I am a great fan of Regency Romance and I'm excited to find an author new to me - Sarah E. Ladd who writes Christian Regency Romance. I'm currently almost finished with The Curiosity Keeper by Ladd and I'm loving it. I'm happy to be on the tour for A Stranger at Fellsworth. Below you will find an exciting excerpt from this novel. Tune back in on June 6th for a review of A Stranger at Fellsworth. For more stops on this tour check out the tour schedule at this link.
Excerpt:
Superintendent’s Cottage, Fellsworth School
Surrey, England, 1807
She shouldn’t be listening. It was not polite to eavesdrop. But the daunting temptation was too much to bear.
Annabelle Thorley pressed her thin frame against the rough plaster wall just outside her uncle’s private library. She leaned close to the paneled door and strained to hear the hushed conversation within the chamber.
Under normal circumstances Annabelle would not care to listen to a conversation between her mother and her uncle, but a chilly autumn drizzle had forced her to abandon her painting in the garden, and boredom now compelled her to seek another form of entertainment.
Her mother’s laughter traveled through the wall and rose above the rain’s incessant pitter-patter. Annabelle frowned. Her mother’s laugh did not sound like a happy one, like the one she used when she was amused or surprised. It was the high-pitched, shrill sound she made when she was nervous.
Annabelle looked to her right and her left to make sure no one would witness her snooping, then settled back against the wall to learn the source of her mother’s discomfort.
Her uncle’s words were low. “Rumors of your husband’s business failings, not to mention his sharp temper, are far-reaching, Mary. As your brother, I feel I must intervene on your behalf. So I ask you directly: Is Thorley in trouble?”
Annabelle tightened her grip on her painting box and bit her lower lip. Why were they talking about her papa?
A pensive silence trailed the pointed question, then her mother finally responded. “I admit he is a different man than the one I married, but one thing has remained constant: Robert is a determined individual, with lofty ambitions and exacting expectations. Nothing incites chatter more than success, so please bear in mind that the tales you hear are merely rumors. They will fade, as gossip always does.”
Taken from “A Stranger at Fellsworth” by Sarah Ladd Copyright © 2017 by Sarah Ladd. Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/.
For more check out: Publisher’s e-commerce site: http://www.thomasnelson.com/a-stranger-at-fellsworth
Laura, thank you for sharing this excerpt from the book. It sounds like an engaging one.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day with your family.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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