Using his cane, Edward knocked again, listening as the loud noise
echoed and finally faded in the depths of the house. It sounded empty,
completely deserted. While finding the house empty did mean he wouldn’t have to
evict anyone, it did mean that he’d have to find the lawyer, Mr. Tarte, in
order to obtain the key and enter.
With a sigh, he half-turned. A flicker of yellow light caught his
attention. The wide fanlight above the door glowed with the faint, wavering
illumination of a candle. After a minute, the doorknob rattled as someone struggled
to unfasten the heavy lock.
The door creaked open a few inches, spilling light through the
gap.
“Finally! Where have you been?” a woman’s breathless voice asked.
She peered around the edge of the door, holding a candle above
her head. The golden gleam of red hair curled over the woman’s pale face. Below
the tangle of hair, eyes blinked, lost in shadowed hollows beneath her arching
brows. A sprinkling of freckles leapt over the bridge of her straight nose and
high cheekbones.
“We would like to speak with Mr. Stonewright,” Edward said,
hoping his cousin was incorrect when she said the woman lived here alone. “If
he is available.”
“Mr. Stonewright? My—” She broke off before asking sharply, “Who
are you?” Then, as if she suffered sudden doubts about the wisdom of opening
the door to strangers, she started to slam it shut.
He shoved his booted foot into the gap and thrust the door open,
forcing her to retreat into the dim hallway.
Clearly nervous, she glanced around the near-empty hallway, her
mouth set in a grim line.
Edward held up his hands, although the cane gripped in his right
hand marred his attempt to appear harmless. “I am Edward Archer.” He reached
through the door and dragged Hildegard over the threshold. “This is my sister,
Lady Hildegard Archer. I believe we are expected. Is there a Mr. Stonewright?
Is he available?”
“Archer? I don’t know anyone named Archer,” the woman said,
gliding back another yard, her feet invisible under the long hem of her pale
gray gown. Her gaze flicked to the candle in her hand, as if she contemplated
blowing it out and escaping in the resulting darkness.
“No, but I am sure if you speak to your master, he will recognize
our names. Or your mistress,” he amended. “We sent him notice of our pending
arrival weeks ago.”
“Master?” A harsh laugh broke from her mouth. “He—he is not
here.” She lifted her round chin, daring him to argue otherwise.
Switching the cane to his left hand, he held up his right in a
gesture of surrender. “Please—we mean you no harm. We simply wish to speak with
Mr. or Mrs. Stonewright. He is expecting us. We are cousins to the Duchess of
Peckham—”
“We don’t know any duchesses,” she threw back, her chin set at a
stubborn angle.
He studied her. Her straight back and air of defiance suggested
she was not a servant. “You—and your husband? Father?—may have known her as
Miss Charlotte Haywood.”
“I didn’t know her at all, and I would appreciate it if you would
leave immediately. This is my house—you have no business here.”
“Mr. Stonewright—”
“I own this property, and I am the head of this household. If you
wish to speak to someone, then you must make do with me.”
Behind him came the soggy squelching of their servants’ footsteps
as Atwood and Nettle sought the relative dryness of the stoop. Another volley
of damp sneezes echoed through the door. Nettle blew her nose noisily and
heaved a heavy sigh.
Mr. Stonewright or no Mr. Stonewright, they were not going back
out into the foul weather to look for an inn if Edward had anything to say
about it.
“As we informed Mr. or Mrs. Stonewright, the ownership of this
property has yet to be determined,” Edward replied calmly.
The red-haired woman leaned forward, body rigid with tension as
she held the candle out slightly above shoulder-level. “It has been determined—it is mine.”
----
Don't forget, Love Across the Pond is available for a limited time at a discount, so grab your copy now before the price goes up! And speaking of limited time offers...
Free Book
To celebrate the release of Love Across the Pond, the Archer Family Regency, A Stolen Rose, is available for FREE! But it's only free for today and tomorrow, so be sure to grab your copy before the price goes back up.
When the Earl of
Wraysbury rescues a young woman from a carriage accident, he can't resist her
laughing eyes and wry sense of humor, even though their families have been
locked in a feud for generations.
Anemone may be
achingly lonely but she's loyal to her family. When she wakes up after an
accident in the strong arms of a handsome stranger, she's immediately drawn to
him, and appalled when she discovers he's her family's sworn enemy,
the Earl of Wraysbury.
Neither Anemone nor
the earl is prepared for the flaring attraction they feel, or for the
escalation of the war between their families when a 40-year-old mystery
triggers accusations of murder. Loyalty and the threat of a dangerous duel are
destined to tear the lonely lovers apart unless they are willing to defy their
families and take a chance on love.
-----
If you are interested, grab your copy on Amazon.com today. The sale ends on August 24, 2016.
Hope you enjoy some light summer reading!
Amy
Wreck and Ruin is a Regency that is still on the drawing board and will hopefully be released by Drakon Publishers sometimes during the summer of 2017. Trust, friendship, and social acceptance are the subject of Wreck and Ruin as the heroine faces what it means to be a stranger in a strange land after being in a shipwreck off the coast of England.
