner living in the South with her husband, three children, and Doodles of Mayhem™, Bruno and Willow.

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A Startling Scene at the Devonshire Ball

By Guest author

On July 15, 2020

In Teatime Tattler

A group of people around each other-a Time Travel Regency

Description automatically generated

Dearest Sister:

You asked me to write you about all that happened at the event of the year, begged me to give an account of the guest of honor, the Contessa Sinatore. I cannot write all now, but I promise to relate much more when I have the time. This amazing anecdote must suffice for the moment.

I secured a country dance with the Contessa. A fine dancer, she is very tall and certainly athletic enough to accomplish all that you have read about her heroics. After the dance, I had the temerity to ask how she accomplished the rescue of the child. “What techniques did you employ to climb the manor wall?”

Before she could answer, among the many notables gathered around her, Lord Litton interjected, “Tut, tut there, Downey. Quite an unfair question, my boy. You cannot expect a woman to explain the technical skills involved. Far outside a woman’s ken. Common knowledge, don’t you know?” He embarrassed me, as though tutoring a child. “It is unfair to expect more of women, particularly from the darker, southern European cultures.”

Several other men nodded sagely and murmured “Quite right, Lord Litton, quite right.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Should I apologize to the Contessa? I was saved by her. She laid a hand on my sleeve and with a devilish smile said, “Do not trouble yourself, Mr. Downey. Adam had similar questions concerning women.”

A Parliamentarian, Mr. Quagmire asked, “And how is that, my lady?”

“I guess you haven’t heard the story.” She leaned in and everyone leaned closer to hear her. “In the Garden of Eden, Adam went to God one day to ask him why he had made the woman Eve the way he had.”

Several men smiled and said they hadn’t heard it. “As they walked in the Garden, Adam asked God, ‘Why did you make women so beautiful?’”

“God answered, ‘So you would like them.’”

She had Adam answer, “Then why did you make them so soft and cuddly?” The men chuckled at this, looking at each other with near leers on their faces. I felt the need to say something, but the Contessa continued in a deep voice, “And God answered. ‘So you would enjoy holding them for your comfort.’”

“’Yes, marvelous,’ said Adam, ‘but why, why did you make them so stupid?’”

The men roared their laughter, until Cassandra held up a hand and they quieted before she spoke.

“‘Well, my boy,’ God said, ‘I wanted them to like you too.”

I must tell you, sister, it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud at the stunned looks, mumbles and ‘umphs’ all around. The Contessa was saved from any complications by the Earl of Drayton, who quickly claimed her for the next set.

I knew you would enjoy that recollection. I will write with more about the Contessa when I can.

Your Loving Brother,

Robert

About the Book

A Cat Burglar is Thrust Back in Time

Art Thief Cassie Sinatore: Shackled and dressed in a neon orange jumpsuit, she awaits extradition at Heathrow Airport. An accident with a nearby experimental radar plane throws Cassie back in time, dumping her in a wooded countryside. The rider who discovers her is charismatic, more compelling than any man she has ever met. She chalks up the man’s Regency outfit and odd behavior to the eccentricity of the rich. Or maybe he is just a nutbar, but the man is offering a ride.

Lord Ross Kerrington: The new Earl of Drayton, having returned from the wars in 1815, finds the Kerrington family in turmoil, lunatic women who make him consider returning to the army. The alluring woman he discovers in the estate’s Greyfield Woods strikes him as equally mad. The woman wears bizarre attire, acting with a peculiar cheekiness that borders on insolence. Considering the very real dangers a madwoman faces encountering the surrounding inhabitants, he decides to bring her home until he can decide what to do with her. Unexpectedly, his family has other ideas.

Meeting the Kerrington family, Cassie finally realizes she is trapped 200 years in the past. Faced with the frightening situation, she resolves to win her independence using her cat-burglar skills. Then things get complicated.

Against her will, she finds herself caring about the Kerrington family, fighting a powerful attraction to the very proper Ross. Dependent on the Kerringtons’ good will, Cassie finds it increasingly difficult to navigate London society, the family, and even more, her growing passion for Ross.

Besides, someone is trying to kill him.

Stealing Time is available for Amazon Kindle.

B W Haggart’s Website will premier at the same time offering more information, blogs and book reviews.

Royal Rumors From Aldonia

By Guest author

On July 8, 2020

In Teatime Tattler

Dearest Readers,

Have you heard the news? Word from Aldonia is that our illustrious Crown Prince is finally in the market for a princess.

With the prince’s two younger siblings married off, it was only a matter of time that Prince Christopher found a bride.

My sources in the palace, however, tell me that the search may have hit a bit of a snag.

Not because of anything our dear prince has done, of course. Nay, it seems that the arrival of a certain English miss has caught a few eyes.

Though the lady’s connections are undeniably good, we’re not all that convinced that she is fit to be a queen.

Have no fear, dear readers. As you well know, Prince Christopher has never acted in a way that is anything less than perfect. And he has only ever put crown and country before all else.

But we must wonder; why do our sources tell us that he’s been acting somewhat out of character around the gel?

And word has it that the mysterious Lady L’s cousin was very much in line to take the crown. Will there be familial discord? And will our dear prince shock us all with an unexpected announcement soon?

We doubt that he’d do anything to shock us. But then, considering his brother ran off to England, and his sister married the help, one can never tell.

We shall keep our eyes and ears very much open, and report back when we have even a sniff of scandal about our fearless leader.

The Teatime Tattler’s Aldonia Correspondent

About the Book

Heavy is the heart that wears the crown…

Prince Christopher Wesselbach learned from a young age that crown and country come before everything else.

Now, as Crown Prince and future king, he knows that duty to the throne requires him to marry.

But he also knows from bitter experience that women are fickle and not to be trusted. So, he’ll choose a wife based on what Aldonia needs in a queen and nothing else. He won’t allow a woman to change the life he chooses to live, and he won’t be foolish enough to let his heart get involved in the decision.

Lady Lucia Allenwood does not fit in with royalty. If stealing from the queen wasn’t proof enough of that, then engaging in illicit meetings with a handsome stranger certainly was.

But her cousin seems to have caught the interest of the elusive Prince Christopher and so Lucy must do her best to stay out of trouble, and not disgrace the family name.

Despite their best intentions, Lucy and Christopher can’t seem to stay out of each other’s ways, and when they clash, sparks inevitably fly.

But can Christopher learn to trust? Not just a lady, but his own heart?

And will Lucy be able to redeem this royal?

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Knu1Hu

Amazon UK & Ire: https://amzn.to/2xJHo2b

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About the Author

Nadine Millard is a bestselling writer hailing from Dublin, Ireland.

When she’s not writing historical romance, she’s managing her chaotic household of three children, a husband and a very spoiled dog!

She’s a big fan of coffee and wine with a good book and will often be found at her laptop at 2am when a book idea strikes.