Blurb:
Can the
love of an honourable man save her from the memory of a desolate marriage?
From
the battlefield of Waterloo to the drawing rooms of Brantstone Hall, Sebastian
Alder’s elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff
of dreams. But the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition,
and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his cousin’s death, provide
Sebastian with no time for dreams, only a mystery to solve and a murderer to
bring to justice.
Isabel,
widow of the late Lord Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy
marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. But, her
dreams are shattered, as she is taunted from the grave, discovering not only
has she been left penniless, but she is once more bound to the whims of a
Somerton.
But
this Somerton is unlike any man she has met. Can the love of an honourable man
heal her broken heart or will suspicion tear them apart?
Excerpt:
Brantstone
Hall
December
11, 1814
The
tea, in its delicate porcelain cup, sat undrunk and cold, the bread curled and
dried as the little clock on the mantelpiece ticked away the minutes. Isabel
sat unmoving, staring out at the winter landscape of the Brantstone Park as if
she expected Anthony to come galloping down the carriage way. She knew even
before Thompson knocked on the door and stood shifting from one foot to the
other, his shapeless felt hat clutched in his hand, that Anthony was dead.
She
followed the head groom out into the stable yard again, where a farmer’s cart
now stood. She looked at the cart and with her head held high; she walked
across it. Thompson interposed himself between her and the inanimate object
that lay in the filthy dray.
‘Are
you sure, my lady?’ he asked.
She
nodded and Thompson flicked back the sacking that covered the shapeless lump in
the back of the cart. Isabel stared down into her husband’s face, into his
open, staring eyes, already opaque in death. Anthony lay, stiff with rigor
mortis, in the filth of a cart that had last been used to shift manure, from
the smell. An ignominious end to his life, she thought.
‘We
found him over by Lovett’s Bridge. He’d taken the hedge intending the shortcut
across the Home Farm fields,’ Thompson was saying. He jerked his head at the
saddle, the beautiful, hand tooled saddle that had been tossed into the cart
with its owner. ‘Looks like the girth strap broke and he came off. Broke his
neck in the fall. He’d not have known anything about it, my lady.’
Aware
of the anxious faces that surrounded her, Isabel swallowed. They expected her
to break down. They wanted her tears but she had none to give. She had expended
too many tears over Anthony, Lord Somerton, while he lived to spare any for him
now that he was dead.
Her
gaze rested on the saddle. It had been her gift to Anthony on his birthday only
a few months earlier. Now it was the cause of his death. It stood as a symbol
of everything that had gone wrong between herself and her husband.
She
turned on her heel and walked back to the house with her head held high. With
every step, the enormity of Anthony’s death sank in.
She was
free, but at what price came that freedom?
Her
back straightened and her lips tightened.
To
attain freedom, first she had to find Lord Somerton’s heir.
Alison will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to
a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so the more you comment, the better
your chances of winning.
June 4: Romantic Historical Reviews
June 4: Bunny's Review
June 11: Queen of All She Reads
June 11: Red Wine and Books
June 18: LibriAmoriMiei
June 18: The Book Review
June 25: Sharing Links and Wisdom
June 25: Imagine a World
June 4: Bunny's Review
June 11: Queen of All She Reads
June 11: Red Wine and Books
June 18: LibriAmoriMiei
June 18: The Book Review
June 25: Sharing Links and Wisdom
June 25: Imagine a World
Author Bio and Links:
Alison
Stuart is an award winning Australian writer of cross genre historicals with
heart. Whether duelling with dashing
cavaliers or wayward ghosts, her books provide a reader with a meaty plot and
characters who have to strive against adversity, always with the promise of
happiness together. Alison is a lapsed lawyer who has worked in the military
and fire service, which may explain a predisposition to soldier heroes. She lives with her own personal hero and two
needy cats and likes nothing more than a stiff gin and tonic and a walk along
the sea front of her home town. She
loves to hear from her readers and can be found at her website, facebook,
twitter and Goodreads.
Author
Links:
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This is going to be a wonderful read.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com