New Time-Travel Regency--AN UNUSUAL MASQUERADE Excerpt

 


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

http://www.susanneknight.com

Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!

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