I’m off this Sunday on my yearly trek to my friend’s cabin in the woods of New York State. Very rustic: no electricity, no running water. Lots of peace and quiet time for writing, though. However, I’m on the road today, so my responses to your visits may be a tad late in the day, but they’re coming.
Heart of Desire is still “Book of the Month.” It’s Book 2 in my Regency series Handful of Hearts, and here’s another snippet of this sweet Regency.
The time is the beginning of the Season in London, May 5, 1820. Miss Katherine Locke is waltzing with Lord Haversham at Lady Hamilton’s ball. Lord Haversham has demonstrated the scandalous nature of the waltz and is now escorting her off the ballroom floor. Lord Haversham escorted her to her brother, Lord Ainsley and Kate and Haversham have continued to trade barbs.
This week I’ve skipped ahead to the end of a card game between friends Lord Haversham and Lord Ainsley, Kate’s brother. (There have been some punctuation changes to accommodate the rules.) Hope you enjoy!
Interior of a Regency Card Box
“How much have you set me back now, Ainsley?”
“Three.”
Three hundred pounds was a lot of money to lose, especially when he’d planned to win such a sum instead; ah, well, it could have been worse. He must refrain from play from now on, wagering only on investments as his uncle had admonished him the last time he had to bail him out of the River Tick. “I’ve got one on me now,” he said as he plunked the leather bag down on the table. “I’ll call ‘round tomorrow with the other two hundred.”
“Thousand.”
“I beg your pardon?” Marcus stared at his friend, confused.
“It’s three thousand pounds, Marcus, not three hundred.”
Blurb:
Follow your heart to find your desire
Miss Katherine Locke is irked to start her 3rd season dancing with the disagreeable Lord Haversham, her brother’s friend and her own arch enemy. After three years out, however, she’s finally interested in the dashing Lord Finley—only to find out her cousin has set her cap for him too. To make the man jealous, Kate feigns interest in Lord Haversham, only to be shocked to find herself falling for the handsome lord against her will.
Marcus, Lord Haversham, is in a tight pinch. His estates are failing and worse, he’s just lost 3,000 pounds to his best friend, Lord Ainsley. Ainsley’s solution: have Marcus marry his shrewish sister and he’ll cancel his gambling debt plus give him 10, 000 more for her dowry. With nowhere to turn, Marcus agrees, praying he can keep word of the wager from Kate until he can woo her and charm her into marrying him.
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
Heart of Desire should release in late August! (I promise!)
The prequel, A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe, is available at Amazon currently on sale for $.99.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 
This guy is a very expensive friend!
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“Thousand.” Yikes! lol And they had such creative ways to pay off debts, huh? 🙂 Can hardly wait to read it!
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Oh dear, he’s in a bit of a bother now. He’s definitely someone that Katherine needs to keep clear of, if her brother doesn’t drop her in it.
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Enjoy the trip to the cabin! Well, I’d say if the guy doesn’t even know what the stakes were, he’s definitely not cut out to be a gambler. Enjoyed the excerpt, love the Regency setting!
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Oh, crap! Sounds like he’s not a terribly skilled gambler. Probably best to stick to safe investments and troublesome women.
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He’s in deep trouble right now. Good writing!
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Uh-oh! I fear what the trade-off will be for this gamble. Have fun!
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Oh my, there is that pesky little nought again! £3000 in those days is a fair amount of money. Now for the “payment in kind” agreement.
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That’s definitely not a good surprise! Gambling isn’t a time to make such a mistake.
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No, it is not! And guess who he was thinking of when he got distracted? LOL
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