Lady Blue
Page 23
Lady Alice pressed a pale, slender hand to her lips to control her own mirth as she watched her son double over, nearly choking on his laughter. Bishop, totally perplexed, could only watch, slack jawed, until the hilarity had subsided.
“I … I’m so sorry,” Harmony was able to say once she had control of herself again. “But … but when I … when I saw the two of you limping, and I realized who you—”
Anthony erupted into fresh gales of laughter.
“Anthony, my dearest son,” his mother chided. “Won’t you and Harmony share what is apparently
your private joke?”
“It’s actually not a joke,” Harmony said at length on her husband’s behalf, sobering somewhat. “These two gentlemen were guards at the Millswich jail. When I helped Anthony escape, and in order to prevent his hanging, I … I shot them in the feet.”
Lady Alice briefly paled, but then high color tinged her cheeks. “You shot them?”
“She did, indeed,” Bishop put in. “And it is the other reason we are here.”
Harmony was instantly aware of Anthony’s tension.
“Well, what is it?” he nearly barked. “Go on, man, speak.”
“We are here to convey our deepest apologies, all of us, for the terrible, terrible troubles that were brought down upon you and your family, even and including the fact that Lady Bluefield was forced to fire on the officers. We are all fully aware that a gentleman in your position could most certainly have brought this entire affair to a legal conclusion, and—”
“Enough said,” Anthony interrupted, putting Bishop out of his misery. “There is only one thing I would like to know, if you are privy to the information.”
“Anything, my lord,” Bishop said quickly. “Anything.”
“I’m only guessing, of course,” Anthony continued, “but I believe Henry was put up to my arrest on false information provided by Angus and Margaret
Donnelly. Is that a fact?”
Bishop colored, an answer in itself, then drew a heavy breath. “You are certainly correct, your lordship. And although no legal remedies were possible, it may satisfy you to know that the Donnelly name has become so tainted with the resulting scandal of the event that they have been forced to move away.”
Harmony could wait no longer. “And my sister, Agatha Simmons? Have you any news of her? She was great friends with Lady Margaret.”
Bishop glanced at his feet then cleared his throat. “As far as anyone knows, she has become a recluse. I am sorry I do not have more detailed information.”
“That is quite enough. Thank you, Mr. Bishop.”
“Is there anything else you would like to ask as long as I’m here?” Bishop offered. “I’d like to help you in any way I can.”
“Actually, I do have a question,” Anthony replied briskly. “Was the real jewel thief ever apprehended?
“I’m so sorry,” Bishop said, pulling at his chin with long fingers. “I should have remembered to tell you immediately. Yes, he was. And he turned out to be your typical, common criminal, roving outside of London looking for easy money. He was arrested, put on trial, and now resides in one of London’s less than desirable residences.”
Anthony was forced to chuckle.
The interview ended shortly thereafter and the trio of lawmen was escorted back to the entrance by the butler. Once they had exited, Lady Alice embraced both her son and daughter-in-law.
“Well, another mystery solved, as your father used to say.”
Anthony guffawed and Harmony giggled. “At least now I know where you get it from,” she said around the bubble of another eruption of laughter.
“I shall see you at dinner, then, children,” Lady Alice said. “Have a lovely afternoon.”
“Good day, Mother,” Anthony replied, still grinning from ear to ear. As soon as Bosworth and Patrice retreated, he scooped Harmony in his arms and headed toward the stairs.
“Ah, yes, grandchildren,” Lady Alice said in a voice that carried across the vast hall. “My dearest wish.”
She finally left with the sound of her favorite music ringing in her ears.
Laughter.
Bound by fate. Bound by love. Bound by honor …
Honneure Mansart, orphaned child of a lowly servant, never dreamed that she would one day find herself at the glittering palace of Versailles as a servant to the young and lovely Marie Antoinette, future Queen of France. Nor could she have imagined the love of her life would turn out to be her beloved foster brother Phillipe, who also served the young princess. Their lives were golden.
But the young princess, Antoinette, has a mortal enemy in Madame du Barry, the aging king’s mistress. And Honneure has a rival for Phillipe, a servant in du Barry’s entourage. Together the women scheme to destroy both Antoinette and Honneure. Then Louis the XV dies, and his grandson inherits the throne. Marie Antoinette becomes the Queen of France.
Honneure and Phillipe, their lives inextricably entwined with those of the king and queen, find a second chance together. Yet as France’s political climate overheats, sadness and tragedy stalk both couples once again … tragedy, and a terrible secret that might lead Honneure to the guillotine in the footsteps of her queen.
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A PERFECT TEN!
“In my opinion, BY HONOR BOUND is a must-read for any romance fiction fan, and assuredly deserves the distinction of a Perfect 10. It’s just that good!” —Romance Reviews Today
Coming in November 2010 by Helen A Rosburg:
ISBN# 978-1-60-542088-2
Trade Paperback/Motivational
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NOVEMBER 2010
I KILLED MY HUSBAND, A TOWN HERO, and then called the police and turned myself in. “He’s dead as a doornail,” I said to the officer and then spit on Harland Jeffers’ bloody, dead body.
With my head held high, I allowed myself to be escorted to a squad car outside my house. A house which had been more of a prison than the cell I was headed for.
Cameras flashed.
“Why did you kill Harland?”
Because he needed killing. And I, Montana Ines Parsons-Jeffers did just that.
So begins the rest of what’s left of Montana’s life. Not that she ever really had one.
Now she’s headed for prison. There’s no escaping it. It was the ultimate destination in her Flight to Freedom.
But one man might be able to help …
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Abandoned as a child and raised in a brothel, Gabriel St. Croix has never known tenderness, friendship, or affection. Although fluent in sex, he knows nothing of love. Lost and alone inside a nightmare world, all he’s ever wanted was companionship and a place to belong. Hiding physical and emotional scars behind an icy façade, his only relationship is with a young boy he has spent the last five years protecting from the brutal reality of their environment. But all that is about to change. The boy’s family has found him, and they are coming to take him home.
Sarah Munroe blames herself for her brother’s disappearance. When he’s located, safe and unharmed despite where he has been living, Sarah vows to help the man who rescued and protected him in any way she can. With loving patience she helps Gabriel face his demons and teaches him to trust in friendship and love. But when the past catches up with him, Gabriel must face it on his own.
Becoming a mercenary, pirate and a professional gambler, Gabriel travels to London, France, and the Barbary Coast in a desperate attempt to find Sarah again and all he knows of love. On the way, however, he will discover the most dangerous journey, and the greatest gamble of all, is within the darkest reaches of his own heart.
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Two lost souls struggle to find their way in the unforgiving West of 1873 …
Jack Buchanan, a worker at the Jasper Mining Company, is sure of his place in the outside world, but has lost his faith, hope, and heart to the tragedy of a fire.
Foreign born and raised, Milena Shabanov flees from a home she loves to the strange and barbaric America. A Romani blessed with “the sight,” she is content in the company of visions and spirit oracles, but finds herself lost and alone in a brutal mining town with little use for women.
Surrounded by inhumane working conditions at the mine, senseless death, and overwhelming greed, miners begin disappearing and the officers of the mine don’t care.
Tempers flare and Jack must decide where he stands: with the officers and mining president—Victor Creely—to whom Jack owes his life, or with the miners, whose lives are worth less to the company than pack animals. Milena, sensing deep despair and death in a mining town infested with restless spirits, searches for answers to the workers’ disappearances. But she can’t trust anyone, especially not Jack Buchanan, a man haunted by his own past.
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