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Someone is trying to kill Lady
Penelope Leighton’s father, and now the fiend has turned his sights on her.
Frightened, she flees London
masquerading as a traveling companion for her elderly aunt.
When William Smith, the Earl of
Westerly, arrives in London
to a hero’s welcome he does not want, he takes the stewardship at his cousin’s
manor in Wakefield-by-the-Sea to escape. He is more than surprised when he
meets the mysterious Miss Penny Higgins residing there with a persnickety
duchess.
Miss Higgins’ unfathomable beauty
and stunning intellect are in direct contrast to her dowdy clothes and
recurring stutter. William discerns the ladies are in trouble, it’s obvious
they are in hiding, and William means to find out why, but no one is talking.
Before either of them realizes
it, they’ve lost their hearts – Penny to a man who she thinks is a steward, and
William to a woman destined for a duke.
After Penny’s true identity and
reason for hiding are revealed to William, he immediately engages his friends
in a campaign to help catch the blackguard who threatens her. However, upon
their return to London ,
a confounding chain of events leads them right into the villain’s trap. Can
William save her before it’s too late?
I like the two characters, Penny and Will, but as I was writing their story, I was simultaneously also writing the next three stories in the series. As a matter of fact, for those of you who did not know, I actually published this novel third in the line. Originally, I was only supposed to have three novels and four accompanying-novellas for the whole series. But then I kept writing and well, you can see what happened next.
I have these pictures on my Pinterest board, but they've been written over so many times you can't see what my thoughts were. I've found it invaluable to have pictures of my characters and their settings as part of my writing process. I should have done this sort of blog post years ago.
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| Lady Olivia Leighton, Duchess of Caymore |
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| Lady Penelope Leighton, Daughter of the Duke of Olmstead |
Lady Olivia is a busy-body of the first water in Society, in Parliament, and within her own family.
When someone tries to assassinate Penny's father, Olivia takes matters into her own hands and brings Penny on a life and death adventure. The both find love, albeit in different ways. Lies abound, intrigue and political posturing within Parliament and the Monarchy immerse us within the British aristocracy in 1809.
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| Lt. Colonel William Smith, Earl of Westerly |
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| Robert Carlton, Viscount Hadley, Duke of Cantin |
the idea, but it would give him the opportunity to manage a small estate so he would be better prepared to take care of his new holdings. What William doesn't figure on is the colorful Lady Olivia in disguise, seemingly embroiled in a kidnapping scheme. He doesn't prepare to fall in love with the mysterious woman named Miss Higgins. He knows she is not who she claims to be, but Lady Olivia is not telling, and Miss Higgins cannot.
William and Robert, along with other friends, devise a scheme to bring the perpetrator of the death threats against Penny's father to justice. However, when Penny is kidnapped, William must make a daring life or death decision. Unfortunately, it's Penny's life.
I won't tell you the end, only to say yes, it's a Happily Ever After. However, it does set up some interesting questions for the rest of the series. Lady Olivia plays an integral role.
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| Honoria Leighton, Duchess of Olmstead |
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| Charles Leighton, Duke of Olmstead |
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| John Quiggins |
John Quiggins, butler at Wakefield Manor. Until Lady Olivia has him posted to Caymore House.
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| Wakefield Manor |
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| Trilling |
And this is the story of THE LADY'S MASQUERADE.
Book One in The Reluctant Grooms Series.
On Sale now thru March 31. $2.99
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Anne Gallagher (c) 2019
