It's my pleasure to host today fellow author Laureen Linwood who shares with us her latest book:
Blurb:
As the
third wife of an abusive French vineyard owner, Madeleine Bouchard hasn’t
produced the expected heir after three years of marriage. Fearing he plans to
kill her, she flees during a trip to England. Unable to make her way home, she
joins a troupe of traveling mummers and reinvents herself as the only woman
troubadour in the land, captivating audiences with both song and story.
Nobleman
Garrett Montayne’s fascination with Madeleine causes him to pay the troupe to
bypass their next stop in order to journey to his estate. Though he suspects
Madeleine of being a thief with dark secrets, love blossoms between them under
the magical moon of summer solstice.
But
Madeleine’s past is about to catch up with her, as her husband is set to arrive
to conduct business with Garrett. Madeleine determines to free herself from her
loveless marriage and make a new life with Garrett, no matter what the cost.
Excerpt:
Garrett
peered into the angry face of the woman who haunted his dreams by night and
left him absent-minded by day. Their encounter had been brief, but he doubted
he had ever met a more remarkable woman. Not even his petite Lynnette had
brought such a sweet longing to his loins as did the bewitching creature before
him.
Her
honeyed hair, loosened from its intricate braid, curled around her shoulders.
Tiny beads of sweat had formed just above her upper lip. Without thinking,
Garrett reached his thumb towards her and wiped it away. She flinched slightly,
her dark, amethyst eyes glowering at him.
Garrett
smiled in spite of himself, offering her a hand to pull her to her feet. He had
forgotten how very tall she was as she stared at him, her cheeks flushed with
anger.
“Perhaps
we could arrange a trade?” he suggested.
She
eyed him suspiciously. “I’m not sure if I could trust you, my lord,” she
countered.
“Trust
me?” he sputtered. “This, from the woman who traipsed about the countryside
claiming to be my wife?”
She
shrugged nonchalantly, an almost Gallic air about her. She didn’t sound French,
but there was an unmistakable manner to her movement. Garrett spent enough time
in France to recognize the behavior. However, when she spoke, he quickly put it
from his mind.
“I
chose a bloody awful name to scare away anyone who accosted me on the road! How
was I to know I’d run into you?” She
snorted in an unladylike fashion. “I had heard tales of the wicked Lord
Montayne, how he frightened old and young alike and gobbled up babes for his
dinner. Why, the very mention of his name would cause grown men to plead for
their lives and their loved ones. Oh, no, my lord, I was an honest liar.You
were the one who resorted to trickery and hid your true identity from me."
Her
accusation so startled Garrett his jaw flew open. No sound came out for a
moment. The woman lifted her chin high and turned on her heel. That brought
Garrett into motion.
He
grabbed her elbow and pulled her around to face him. “Not so fast, my lady.” He
studied her a second. Her eyes narrowed
at him, but she remained silent. Finally faced with her visage square in front
of him, Garrett was at a loss of what to do. His emotions swirled out of
control as he spoke.
“’Tis
curiosity,” he sputtered.
She
looked puzzled. “Curiosity?” she echoed.
He
nodded, his words spilling forth rapidly. “I know not who you are, nor where
you come from. I’ve dreamed of you since that night only to awaken to an
emptiness.” His voice became low and tinged with sadness. “I don’t even know
your name.”
***
Buy
Link:
e-book copy: Amazon
print copy: Amazon
print copy: Barnesandnoble
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