Dare to Kiss (11 page)

Claris rose to her feet, needing a hand on the table to steady herself.

“I fear you are unbalanced, sir. Please leave.”

He, too, rose but made no move to obey. “I’m as sane as any man in this demented world. Come, come, Miss Mallow, don’t cling to the conventional response. The marriage will give you all possible advantages, and I pledge to be an amenable husband.”

“Amenable?”
Claris echoed. “Be amenable, sir, by leaving this instant!”

For the first time she noted that he wore a sword.

A sword!

She moved to one side, putting the length of the table between them.

“Miss Mallow . . .”

She glanced around for any weapon but didn’t even see a trowel.

“
Ellie!”
she shouted.

Stupid, stupid. What could Ellie do?

Then Ellie came out of the cottage, astonishingly with a pistol in her hands. Though it was a small gun, it seemed too large for her to manage, so Claris snatched it and pointed it, hands trembling.

“Leave, Mr. Perriam, and do not return!”

She’d never held a pistol in her life, and it was shockingly heavy. Could she bring herself to fire it?

“You heard Miss Claris, sir,” Ellie said. “You’d best be off before she does something she’ll regret.”

He suddenly laughed, eyes bright with it. “I’m tempted to test that. But how delightful this is, Miss Mallow. I very much look forward to our further acquaintance.”

His eyes in some way held hers, sending a shocking frisson through her.

Fear.

But it didn’t feel exactly like fear, even if it did make her knees loosen and her hands tremble. She raised the pistol a little higher, trying to steady it on him.

Without urgency, he picked up his gloves, hat, and riding crop. Then he bowed, in an elaborate style that must surely be from court and power but was all insolence, and walked away. What was worse, he turned his back in complete disregard of the gun. Claris was tempted to shoot him for that alone.

Yatta leapt down and followed, perhaps pretending to himself that he was chasing the enemy away, but Claris knew the truth. They couldn’t have forced that man away if he’d not been willing to go. Even so, she kept the pistol trained on him until he rounded the cottage and was out of sight.

Ellie took the pistol from her weakening hands. “There, there, dearie, he’s gone now.”

Claris collapsed back onto the bench. “He’ll return.”

“Likely he will.”

“Then I
will
shoot him.” It was the frisson speaking. “Show me how.”

“It’s not a skill learned in a day, dearie. This one isn’t loaded or primed or I’d not have let you take it.”

Claris sank her head in her hands. She’d threatened him with nothing, and perhaps he’d known that. She looked up to glare at the gun. “Where did that thing come from? Why do you have a pistol?”

“We’ve been in some unruly places, Athena and I.” Ellie put the pistol on the table and sat beside Claris to take one of her hands. “Now, dearie, what did he do to set you screeching?”

Claris clutched that hand. “I’d think I’d dreamed it if not for those two glasses. And the pistol. Ellie, he proposed marriage! No, he didn’t propose. He stated that he was going to marry me. As if I had no say in the matter at all!”

“Perhaps he thought you’d snatch at the chance.”

“That’s it! He did. Said how comfortable I would be, how amenable he would be. How dare he?”

“Like I said, he likely thought you’d be honored, a fine gentleman like him. Though that could be a sham. Many a fine man eats oats.”

“Eats oats?”

“Or any other poor food. If you’re thinking of it—”

“Of marrying him? Of course not!”

“I’m merely saying that if you were, you’d best confirm that he’s as prosperous as he seems. But then, why should he deceive you? That’s the line a scoundrel takes with an heiress.”

Claris shook her head. “I think you’re as mad as he is. I have no intention of marrying anyone, be he rich as Croesus, but certainly not a stranger claiming to be forced into it.”

“Forced? Now, that’s interesting. It’d take a bit to force a man like that.” Ellie pushed to her feet and picked up the pistol. “You tell us all about it when Athena’s home. But for now, I’ve the floors to finish and the stew to tend.”

“I’ll help.”

Ellie looked at her. “Perhaps that’s best. Keep busy, dearie. And keep an open mind.”

“On marriage to that wretch? Closed as a tomb. I’m mistress of my life, and so I shall remain.”

Seduction in Silk, August 2013

In print and e-book from all major sellers.

Hi, this is Jo Beverley, and I’d like to tell you more about the world of these stories.

They are set in aristocratic England in the Georgian age -- in the 1760s, to be precise -- at a time when skirts were full, bodices low, and men in silk and lace carried swords they knew how to kill with.

My first five Georgian books were about the Malloren family, headed by the Marquess of Rothgar, so now I call this period my Malloren World.

Once the Malloren family found their mates, the stories continue with connections of various kinds. For example, in Seduction in Silk, Perry is working with Rothgar to trap a French spy and Claris gets help from a neighbor, Genova, Marchioness of Ashart, from Winter Fire.

This is the sequence.

My Lady Notorious (RITA Winner)

Tempting Fortune

Something Wicked

Secrets of the Night

Devilish (RITA Winner)

Winter Fire

A Most Unsuitable Man

A Lady's Secret

The Secret Wedding

The Secret Duke

An Unlikely Countess

A Scandalous Countess

Seduction in Silk

I also write in the Regency period (1811-1820) and my stories there are wound around a group of men who met at school and formed a protective band they called the Company of Rogues.

The sequence of these books is:

An Arranged Marriage

An Unwilling Bride (RITA Winner)

Christmas Angel

Forbidden

Dangerous Joy

The Demon's Mistress (a novella)

The Dragon's Bride,

The Devil's Heiress

Hazard

St. Raven

Skylark

The Rogue's Return

To Rescue a Rogue

Lady Beware,

A Shocking Delight (to come in 2014)

The first five of these books have not previously been available for e-readers, but will be in July 2013. Please e-mail [email protected] if you want to be informed as soon as they are available.

I have written a number of novellas that are now being e-published on their own.

Novellas often give me the chance to play in the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Most are fantasy, but one,
“The Trouble With Heroes,”
is straight science fiction, though there is a love story there. It won the
Sapphire Award
for best SF Romance (short form) and is now available as an e-book.

“The Marrying Maid”
combines fantasy and the Georgian period, and has an unusual twist on the Robin Hood story. It received an honorable mention as
Best Science Fiction of 2010.

Coming soon, “The Dragon and the Virgin Princess,” in which I had great fun tying the traditional story in knots!

There’s
a complete list of my work here
along with excerpts and some links to buy points.

You can keep up with the latest publications by “liking”
my author page on Facebook
, and/or signing up for my occasional newsletter. There are sign up boxes on most pages of
my web site
.

I’ve enjoyed weaving stories since I was a child, but it’s readers who complete the circle and bring a book to life. Thank you for completing this one. I hope it made you smile.

All best wishes,

Jo

About Jo Beverley

Publishers Weekly declared Jo Beverley "
Arguably today's most skillful writer of intelligent historical romance..."
Her work has been described as "
Sublime!"
by Booklist, and Romantic Times described her as "
one of the great names of the genre
."

She is the NYT bestselling author of over thirty historical romance novels, all set in her native England in the medieval, Georgian, and Regency periods. Her novels have won the RITA, romance's top award, five times, and she is a member of Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame.

Her web site is
http://www.jobev.com
, and she regularly blogs at Word Wenches.
http://www.wordwenches.com
.

You can find her on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/jo.beverley