by Sahara Kelly
“Of course it would. I’m sure your shipmates referred to you as Iron Head Ridlington.”
He lay back down, realizing that moving wasn’t perhaps such a good idea. The world had swum around him quite energetically. “I was Holbury then. Captain Holbury.” It came out as more of a whine than a statement. He added an afterthought. “And how you knew of my former career, I have no idea.”
“As far as your earlier profession, I think most of the county knows about the naval hero who has just become their Baron.” She placed a hand on his forehead. “I would venture a guess that your former crew was not cognizant of the hardness of your skull, my Lord. Otherwise I can think of no more appropriate appellation.” She removed her hand.
“Good God, woman. I think you just complimented and insulted me in the same breath.” He squinted to try and bring her face into focus, but she remained far enough away to prevent that from happening. The shadows inside the hearse didn’t help either.
“’Twas not my intention, sir. I do apologize. However, I am glad your conversation is rational, since it would bear out your stated assumption that you have taken no serious injury.”
Her voice sounded distinctly smug. Edmund could think of no useful response. “Humph.”
“And there’s Lady Fincham again.”
“What?”
“She makes exactly that sound when she has been utterly defeated in an argument but refuses to admit it.”
Edmund sighed. “Who the devil are you, woman? Perhaps I am, in fact, dead. And you are a demon tormenting me. Which would also explain this damnable headache…” He closed his eyes as a throb of pain shook him.
“I assure you, my Lord. You are quite alive. Unfortunately, the pain, though reinforcing your continued existence, is likely to be a nuisance for a while.” The cool palm returned to his forehead and he found it oddly soothing. “I believe your physician will be able to provide a little something to ease your discomfort.”
He struggled to stay awake, but the sensation of cool fingers stroking his skin was so pleasant… “Damn m’father. Couldn’t just die. He had to hurt me on the way out…”
As he slid into sleep, the hand left his head. And the woman to whom it belonged stared down at the strong face, relaxed now as rest began the healing process. He was a striking man, she realized, with dark hair and eyes and thick full brows that were probably quite intimidating if folded into a frown and directed at some hapless deck hand. He had the build of a man who was unafraid of physical labor and she could imagine him striding the decks and running a massive warship without any difficulty.
And yet his father had hurt him.
She wondered how.
Thus the Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington series began with the ascension of the new Baron, continues with the adventures of Simon, Vicar of Ridlington, and will continue with Letitia’s story, to be found in WORD OF A LADY, coming later in 2017. Sahara Kelly invites you to join her as she explores this fascinating family in her latest best-selling Risqué Regency series.
About the Author
Sahara Kelly is always happy to explain to editors that her spelling errors aren’t really errors, since she was born and raised in England, where an extra “u” is quite in order. She likes to think it adds colour to her writing. Sadly, it’s not a widely held belief in the United States, so she’d like you to know she still retains a lot from her English childhood even though you won’t see much of it in her spelling.
Arriving in America with her almost-complete collection of Leslie Charteris’ Saint novels and a passion for Monty Python, Sahara’s new life eventually expanded to include a husband, offspring, citizenship, and a certain amount of acclimation to her new surroundings. (She still cherishes that extra “u” though.)
After more than two decades of writing, Sahara is now enjoying the greater freedom offered to authors by the rapidly expanding self-publishing scene and looking forward to many more such experiences. Being freed of restraints has opened doors—for Sahara and many other writers. There are now no impediments; no obstructions barring the path from writer to reader. Which is, in many ways, exactly as originally intended when that first storyteller sat on a rock outside her cave, tugged her bearskin around her shoulders and smiled at her kids across the open fire with the words “Once upon a time...” (or however it sounded several million years ago.)
To find out more about Sahara Kelly and her writing, please drop by her website and visit her at:
Sahara Kelly (Website – http://www.saharakelly.com)
This is where Sahara shares none of the intimate details of her life, but will present you with a list of books she'd like you to buy so that she can go do research on a beach in Aruba and be pampered with massages accompanied by drinks with umbrellas in them. She’ll send you a postcard. Thank you.
When not dreaming of lazing on tropical beaches, Sahara has a relatively active social presence on the Internet. Take a look:
Follow Sahara on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SaharaKelly
Friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sahara.kelly
See what she’s blogging about: http://writersaharakelly.blogspot.com
Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sahara-kelly
You can stay on top of what’s on the way from Sahara’s fertile imagination by subscribing to her newsletter and keeping up to date with everything going on by clicking here. (http://eepurl.com/bxpvp) She doesn’t send them out too often, so you won’t be swamped with unwanted mail. Sahara loathes that and refuses to inflict it on anyone else so you can go ahead and subscribe without worrying about it.
Also By Sahara Kelly
(*- co-written with S.L. Carpenter)
The Landlocked Baron
Book 1 in the Pearls of Baron Ridlington series
The Mistletoe Marquess
~
The Gypsy Gentlemen Series
Honor and Secrets
Control and Compassion
Endings and Beginnings
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Oh My Laird!
Deverell’s Obsession
The Fifth Wife
Julia and the Devil
Discreet Madness
The Viscount and the Witch
Miss Foxworth’s Fate
Feels So Right*
~
Whole Lotta Love Series
Love in the Cards*
Love on the Road*
Love Under the Lights*
A Whole Lotta Love* (the boxed set)
~
Happy Endings*
With a Little Help from my Friends (with Ciana Stone)
Letting Off Steam
Winding Her Up
Stripping Her Gears
My Renaissance Romance
Hired Help*
Open House
So Into You*
Faerieland needs YOU
My Wish
My Prize
My Hero
Showing Off*
And many more…
*~~*~~*
Several of the above titles were co-written with friend and writing partner S.L. Carpenter. Together, they have a dozen or so books available, each featuring their trademark touches of humor and heat. Their most recent releases are a contemporary romance - a bundle of their very first three books now available together – Feels So Right, a collection of strange fairy tales – Happy Endings - and the Whole Lotta Love series.
These, and a whole bunch of Sahara Kelly’s other books, can be found online for your eReader or your reader app. Quite a few are also in print. No excuses, people. You can add her stories to your bookshelves physically or digitally. Go get ‘em.
*~~*~~*
Sahara would like to mention that she and S.L. Carpenter co-own a small business, and have been up and running for five years. They have blended another of their shared passions — art — and formed an online graphics business focusing on the complicated world of writers. If you’re interested in seeing what they get up to w
hen they’re not writing something twistedly hot and sexy, they’d like to invite you to come visit their company at the link below and check out some of the amazing cover art currently being created by S.L. Carpenter. They’re certainly never bored…
P and N Graphics, LLC
www.pandngraphics.com
Happy Reading…
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
EPILOGUE
About the Author
