Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 04/07/19 Heart of Decadence ~ Bad Timing

Welcome back to WWW.

This week I’m continuing from my brand new novella, Heart of Decadence, Book 5 in my Handful of Hearts series. It will release on or about April 23 in a boxed set called Second Chance Love: A Regency Romance Set along with works from five other fabulous Regency authors.

BLURB:  

Miss Amelia Burrowes was the scandal of the ton in her first Season, when her fiancée died and everyone assumed she was ruined. Ten years later, she’s back in London to make an arranged marriage that will hopefully allow her sisters to be received by the ton. But when Nathan, Lord Ainsley appears, the man she’d really had a tendre for all those years ago, the flame between them rekindles and Amelia must convince him that a woman with a past deserves a future.

In this snippet:  We follow on immediately from last week’s snippet. While at Lady Hamilton’s ball, Miss Amelia Burrowes has been found in the library by her suitor, Mr. Burke, who thinks because of her ruined reputation, he can take liberties. He has accosted her and does not want to take no for an answer. In the midst of their heated kiss, in walks a stranger. This snippet is from the POV of the stranger.

This snippet  may have been slightly altered to accommodate the WWW format.

 

EXCERPT:

Common sense told him he’d interrupted a sweet interlude between an affectionate couple; however, something in the back of his mind niggled at him about them.

“If you will pardon us, my lord,” the gentleman stepped toward the lady and tried to take her arm, though she shrugged him off, “you have interrupted us at a tender moment; the lady has just consented to be my wife.”

Definitely bad timing on Nathan’s part, so he said, “Your pardon then, Mr…?”

“Burke, my lord, Mr. Lawrence Burke of Derbyshire.”

“Mr. Burke,” Nathan bowed solemnly, “my felicitations to you and Miss—”

Sight of the lady’s wide eyes and a slight shake of her head gave him a new meaning for the scene: in Nathan’s experience young ladies sometimes sought to entrap a gentleman into marriage by being discovered with the man in question in a compromising position. From the lady’s subtle hints, he might be persuaded that in this case the gentleman might be compromising her for the same reason.

“Miss Burrowes, my lord,” Mr. Burke said and smiled broadly while the lady in question glanced about as though searching for a hole to drop into.

The name brought Nathan up short and he peered more closely at the woman. “Miss Amelia Burrowes?”

 

I’ll have more next week!

Here’s the pre-order link for the  Second Chance Love boxed set.

And for the month of April, to celebrate the book’s release, I’m putting Heart of Desire, Book 2 of the series, on sale on Amazon for .99 also. Book 2 introduces us to the Hero of Heart of Decadence as his sister and best friend take center stage in a Taming of the Shrew  style courtship.

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

 

The Handful of Hearts series by Jenna Jaxon