Publication Date: April 1, 2018
Courante Publishing
eBook & Print; 291 Pages
Genre: Historical FictioneBook & Print; 291 Pages
Love is no game for women; the price is far too high.
England 1585.
Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady
Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an
elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a
year’s grace to find a husband more to her liking.
Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s
campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to
find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the
Netherlands.
Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are
aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s
wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his
well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own
wishes. Until now.
With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots
extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both
of them.
You can read the first chapter here.
The beautiful cover for the novel was designed by Jennifer
Quinlan of Historical Fiction Book Covers.
Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a
particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters
into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are
very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways not unlike
ourselves.
Although she grew up in regional Victoria, Australia, she
has lived all her adult life in Melbourne. She has worked as a nurse, a tax
assessor and finally a librarian. She has a Master of Arts in history and is
also a family history obsessive.
For more information, please visit Catherine Meyrick’s website. You can also
find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Bess
felt a prickling along her spine and turned to find an elderly man standing
close.
Askew beckoned to him.
‘Bess, you will remember Master Litchfield.’
The old man simpered as he
bowed and took her hand. Bess did remember him. He had been one of those too
friendly men who always had an apple or a sweetmeat ready for any child. Her
father, like so many others, had seen him as a kindly man yet she and Ann had
not warmed to him. Bess supposed he was approaching the allotted span of three
score and ten. Time had not been gentle. He stepped forward and kissed her. His
breath was rank and his lips moist. Bess resisted the urge to wipe her hand
across her mouth.
His smile was unnerving.
‘Mistress… Ahhh…’
‘Stoughton ,’ Bess finished for him.
‘No need for formality,
Dick,’ Askew beamed. ‘You have known Bess since she was a baby.’
‘Bess,’ he said, still
holding her hand, ‘you have grown indeed.’ When his eyes finally settled on her
face, he said, ‘I was sorry to hear of your loss.’
‘Thank you, Master
Litchfield.’ She wriggled her fingers free.
‘And you still serve Lady
Allingbourne?’
‘Yes.’ Bess was surprised he
knew so much of her life.
‘A lively household, no
doubt.’ His eyes once more travelled over her body. ‘No doubt you have many
young men dancing after you. You’ll be married again in no time.’
Bess opened her mouth to
speak but, in face of his unwavering lascivious gaze, could think of nothing to
say. All her training had deserted her—the ability to make light conversation,
to lead it away from uncomfortable or unpleasant subjects without making the
other party feel reproof.
‘Your…, your family, Master
Litchfield,’ she stuttered, ‘how…, how are they?’
‘Ah Bess, I am quite
deserted.’ His eyes moistened. ‘Both my daughters know nothing of their duty.
Once married, they have never visited me. It has been nigh on fifteen years
since I have seen either. I know only of their fortunes through others.’ His
pale face was narrow, his sparse hair combed across his balding pate. He had
made Bess uneasy as a child and nothing had changed. Her mother had no liking
for him, declining all invitations for Bess and Ann to stay when his wife had
been alive.
‘I visited my Joan once,’ he
said. ‘Her husband was away. She barred the door against me, would not let me
enter under her roof.’ He smiled his oily smile again. ‘But you are a dutiful
daughter, Bess, you come at your father’s bidding. You follow his direction, do
you not?’
‘I suppose I do,’ Bess said.
She looked for a way of escape. Her father had disappeared, but she caught the
eye of Maggie Drayton.
‘And you have no children,
do you?’ Litchfield asked.
‘No.’
‘So sad. A young woman in
her prime, so ripe…’
‘Dick,’ Maggie broke in,
‘you will have to excuse me, there is someone Bess must meet.’
‘’Till tomorrow,’ he
smirked.
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 2 paperback
copies of Forsaking All Other! To enter, please enter via the Gleam
form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on June 18th. You must be 18
or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
No comments:
Post a Comment