Heart of Desire by Jenna Jaxon
She really should’ve known better
than to wager with her brother. His ability to assume a completely
expressionless face when playing cards or placing bets had become extremely
annoying. “No one could lose with good grace if they had to put up with Lord
Haversham for even five minutes during a waltz. It is quite impossible to
fathom. Even you, dear brother, would not take it well.”
“How fortunate then that I shall
never be required to stand up with Haversham.” Nathan laughed, and Kate
clenched her hands. Just because her brother fancied himself a great wit did
not make it true.
“Well, mark my words, I will
never undertake a wager with you or anyone else again with a forfeit involving
Lord Haversham.” Just saying the name was like biting into an unripe persimmon.
It turned her mouth inside out.
Nathan watched her, rubbing his
fingers over his watch fob. “You are in your third Season, Kate. You could do
worse than Haversham, you know.”
“Worse than…” She stared at her
brother, expecting devil’s horns to sprout from his dark curly head. “How could
anyone be worse than Marcus, Earl of Haversham?”
“You sound as though the man’s a
scoundrel or a cad. He’s a good man, Kate. He may have fallen on hard times at
the present. His father’s death affected him very deeply.” Nathan stared at
her, frowning.
“I am sorry for his loss, but
that doesn’t excuse—”
“He hadn’t expected to take on
the mantle of responsibility for some years to come.” Her brother jumped to his
friend’s defense. “By the time he got himself in hand, the estates had begun a
downward slide. His uncle’s helping him take the reins of the family
investments, so that should be all right. But Haversham himself is a good man.
He’d make a good husband.”
Kate’s jaw dropped. “Do you
seriously want me to marry him?” She grimaced and swallowed convulsively. “My
mouth doesn’t even want to say the words.” That lemonade would’ve been welcome
right about now. “I wouldn’t marry him if he were…were… There is no instance
where I would consent to marry him.”
HEART OF DESIRE
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?
About Jenna Jaxon
Only Marriage Will Do, second book in her Georgian House of Pleasure series is with the editor. Her medieval trilogy, Time Enough to Love, is being published by Rising Phoenix Publications. Book 1, Betrothal is currently available. Book 2, Betrayal, will be available later this fall.
Jenna has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, she has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.
She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.
2 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me today!
Thank you for sharing your new release!
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