Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Ella Quinn's A KISS FOR LADY MARY


Ella Quinn’s bachelors do as they like and take what they want. But when the objects of their desire are bold, beautiful women, the rules of the game always seem to change…
Handsome, charming, and heir to a powerful Viscount, Christopher “Kit” Featherton is everything a woman could want—except interested in marriage. So when he hears that someone on his estate near the Scottish border is claiming to be his wife, Kit sets off to investigate.
Since her parents’ death, Lady Mary Tolliver has been hounded by her cousin, a fortune-hunting fool after her inheritance. Refusing to settle for anything less than love, Mary escapes to the isolated estate of rakish bachelor, Kit Featherton. Knowing he prefers Court to the country, she believes she will be safe. But when Kit unexpectedly returns, her pretend marriage begins to feel seductively real…

The front door opened as he came to a stop. Even the knocker gleamed. He tried not to clench his jaw as the rector came up beside him, as they climbed the shallow stairs.A servant, he assumed was the butler, bowed. “Good afternoon, Mr. Doust, the ladies are in the morning room. May I ask the name of your friend?”Doust slid a look at Kit. This got worse and worse all the time. His servants didn’t even recognize him. Why the devil had he taken so long to come here?He was beginning to feel like he was the wrongdoer. “I am Mr. Featherton. You must be Simmons.”The merest flicker of distaste passed over the butler’s face. “Indeed, sir. I shall escort you to the ladies straight away.”As they followed the butler down a long corridor, Kit remembered the house was built in a U. He couldn’t help noticing that the carpets were clean and in good repair, the woodwork gleamed, and wall sconces sparkled. The walls appeared recently painted as well.Simmons opened a door, and bowed as Kit and Doust entered the room.“Lady Eunice and Lady Mary,” the rector said, “how are you doing this afternoon?”The older woman rose. “We are quite well, Mr. Doust.” When her gaze lit on Kit, a line appeared between her brows, then disappeared. She smiled as if she’d been expecting him. “Mr. Featherton, how good of you to bring our dear friend with you.”A younger woman standing in front of the French windows started, then stared at him with the same silver eyes that had haunted his dreams. Her golden blond hair was dressed in a simple knot, loose curls framed her oval face, and her countenance had changed from a friendly smile to a mask of fear.What, by all that was holy, was Lady Mary Tolliver doing pretending to be his wife?Of all the females in England, she was the last one he expected to see at Rose Hill. Something was vastly wrong with this situation, and he had many more questions than answers. Not least of which was how she came to be here in the first place. Almost no one outside of his family even knew he owned this property. The quickest way to discover what exactly was going on was to remain calm.Not wanting to upset her any more than she already was he set a pleasant smile on his face and snoodled toward her. When he was no more than a foot away, he took her hands, raising one then the other to his lips. Damn the butler for not having closed the door and for Doust accompanying Kit here. There was nothing for it, but to play his part. “Aren’t you happy to see your husband, my dear?”

Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series will start in April 2016.
She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and granddaughter, one cat and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America.
Ella is a member of the Romance Writers of American, The Beau Monde and Hearts Through History. She is represented by Elizabeth Pomada of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency, and published by Kensington.


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