Let's start at the beginning... the very first book I
wrote!
SOJOURN THROUGH TIME
Author: Susanne Marie Knight
Genre: Time-Travel Regency
Available electronically at
Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Price: $3.99
Buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXDKJ4T
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/679804
Blurb:
As recently divorced
Alexandra waits for her flight to London, she has no idea her actual
destination will be in the past. Will she be able to overcome her culture shock
and learn to entrust her future to a most persistent duke?
When Malcolm, the Duke of
Milcaster, finds Alex on his estate, he immediately intends for her to be his
new mistress. Alex, however, has other ideas on the subject. Can he overlook
her peculiar ways and convince her that they are meant to be as one?
Excerpt:
Malcolm looked up as his
intended mistress had the effrontery to enter the state dining room. The
cabernet wine, dry and fruity, almost caught in his throat.
Good Lord, the woman was
beautiful, he could admit that. Her eyes, heavy and sensuous, had a sultry
quality about them. Yet her tentative demeanor as she stood by the doors
reminded him of an innocent fawn, unaware of the ways of the world. A delicate
flush of pink graced her still pale cheeks, and other than a slight swelling at
her jaw line and white bandage peeking out from under her hair, she appeared
the picture of health.
Miss Stanford wore one of
his late wife's gowns, a simple unbleached muslin dress completely unsuitable
for dinner attire. Indeed, it was more appropriate for a walk about the
gardens. The hem of the gown, designed to brush the floor, swayed uneasily by
the woman's ankles. A modest sight, to be sure, however his pulse began to
race.
But the audacity of the
woman consumed him. For her to take it upon herself to actually consider dining
with him and his virtuous aunt was exceedingly improper in the extreme.
"Hello," murmured
his predestined light o'love. "I'm sorry I'm late. Mary and I had a tough
time picking out a dress that would fit."
The thought of her revealing
apparel when he had found her teased him as a side of beef teased a hungry dog.
However strict decorum had to be maintained. He quickly squelched his unseemly
desires.
"Miss Stanford, what is
the meaning of this--"
"Stuff and
nonsense!" exclaimed Olivia. She stood and escorted the woman over to the
table. "Come, you must sit and rest yourself. We did wait for you, but
Malcolm tends to become irritable if he has not eaten, you know."
The devil! "Indeed, Aunt?" He spoke slowly, to convey
his displeasure. "Am I to understand you invited Miss Stanford to join
us?"
Olivia signaled to a footman
for another place setting. "Yes, of course, Malcolm. Miss Stanford is our
guest, is she not?"
There could be no polite
rejoinder to his aunt's question so he refrained from commenting.
The woman flashed an
expressive glance from him to Olivia, then lowered her gaze to concentrate on
the soup.
"Thank you for your
kind hospitality, um, sir. Unfortunately, I still can't remember what happened
to me. Could you please tell me how I got here?"
Olivia strained his already
waning patience by speaking first. "Quite a story that is, am I not
correct, Malcolm? Your arrival has certainly thrown this household in an
uproar! Gracious me, whatever were you doing, you poor dear, dressed so
outrageously?"
To give the woman credit,
she blushed furiously. "Please, I must know what happened. This is all so
strange."
As they ate, her dark eyes
pleaded with him, once again to come to her rescue. The first time was with the
bloodletting episode; evidently the feel of leeches against her smooth skin did
not agree with her. Intelligent woman. Personally, he thought it an abhorrent
practice. Now this, her appeal for information.
He would humor her. After
all, not only was she pleasing to look at but she was also well behaved. If he
had not seen her previous attire, he would have believed her to be a lady.
"A thunderous noise
attracted my attention, Miss Stanford, coming from the outlying lands of my
estate, in the woods. I found you almost buried under some rubble."
"Bleeding profusely,
you know," Olivia interrupted. "And, I might add, scarcely clothed!
My, my yes. Sara said your bare legs were--"
"Aunt." Malcolm's
voice brooked no argument. "You are making Miss Stanford
uncomfortable."
He was rewarded for his
efforts with the woman's demure smile, and for some peculiar reason, his heart
beat faster.
"Did you find anyone
else?" the woman questioned.
"Only you, Miss
Stanford."
"I see." She
dabbed at her lips with a napkin, obviously finished with her meal. "So
you put me in your car and brought me here?"
"Time was of the
essence, Miss Stanford. Rather than return to the Manor for a carriage, I
carried you on my horse." Odd the way she abbreviated the word "carriage."
Indeed, most everything about her was odd.
"Carriage!" she
repeated, turning a weak shade of green.
"Tsk-tsk! Now we have
done it; overtaxing poor Alexandra so. I have an excellent idea. Let us leave
Malcolm to his port while you and I make ourselves comfortable in the blue
salon. Then, when you are done, Malcolm, you can join us."
She stood and held out her
hand to the woman. "Come along, dear."
His aunt, always a goosecap,
was certainly in rare form tonight.
He took his aunt's
suggestion about the after-dinner port, but that would be the extent of his
acquiescence.
"I have business to
attend to, this night, so I shall forgo the pleasure, Aunt."
Accepting a glass from the
footman, he sipped the sweet, fortified wine and gazed down at his visitor's
trim ankles. "Miss Stanford, if it would not tire you overmuch, you and I
have a few matters to discuss. I will have Treadwell show you to the library
presently."
Perhaps
she had an inclination of what he wished to discuss for she blushed again
before she left. Now alone in the dining room, he polished off his port, then
poured another glass. Since Miss Alexandra Stanford had been so obliging as to
arise from her bed sooner than expected, he eagerly anticipated not having to
wait any longer to sample her tempting wares.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Thanksgiving!
Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing
With A Twist!
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