Take a trip back to 1813,
when a masked affair was de rigueur!
My newest time-travel Regency, AN UNUSUAL MASQUERADE, is now available.
AN UNUSUAL MASQUERADE
Author: Susanne Marie Knight
Genre: Time-Travel Regency
Available electronically at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Price: $3.99
Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7CS6K39
Price: $9.99.
Buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7GMJPQH ebook
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1157335
Print: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7CS6K39
Blurb:
An ancient time mechanism is
accidentally activated, sending modern-day Helene back to 1813.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
Newly divorced Helene
Madison is at a low point. No hubby, no job, no life. Ever hopeful, she accepts
a temporary gig as a bikini bunny for a water photo shoot aboard a
billionaire’s yacht. Maybe her luck will change. After the owner shows her an
ancient device discovered on a shipwreck, she touches one of the bronze gears.
Disoriented, she trips and falls into the cold waters of the Atlantic. As she
sinks deeper and deeper she wonders if her ticket’s been punched, or will she
get the second chance she wished for?
TIME TO TAKE A CHANCE
Basil Walker, Lord
Hungerford, convalescing from an injury, accepts an invitation from the Duke of
Eversham to take a jaunt on his schooner, Tempus Fugit, Times Flies. The
Duke asks Basil if he would like to participate in an experiment dealing with
time. Basil thinks his friend barmy but agrees. Why not take a chance? After
all, nothing could possibly happen. All at once, both men see a figure bobbing
in the vast ocean--a beautiful woman clad in tiny scraps of material. Can this
“mermaid” actually originate from another time?
Scene Set-Up:
Working as a bikini bunny
for a water photo shoot aboard a yacht, Helene Madison touches an ancient
device and then falls into the ocean. She wakes up disoriented and in a strange
bedroom.
EXCERPT
Helene
inhaled deeply. The distinctive scents of lemons and lavender filled her nose.
Clean, fresh, comforting...
Wait!
Her last memory was of her being captured by the sea. She’d been wet, cold, and
choking.
Omigosh! Where in the world am I?
With
more than a bit of trepidation, she opened her eyes. Okay, she rested on a bed
in an airy room and was covered by heavy blankets. Well, thank heavens for
that. She still felt cold from her unexpected plunge into the ocean waters. To
her left, she spotted a window with the drapes pulled aside, allowing sunshine
in. To her right were a few chairs, bureaus, and tables. Every piece of
furniture seemed to match in color and style. All in all, it was a feminine
room.
Wow.
Did yachts have such elaborately designed and roomy bedrooms? Fireplaces, too?
She supposed the answer was yes because where else could she possibly be but on
the kazillionaire’s pleasure vessel?
She
recalled more of her memory. That handsome man who rescued her had said the
ship was ahead. He’d told her she was safe.
She
believed him. She had nothing to fear. As soon as the yacht docked, she would
grab her beachbag, change into her street clothes, and then she’d head for
home. Yawning, she raised her arms up and stretched in the comfortable bed.
Omigosh! Instead of bare arms
she saw white sleeves. She threw back the covers to see that she was dressed in
an elegant nightgown. Made of soft translucent cotton, the gown had a scooped
neckline bordered with a flounce of the same material. Someone had exquisite
taste in nightwear!
The
air was a bit too chilly so she quickly pulled the covers back up to keep warm.
Obviously
someone had taken her bathing suit off and put this nightgown on her, but who?
Fingers crossed it was her friend, Charlene. Or at least one of the other
women. The thought of a strange man taking liberties...
She
shuddered.
Hearing
a noise at the door, Helene lay back against the pillow and waited. Once she
saw who the visitor was, she’d ask questions--
“Let
us see if our mermaid is awake, what?” An older man with pure white hair slowly
walked into the room. He then stopped and turned around. “My housekeeper
informed me that our guest has been sleeping the whole of the night. Dash it
all, I am concerned about that slip of a gel.”
Oh!
Helene took a peek at him but he was unfamiliar. She hadn’t seen him before.
Panic flooded her veins. She quickly closed her eyes to feign sleep.
Who
was he? He sounded like an English gentleman. Dressed like an aristocrat from
days gone by, too. What he just said didn’t make sense. She’d slept the whole
night? This was the next morning?
Where
in the world was she?
About
to sit up and ask that question, she heard another male voice. Younger sounding
but still British.
“No
need for alarm, sir. No doubt the aroma of your cook’s buttered scones will awaken
the baggage soon enough.”
With
difficulty, she kept her eyes closed but her nostrils flared. Baggage? That
certainly wasn’t a flattering description. Ooh, she wanted to--
“Perhaps
we should wait outside for her to awaken,” the older man mused. “We should not
be in here. All the world knows ‘tis improper to visit a lady in her
bedchamber.”
The
younger man huffed a brief laugh. “If I may dispel your concern, sir. One, this
female is not a lady. How can she be, dressing in a revealing manner that is as
close to nature as is possible? And two, to be precise, this is not her
bedchamber but yours, as you are the master of Eversham Hall.”
Helene
felt the flood of adrenaline flow through her veins. Not normally combative,
she suddenly desired nothing more than to pummel that condescending man into
the ground.
Snapping
open her eyes, she quickly sat up in bed, keeping the blankets up to cover
anything that might be considered “revealing”. She glared at the two men. “I
think you both better leave.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Reading!
Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!
