Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 03/21/21 ~ A Countess of Convenience ~ For Better or Worse

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

This week I’m transitioning  from my just released short read, A Return to Life, to the actual book,  A Countess of Convenience, book 1 of my new series, Captivating Countesses.

 

 

BLURB:

Following a tragic accident, an unconscious Judith Harper is returned to her childhood home only to awaken to a horribly changed world: her husband is dead and her child has been given to her in-laws to raise.

As Judith regains her strength, she makes plans to reclaim her child, but to her dismay, the law of the land might not grant her guardianship unless she can show herself to be the better choice, which means she may need to marry again and quickly. Not only is Judith not ready for another husband, but she is newly widowed and will be part of a scandal should she wed before her year of mourning is up.

Still, if she hopes to have her daughter with her once more, she will have to make a marriage of convenience, but to whom?

John, Lord Haxby has loved Judith since childhood, and because of that he let her marry another eight years ago. Now she is free of her odious husband, he hopes he can persuade her that he is the only man who can make her truly happy. However, he discovers Judith is more than interested in Lord Fitzhugh, the man who saved her life. Can he stand aside once more and watch the love of his life make a grave mistake, or will he step up and show the woman he loves he is not a convenient solution to her problem, but the perfect one?

I’ve continued immediately after last week’s snippet so you can find out how Simon Harper died. 🙂

EXCERPT:

If Simon survived the duel, surely he must still be alive?

“The coward attempted to shoot Lord Trevor in the back, but that bit of dishonor was thwarted by Miss Carlton, who hit him in the head.” Dora stared at Judith with cold eyes. “In just the same place you were hit, my dear; Simon, however, did not manage to survive as you have.”

Staring dully at the blue-striped counterpane that covered her, Judith sank into her thoughts. Dora had been right to tell her about Simon. Although the ache of his treachery stabbed her to the heart, she needed to know that the husband she’d been truly fond of had been untrue. His perfidy cut her to the bone when she thought of herself lying helpless in bed while her husband debauched unsuspecting women. Tears oozed from her eyes, and she turned her head into her pillow. “Please leave me alone.”

And now a little more of the scene :

The quiet click of the door closing gave her permission to cry in earnest. But she didn’t want to cry, to show weakness. She had to be strong. If she was a widow now, she must be able to manage her own affairs. Since the day she married Simon she’d done nothing save please him and his father and mother. Harper’s Grange had been a prison in some ways, perhaps, but a pleasant one that had sheltered her from the necessity of making her own decisions about anything other than her choice of clothing. Now life had changed irrevocably. Whether for better or worse was yet to be discovered.

A Countess of Convenience  is  available on Amazon for the pre-order price of $2.99. After the release on March 30, 2021 the price will change to $4.99.

A Return to Life is finally available on Amazon for FREE  and on Smashwords , B & N, Apple, and Kobo for free as well.

 

 

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

Captivating Countesses series

by Jenna Jaxon