Betrothed: Windemere Hall Trilogy: Book One (Victorian Villains)
Page 10
“I’d like to call on Clara but I don’t know how to arrange it without raising Hamilton’s ire. I had the distinct impression he didn’t like me.” Strachan grimaced.
“I wouldn’t take it personally. Branson Hamilton does not permit anyone to get close to him. He’s like a dog that’s been kicked once too often, though he’s had every kindness shown him. He’s too proud for the rough and tumble of country folk. He gives us a wide berth. I don’t say he is mean-spirited, but he is taciturn to the point of incivility. We’ve given up asking him to Petherham. He always refuses.”
“If the mountain won’t come to me, I must go to the mountain.”
“Eh? What’s that you say?”
“Not important, Colonel.” Strachan smiled. “Ah, I see the ladies are at last seeking our company. Trudy, my love—I am perishing for feminine talk. Have pity.”
Brockville and his wife broke out into peals of laughter, delighting in the wit of their attractive young guests, while Strachan listened with only half an ear to Trudy’s talk. His mind was on planning the means by which he would escape Petherham tomorrow, find Clara Hamilton and speak to her away from Branson Reilly.
How prettily she had looked at him. As though they were sharing a secret....
His blood rose and pounded in his ears. He had missed her adoration, her soft looks, and her willingness to love him at all cost.
It could not be.
Strachan was discovering, too late, that he was in love with Clara Hamilton.
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BRANSON MOVED noiselessly down the hall to the sitting room adjoining Clara’s bedchamber. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The bonnet was on the carpet in the middle of the room. It was just as she said.
He picked it up and fingered the silk thoughtfully. Something must be done. Piers warned him this would happen.
All he had to do was keep her happy and under control for a few more days and then this would all be over.
Branson stared at the black silk bonnet in his hands.
Piers was furious with him. He’d heard about the kiss in the stable from Quince. He accused Branson of losing his nerve.
It wasn’t his nerve he was losing. He didn’t want this anymore but he couldn’t allow the thought to take up residence in his mind. Instead, it sat in the corner like a grinning clown.
He did not want this.
In London ... the moment he kissed the inside of Clara’s wrist and felt her pulse beating against his lips like the wings of a moth...
He didn’t want this anymore.
He took her virginity.
The future he’d been hell-bent on destroying Clara Hamilton to secure—
Branson no longer wanted it.
To Be Continued...
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Next in WINDEMERE HALL: Betrayed
Clara Hamilton learns Branson’s terrible secret and escapes Windemere Hall only to be faced with another threat in the person of Captain Strachan. The man who broke her heart four months ago has declared his love for her, but can she trust him?
Pre-order BETRAYED for 0.99
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A bout the Author
Catherine Lloyd loves reading, watching great episodic television, and writing romance. Love stories that are hot and soul-satisfying are her drug of choice. She was inspired to write Victorian Villains from the gothic romance novels she devoured as a kid. Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier combined suspense and romance without the use of vampires.
She decided to release her Victorian stories in installments in the tradition of serialized fiction of the Victorian Age. Magazines nicknamed “the penny dreadfuls” published genre literature at a low cost in bi-weekly installments. The Victorian Age was an exotic time of science, exploration, high drama and passionate romance on stage and in books. The villains were psychologically fascinating. And hot!
The author has two grown children, two stepdaughters, a cat named Harry who thinks he’s a dog, and four grandsons. She lives with her long-suffering spouse in the country where she enjoys having no hobbies and writes full time. She is hard at work on Mark of Caine, the next in Victorian Villains Serials. In this romantic trilogy, a hired assassin for Queen Victoria develops an unhealthy obsession with his mark. Follow Catherine on Amazon to be notified of new releases in this series and others!
Contact Catherine Lloyd at writewoodcreations@gmail.com
Or visit: Writewood Creations
Or visit her Author Page on Amazon
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