My historical romance, HONOR, debuted September 1st. I have just released. “Where Honor Began,” the novelette that is a prequel to this first book in my “Quaker Brides” series. (See the cover to the left under MY NEWEST TITLE.)<\/p>\n
Here’s an excerpt. (This novelette is on sale online for 99 cents. Sorry it’s not available in print as yet.)<\/p>\n
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She dropped to her knees beside his bed and gripped his limp hand with her bloodstained ones. She saw death in his eyes. Her pounding heart threatened to burst through her skin. How could events have led to this end? Two days earlier…<\/em><\/p>\n Chapter One<\/p>\n High Oaks Plantation<\/p>\n Tidewater, Maryland<\/p>\n August 1814<\/p>\n Her hands clasped together in her lap, Honor Penworthy sat in her place in the small sunlit morning room at the end of breakfast. A beribboned royal-blue velvet jeweler\u2019s box sat in front of her. She\u2019d have preferred a snake.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, open it, child,\u201d her grandfather urged gruffly. Why did he continue to test her like this? The intense scrutiny of the others at the table, not only her grandfather\u2019s but her father\u2019s and her cousin Darah\u2019s, pressed in around her. Some quarrel lay between her father and her grandfather, unacknowledged but constant. This quarrel concerned her grandfather leaving the Society of Friends and joining the Episcopal Church when she was only a child. In some way this gift from grandfather was another visible part of their silent battle of wills which, it seemed, prompted her grandfather to tempt her to break her Quaker principles.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m opening mine,\u201d Darah, a pretty brunette of sixteen, declared. She slipped off the pink satin ribbon and opened her box. \u201cOh, Mr. Charles,\u201d she gasped. \u201cPearl earrings. How lovely.\u201d Darah sprang up, setting her side curls bouncing, and hurried to hug Honor\u2019s grandfather around the neck.<\/p>\n Honor heard the approach of hoofbeats on their drive at the front of the house. She must finish this embarrassing drama before anyone else witnessed it. She kept her gaze lowered and slipped the blue satin ribbon from her box and lifted the lid. A delicate necklace that matched Darah\u2019s earrings lay nestled inside. She stared at the \u201cgift\u201d that wasn\u2019t a gift. It was a sharp stick to poke at her father. She wished she could turn to her grandfather and ask him plainly why he always did this? Why must he stir the waters between himself and his son? Why must he place her in the middle?<\/p>\n Again, prompted by the sound of boots on the front porch and the brass knocker clapping, she took action. Mastering her feeling of betrayal, she gazed at her grandfather. \u201cHow very lovely, Grandfather.\u201d Each word pierced her like a needle. \u201cI thank thee for thinking of me, but thee knows that, as a Quaker, I never wear embellishments.\u201d<\/p>\n As if he couldn\u2019t have predicted the reply she always gave, he grumbled and glared at her from under his bushy gray eyebrows. \u201cFoolishness. Just a bit of pearls.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish thee wouldn\u2019t try Honor–\u201d her father began.<\/p>\n Their silver-haired and liveried butler Thomas interrupted at just the right moment. \u201cMaster, two gentlemen, name of Carroll from Baltimore, are here to see you, sir. I have asked them to wait in your office.\u201d<\/p>\n Honor could only be relieved at the interruption. Her stomach had tied itself into knots, and she couldn\u2019t bear another icy staring contest between the two men she loved.<\/p>\n Rising, her grandfather hustled from the room. His sudden change of expression caught her just as he left. Grandfather appeared shocked and worried.<\/p>\n Honor looked across at her father, who was a foot taller than her grandfather, thin, and with thinning hair, now his expression drawn, his eyes troubled. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, daughter. He does this to jab more at me than thee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d she murmured, shutting the jeweler\u2019s box.<\/p>\n \u201cMy compliments to the cook,\u201d her father said to Thomas, ignoring Honor\u2019s question. \u201cI will be riding this morning but will be home by luncheon.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas nodded, turned, and pushed his way through the swinging door to the butler\u2019s pantry.<\/p>\n Not meeting Honor\u2019s gaze, her father nodded to both her and Darah and left, going out into the hall and walking swiftly to the rear door toward the stables, his boot steps echoing in the hallway. Would her father ever speak plainly and tell her what caused the trouble between him and Grandfather? Honor pushed the box across the table toward Darah. \u201cHere. To match your earrings.\u201d Here\u2019s the necklace Grandfather knew you would be getting anyway.<\/em><\/p>\n Darah scowled but accepted the box. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you can be so rude. He brings you the most beautiful gifts every time he goes to the capital. Why not accept them?\u201d<\/p>\n Honor sighed. It was useless to say, \u201cThee knows why\u2014I am still a Friend.\u201d Darah had gladly gone along to attend the Episcopal Church with Grandfather. Honor rose and turned toward the door to the hall.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should be more grateful.\u201d Darah\u2019s voice shook. \u201cI\u2019m an orphan, but you have a father and grandfather who love you.\u201d<\/p>\n Honor turned back, startled. \u201cCousin, let it go. Didn\u2019t thee want the necklace and earrings?\u201d<\/p>\n Darah leaped to her feet. \u201cI\u2019m tired of getting what you don\u2019t want.\u201d Honor stared at her younger cousin\u2019s sudden spurt of temper. Darah was the daughter of her mother\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n \u201cI fail to see why this upsets thee. Even though thee is not a Penworthy by blood, thee has been welcome here since being orphaned.\u201d Why is thee so angry?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not fair. I have nothing, and after your grandfather and then your father dies, you will inherit High Oaks.\u201d<\/p>\n Disturbed by the outburst, Honor studied Darah. \u201cAgain, why does that concern thee? Does thee think to inherit instead of me?\u201d<\/p>\n Before Darah could reply, Honor heard voices in the hall. One she easily recognized, her maid Royale. Honor hurried out of the dining room. In the hall, at the bottom of the staircase, she saw a stranger, a young good-looking dark-haired gentleman, boldly lifting Royale\u2019s chin. Aghast at his effrontery, she covered the few steps to him. \u201cMay I help thee?\u201d she asked in a tone that said \u201cUnhand my maid.\u201d<\/p>\n The stranger looked at her, actually let his eyes rove over her. Their gazes met almost at a level. He had what some called a weak chin.<\/p>\n She lifted her determined one, challenging him.<\/p>\n Finally he let his hand fall from Royale\u2019s face. \u201cWe meet again. Kane Carroll of Baltimore. Your servant, Miss Honor.\u201d He bowed with a flourish.<\/p>\n In contrast to custom, she did not curtsy in return. Quaker women did not curtsy, just as Quaker men never doffed their hats. But because of his forward behavior toward her maid, she did not want to offer her hand either. So she merely nodded. \u201cWelcome to High Oaks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, welcome to High Oaks,\u201d Darah parroted from just behind Honor. \u201cI am Miss Darah Manning, Honor\u2019s cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n Kane Carroll performed another artful bow. \u201cMy pleasure, Miss Darah.\u201d Then he looked at Honor. \u201cI fear you do not remember making my acquaintance, Miss Honor. We met at the cotillion in Baltimore earlier this year. I could never forget your striking fair hair and complexion.\u201d<\/p>\n With a jolt of remembrance, Honor recalled meeting him and that she hadn\u2019t liked him. After she\u2019d refused to dance, also according to Quaker custom, he\u2019d tried to draw her into the darkened garden. She\u2019d had to stomp on his toes to stop him. She recalled then that in doing so she\u2019d torn the hem of her gown, and Royale had met her in the ladies\u2019 withdrawing room to repair it. Had this man glimpsed her maid then?<\/p>\n \u201cThat was at my coming out,\u201d Darah said, blushing.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd a charming debutante you were, too,\u201d Carroll said, smiling and bowing over Darah\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n Royale remained where she was in obvious discomfort, her eyes lowered and her hands clasped.<\/p>\n \u201cThee may go about thy business, Royale,\u201d Honor murmured, releasing her maid. Royale curtseyed and escaped toward the rear. Carroll\u2019s gaze followed her as she left them.<\/p>\n This didn\u2019t surprise Honor. Royale was beautiful. Light-skinned with a golden brown head of curls, she had also been blessed with unusual green eyes. The first time men saw her, most couldn\u2019t stop themselves from staring. But rarely did any do more than look. This man had touched Royale. A warning bell sounded in Honor\u2019s head. \\<\/p>\n \u201cWhat brings you to High Oaks?\u201d Darah asked the question Honor most wanted answered.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve accompanied my grandfather, Major Bellamy Carroll. He is an old acquaintance of your grandfather, I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n Honor sensed some undercurrent. This man\u2019s visit presented some danger. She must investigate and find out who these Carrolls were and why they\u2019d come. \u201cDarah, why doesn\u2019t thee show our guest around the garden? Everything is so lush right now, and it will be cooler out in the shade.\u201d<\/p>\n Darah beamed. \u201cWould you like to tour our gardens, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n Carroll offered Darah his arm. \u201cI\u2019d be delighted. Won\u2019t you join us, Miss Honor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, thee will excuse me. I have duties to attend to.\u201d She wished she could shoo them away, far away. She must find Royale.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, yes, you are the lady of High Oaks, aren\u2019t you?\u201d He made the question sound insulting.<\/p>\n She merely nodded and watched them stroll out the front door and descend the steps toward the formal garden on the southern side of the house. She hurried toward the rear, seeking Royale. As she passed Grandfather\u2019s office door, she heard the rumble of angry voices\u2014not raised loud enough to be heard, but nevertheless worrying. Her grandfather and Kane Carroll\u2019s grandfather were arguing, and evidently did not want to be overheard. She reached the rear of the house and went down the few steps to the kitchen garden on the way to the detached kitchen where Royale might have gone.<\/p>\n Just as Honor passed the first old oak, Royale stepped out of its shadow. \u201cYou got to help me.\u201d Honor halted, her breath caught by the urgency in her maid\u2019s voice. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe say…that man say he come to buy me.\u201d<\/p>\n So the story begins. To purchase, click cover. It’s on sale for 99 cents!–Lyn<\/span>
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