The Rise of the Dark Lord
Page 34
In loving them both, Mrs. K loved their children and would do anything for them.
But she was not their family. Monique Ashton had not showed an interest in mothering her own two children and she showed even less of an interest in her grandchildren.
Douglas Ashton was worse.
He worked long, inhuman hours, day and night, traveling from city to city, country to country, continent to continent. On those very rare occasions when he wasn’t working, he was playing and he played with the same intensity as he worked. An expert skier, an avid horseman and a collector of tall, young, frighteningly skinny blondes, brunettes and redheads; he was a man who was responsible to no one but himself. And even though, on a dark, wet road five months ago, that had changed, Douglas Ashton had not.
Mrs. Kilpatrick didn’t know why Douglas worked so hard. He was born to money, property and a title. He was immensely good-looking and was one of Europe’s top bachelors.
Roderick Kilpatrick, Mrs. K’s husband, reckoned it was power. Mr. Kilpatrick worked as groundskeeper for both Douglas and his father and he felt in the position to have a pretty reliable opinion on the subject (indeed, Roddy felt he was in the position to have a pretty reliable opinion on a lot of subjects).
Mrs. K would always cringe and more often than not quickly cross herself when thinking of the older Ashton because he surely existed in purgatory, or worse, for what he put his son through. She tried not to think about it, the scenes, the shouting, the ugly, hideous words. As a mere servant, she didn’t exist to the baron, therefore, it didn’t matter what she’d heard.
And she’d heard a great deal.
How young Douglas had borne it, she couldn’t imagine but it was a testament to his strength of will.
It wrecked Tamsin, who idolized her older brother. Those two were inseparable when they were young, clinging to each other in a home where controlled violence or absent neglect were the only constants.
Mrs. K never saw evidence of beatings, and there were times when she wished for it, for no matter what lofty a position Maxwell Ashton held, Social Services would frown on physical violence and Mrs. K would have reported it, make no mistake. But there was never any physical evidence of the type of lashings Douglas would endure.
When he wasn’t verbally abusing his son, Maxwell spent his time in the pursuit of power and pleasure, which were the sum total of his interests for his short sixty years. Years that ended in a massive heart attack on a ski slope in Gstaad.
Monique seemed quite happy to be left to the pursuit of her own pleasures. And this was exactly what she did, leaving her children to fend for themselves most of the time.
Roddy Kilpatrick felt that perhaps Douglas wanted to prove he was worthy of some attention from the both of them, the kind a proud father and mother would show.
Mrs. Kilpatrick didn’t believe that.
Maxwell Ashton had been dead for years and there was no sign Douglas intended to slow down or settle down. Further, he seemed to regard his mother, as with everyone and everything else, with a cold disregard. She existed and he acknowledged that fact, and that was the end of it.
Rumor had it he’d more than quadrupled the family fortune and the way he did it was, no other way to say it, suspect. He had an office in Bristol and held a full staff at his offices in London.
What he did to make his money, Mrs. K had no idea. He had a reputation as a dangerous man, and it was a fact that he’d mysteriously disappeared for two years without word or sighting. He had returned with no excuses for his absence looking no longer boyishly handsome but with a thin scar marring his hard mouth and lines etched into the sides of his eyes that were caused by wind and sun, and obviously not from playing polo.
His disappearance was never explained and, as for the rest, it was simply none of her business.
Mrs. Kilpatrick knew Samantha Thornton, Lord Ashton’s personal assistant, had been keeping in close contact with Julia and Julia and her mother called the children once or twice a week since the accident. Julia was no fool, she knew that the children had been left in the servants’ care.
“We’re all well, we’re just happy you’re here,” Mrs. Kilpatrick answered, loyal to the last to her employers who kept her and her husband fed and housed in the groundskeeper’s cottage up the lane.
Julia looked like she didn’t share Mrs. K’s sentiments but she was discreet enough not to say so.
She looked down at Ruby.
“Well, we’ll get things sorted soon enough,” she said with considerable feeling, leaving Mrs. K to wonder what she meant.
“Er . . . well, as you know, Lady Ashton has been called away . . .” On a cruise, Mrs. K thought but did not say. She was as shocked as she was certain Julia and Patricia had been when they heard that Lady Monique would accept an invitation to cruise the Mediterranean rather than welcome a member of the family who was to move into their home. “And Lord Ashton wanted me to tell you he had unexpected business in London and won’t be home until late tonight, but I have a nice welcome dinner planned for you and the children . . .”
“You’re a gem, Mrs. K.” Julia smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes and then turned to her niece.
Mrs. K inclined her head in an acknowledgement. “Once Veronika has unpacked your bags, I’ll show you to your rooms.”
On that, she left, hearing Ruby chatter to Julia while she walked away.
The children adored their Auntie Jewel, who came to visit often and would meet Tamsin, Gavin and the children for holidays. Mrs. K had to believe that Julia would find a way to heal the raw wounds of a family torn asunder.
As for Sommersgate and its master, Mrs. K could only hope.
Fervently hope.
Mr. Kilpatrick thought his wife was slightly mad but Mrs. K had been at Sommersgate long enough to love it. The house, too, had wounds to heal and those were a great deal older and more imbedded than the three Fairfax children’s.
What Sommersgate needed was love, laughter and happiness, and for over one hundred years the house had lacked all three. It was a tall order, to think this headstrong American woman could soothe the overwhelming grief of three young children and cure a century of sorrow that clung to a pile of stone, glass and iron.
Her biggest challenge was to melt the heart of the dangerously cold Douglas Ashton who was the key to it all.
Mrs. Margaret Kilpatrick had been neither seen nor heard in that house for thirty-seven years.
That did not mean she neither saw nor heard.
And she knew that there was something between Ms. Julia Elizabeth Fairfax and Lord Douglas Ashton, Baron Blackbourne. Something even they didn’t know was there and now there were no husbands or siblings to get in the way.
Mrs. Kilpatrick had to admit she was tense, but, still . . .
She had hope.
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In 1522, the very night they were wed, Royce Morgan and his new bride, Beatrice Godwin, were murdered on their way home to Lacybourne Manor. After the cruel deed was done, a local witch came across their bodies, witnessing firsthand the tragedy of star-crossed lovers. Vowing that Royce and Beatrice would someday uncross those stars, using magic mixed with murder as well as true love, she linked their spirits together with hers (because someone had to protect them) forever…or until their reincarnated souls find happily ever after.
Now arrogant, forbidding Colin Morgan lives at Lacybourne. He knows from lore (as well as the portraits of Royce and Beatrice that hang in Lacybourne’s hall and the small fact that he looks exactly like Royce Morgan) that he’s the reincarnated soul of his ancestor.
One stormy night, flighty, free-spirited, scarily-kind-hearted Sibyl Godwin comes to Lacybourne and it doesn’t escape Colin’s notice that Sibyl is the spitting image of Beatrice. However murder, magic, a warrior’s heart beating in a modern man’s chest, a woman bent on doing good deeds even if they get her into loads of trouble, a good witch whose family has vowed throughout the centuries to protect true love, dis
trust and revenge make a volatile cocktail.
This means the path to happily ever after is paved with tranquilizer darts, pensioners on a rampage, Sibyl’s bad morning moods, heartbreaking misunderstandings and all kinds of magic, good…and bad.
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Cash Fraser is planning revenge and to get it he needs the perfect woman.
So he hires her.
Abigail Butler has lost nearly everything in her life and she’s about to lose the home she loves.
Cash meets Abby, who’s posing as a paid escort, and the minute he does he knows he’s willing to pay for more than Abby being his pretend girlfriend. A lot more. Abby needs the money or the last thing that links her to her dead family and husband will be gone.
The deal is struck but both Cash and Abby get more than they bargained for.
Cash realizes very quickly that Abby isn’t what she seems. And while he changes strategies, Abby finds out that Cash’s legacy, Penmort Castle, is like all the tales say–very, very haunted. Making matters worse, the ghost in residence wants her dead.
Abby’s found herself in the battle of her life (literally) so she enlists Mrs. Truman, her nosy neighbor, Jenny, her no-nonsense friend, Cassandra McNabb, white witch and clairvoyant with a penchant for wearing scarves (and lots of them) and Angus McPherson, dyed-in-the-wool Scot (which means he hunts ghosts in a kilt) to fight the vicious ghost who has vowed that she will rest at nothing to kill the true, abiding love of the master of Penmort.
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In Isabella Austin Evangelista’s life miracles never happen…she knows she’s destined to be the princess who’s stuck in the middle of a fairytale where there will be no happily ever after.
Once upon a time, Prentice Cameron loved Isabella Austin. Until he discovered she was a spoiled rich girl who spent her summers toying with his heart.
Life led Prentice to his own fairytale, the love of the full-of-life Fiona Sawyer. That being so, that fairytale was torn away when Fiona died leaving Prentice with a house to keep clean, piles of laundry to be done, a business to run and two children who were getting tired of takeaway.
But Isabella comes back to Prentice’s tiny fishing town and she sweeps into his children’s lives like a beautiful, well-dressed fairy godmother who bakes exquisite chocolate cakes and gives the perfect manicure to six-year-old girls. Then Prentice finds out Isabella’s soul-destroying secrets, secrets that explain why she left him so many years ago.
Fiona, stuck in her village and forced to haunt her family and watch Prentice and Isabella’s crazy dance, finds the impossible happening. She’s cheering for Bella and Prentice to rekindle their love. Then she finds out why she’s caught in her heartbreaking haunting and discovers she must embrace her magic and keep Bella safe or Bella’s fairytale will never come true.
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Belle Abbott is pathologically shy. Because of this, she’s living a nightmare due to the fact that she’s also a national treasure hounded by the media. James Bennett is known the world over as the perfect catch, handsome, wealthy and the owner of an intimidating castle on a Cornish Cliff, Chy An Als Point.
Belle and James meet and in one night, they fall in love. The problem is, Belle’s dating James’s brother.
As quickly as they fall together, Belle and James are torn apart. Not long after, circumstances throw them back into each other’s lives and they find they were right that first romantic night. They were meant to be.
Even if their families want them together, James’s brother Miles does not. Dogged by a rabid media who are fascinated by their love triangle, as well as Belle’s hidden demons, James and Belle find they have yet another problem to solve. The Point is haunted by the ghosts of two children murdered in the castle. And their murderer will stop at nothing to keep their souls tethered to The Point instead of letting them live eternity with their mother and father.
Belle is determined to find her courage and help them. To do this, she enlists her loopy mother, loopier grandmother, James’s even loopier ex-girlfriend and the dubious (but talented) team of rock ‘n’ roll witch Cassandra McNabb and Scottish ghost-hunter extraordinaire Angus McPherson to help the children find their way back home.
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KRISTEN ASHLEY IS the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty romance novels including the Rock Chick, Colorado Mountain, Dream Man, Chaos, Unfinished Heroes, The ’Burg, Magdalene, Fantasyland, The Three, Ghost and Reincarnation, Moonlight and Motor Oil and Honey series along with several standalone novels. She’s a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she’s sold over three million books.
Kristen’s novel, Law Man, won the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award for best Romantic Suspense. Her independently published title Hold On was nominated for RT Book Reviews best Independent Contemporary Romance and her traditionally published title Breathe was nominated for best Contemporary Romance. Kristen’s titles Motorcycle Man, The Will, Ride Steady (which won the Reader’s Choice award from Romance Reviews) and The Hookup all made the final rounds for Goodreads Choice Awards in the Romance category.
Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana, was a fourth-generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and now she resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She currently writes full-time.
Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen’s novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community.
The mission of the Rock Chick Nation is to live your best life, be true to your true self, recognize your beauty and take your sister’s back whether they’re friends and family or if they’re thousands of miles away and you don’t know who they are. The programs of the RC Nation include: Rock Chick Rendezvous, weekends Kristen organizes full of parties and get-togethers to bring the sisterhood together; Rock Chick Recharges, evenings Kristen arranges for women who have been nominated to receive a special night; and Rock Chick Rewards, an ongoing program that raises funds for nonprofit women’s organizations Kristen’s readers nominate. Kristen’s Rock Chick Rewards have donated nearly $145,000 to charity and this number continues to rise.
You can read more about Kristen, her titles and the Rock Chick Nation at www.KristenAshley.net.
Rock Chick Series:
Rock Chick
Rock Chick Rescue
Rock Chick Redemption
Rock Chick Renegade
Rock Chick Revenge
Rock Chick Reckoning
Rock Chick Regret
Rock Chick Revolution
Rock Chick Reawakening
Rock Chick Reborn
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
Rock Chick
Rock Chick Rescue
Rock Chick Redemption
Rock Chick Renegade
Rock Chick Revenge
Rock Chick Reckoning
Rock Chick Regret
Rock Chick Revolution
Rock Chick Reawakening
Rock Chick Reborn
The ‘Burg Series:
For You
At Peace
Golden Trail
Games of the Heart
The Promise
Hold On
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
For You
At Peace
Golden Trail
Games of the Heart
The Promise
Hold On
The Chaos Series:
Own the Wind
Fire Inside
Ride Steady
Walk Through Fire
A Christmas to Remember
Rough Ride
Wild Like the Wind
Free
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
Own the Wind
Fire Inside
Ride Steady
Walk Through Fire
Wild Like the Wind
Free
The Colorado Mountain Series:
The Gamble
Sweet Dreams
Lady Luck
Breathe
Jagged
Kaleidoscope
Bounty
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
The Gamble
Sweet Dreams
Lady Luck
Breathe
Jagged
Kaleidoscope
Bounty
Dream Man Series:
Mystery Man
Wild Man
Law Man
Motorcycle Man
Quiet Man
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
Mystery Man
Wild Man
Law Man
Motorcycle Man
The Honey Series:
The Deep End
The Farthest Edge
The Greatest Risk
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
The Deep End
The Farthest Edge
The Greatest Risk
The Magdalene Series:
The Will
Soaring
The Time in Between
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
The Will
Soaring
The Time in Between
Moonlight and Motor Oil Series:
The Hookup
The Slow Burn
ALSO AVAILABLE ON AUDIO
The Hookup
The Slow Burn
The Three Series:
Until the Sun Falls from the Sky
With Everything I Am
Wild and Free