Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!
Today I’m continuing to share snippets from Heart of Desire, Book 2 of my Handful of Hearts Regency novella series.
BLURB:
Follow your heart to find your desire
Miss Katherine Locke is irked to start her third 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 the handsome lord apparently falling for her. With time running out, should she accept his suit and risk falling in love despite herself?
Marcus, Lord Haversham, is in a tight pinch. His estates are failing and, worse, he’s just lost three thousand 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 ten thousand more pounds for her dowry. With nowhere to turn, Marcus agrees, praying he can keep word of the wager from Miss Locke long enough to charm her into marrying him. But can he avoid falling in love himself?
This snippet follows immediately on from last week’s snippet. Kate and Lord Haversham are dancing a scandalous waltz together and Lord Haversham has leaned uncomfortably close to Kate. In retaliation, she’s just stomped on his foot and he’s fallen into her during the waltz.
Some portions of this snippet may be changed from the book’s regular format to allow for WWW’s 10 line requirement.
SNIPPET
“Of all the students at Oxford, my brother had to befriend you?”
“He had you for a sister—his luck was due for a change.”
“Well, I wish mine would change, Haversham. If I have to endure you for five more minutes, I will fall down in a dead faint just to get away from you.” Kate wanted to scream in frustration at her brother’s best friend, but the man was right–any scandalous behavior could end with her compromised and married to Haversham before the month was out. The Season had just begun and she refused to let it end in a single night with the man who’d been the bane of her life for years.
“Luck must be on your side tonight, as the dance has, mercifully, come to an end”–he dropped her hand as though it burned him and offered his arm–“shall I see you to your brother?”
“Lord, yes.” She barely touched his proffered arm; the less contact with him the better. “Nathan must see that I completed the dance with you,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
Heart of Desire
is available for .99 on Amazon.
In fact, the whole Handful of Hearts series is on sale this month for .99 each!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
My newest giveaway for those who need something new to read, is a copy of Heart of a Scoundrel on this Rafflecopter giveaway site. Simply click here and follow the instructions to enter to win an e-copy of Heart of a Scoundrel. The giveaway runs thru next Saturday night. I’ll announce the winner on this blog on Monday, April 27 and set up the next giveaway. Happy Reading!
Handful of Hearts series by Jenna Jaxon
Click on the covers to purchase for .99 via Amazon.
lol. Surely this is in the running for a best banter contest somewhere! Wonderful!
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Love the banter between them. You can tell they know each other well. This sounds like a great story.
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Thank you, Diane! Yes, they have gotten under each other’s skin for many years–enough to know what to say to really make it sting.
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Fabulous line, “He had you for a sister—his luck was due for a change.” I like the back and forth between them.
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Thank you, Elaine! I really enjoyed writing this scene. 🙂
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I doubt they’ll avoid a compromising, scandalous situation for long!
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It does seem rather inevitable, doesn’t it? 🙂
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I like the back and forth between these two. Great snippet.
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Thank you, Cevilia! They were a fun couple to write!
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LOL – I will fall down in a dead faint just to get away with you. Such a handy thing to be able to do. We must bring back fainting.
Tweeted.
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LOL! There used to be fainting couches in rooms said to be specifically for ladies to faint onto, although there’s no documented proof this is what they were used for. The name, however, speaks volumes. 🙂
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So much hostile emotion and all the while remaining prim and proper. lol Great imagery!
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After two Seasons, Kate is well versed in remaining prim and proper, although she does let her guard down with Haversham more than she would with someone she did not know as well.
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Whew, I can feel the mutual contempt flaming off the page! And of course having to be all outwardly prim and proper because they’re at a ball makes everything worse…and delicious. Great snippet1
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Thank you, Veronica! Yes, having to be polite to someone you loathe is a skill many young women of the day had to master. A skill we do not currently use much, it seems.
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😀 I’m so delighted by these two. Also, I’m totally stealing the ‘dead faint’ line next time I’m talking to someone annoying lol. Great work!
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LOL! Steal away, Julie! I hope it works for you. 🙂
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Such sacrifice . . . such smoldering heat! I can’t wait to dive into the series on my Kindle as soon as I finish some contest entries. Duty first!
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Thank you, Nancy! I sure hope you enjoy them…after your duty is complete, of course. 🙂
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Somehow, I don’t think this is the end for them. Great snippet!
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No, not the end at all! 🙂 Thank you, Jessica.
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