“When do we leave?” Henri asked.
“Go pack now,” Rafe said. As soon as he had jumped down and scurried away, Rafe pulled Collette close. “Ready for another adventure?”
“With you? Always.”
And the paper fluttered to the floor.
Lord and Lady Nicholas request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. Rafe Beaumont’s company for a week of entertainment with Draven’s Dozen at Battle’s Peak. The festivities will commence in six months’ time. Please join the other Survivors on the 7th of June 1823.
An answer is requested.
It was signed Nickers.
About Shana Galen
Shana Galen is three-time Rita award nominee and the bestselling author of passionate Regency romps. Kirkus said of her books: "The road to happily-ever-after is intense, conflicted, suspenseful and fun." RT Bookreviews described her writing as “lighthearted yet poignant, humorous yet touching." She taught English at the middle and high school level for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston's inner city. Now she writes full time, surrounded by three cats and one spoiled dog. She's married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making.
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Coming in summer 2022—a new series from Shana Galen! The Royal Saboteurs—Protecting the Crown at Any Cost!
A disparate group of men and women board a train in the middle of the night. They aren’t told where they’re going or why, but they have one thing in common: they are the best at what they do. These strangers—the best pick-pockets, forgers, ciphers, and spies in England—might not know each other, but each will come to trust the others with his or her life. When the group arrives at the rustic farmhouse in the wilds of northeast England, they’re met by a leader who’s more legend in their circles than man. He offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become elite operatives for the Crown, to live a life of adventure protecting their country. For some this is compensation enough. Others require further inducement. So begins their training at a camp for saboteurs, where the skills they learn and the missions they’re assigned will test their mettle and their loyalty. From glittering ballrooms to the grandeur of the royal palace to the most dangerous slum, the bonds they forge may save their lives, but it’s their hearts that are irrevocably transformed.
From RITA-nominated, national bestselling author, Shana Galen, the queen of “fast-paced, action-packed, cat-and-mouse spy thriller that will leave you breathless,” (RT Book Reviews) comes a series that perfectly mixes intrigue with sizzling passion.
Pre-order the first book in the series, Beauty and the Thief, now and enjoy chapter one below.
Pre-order link (when we have it)
One
Bridget Murray consulted the small gold watch she held in her gloved hand and frowned. Nearby, the last train of the night blew out a burst of steam, sounding very much like an enormous, and rather impatient, horse. She looked about the deserted train station, her eyes roving over the same figures she’d observed the past forty-seven minutes. One lone porter sat on a bench, his eyelids half closed as he snoozed. Through the window of the small lounge, she noted the ticket seller beginning to gather his coat and hat. Bridget, in her dark traveling dress and old but still serviceable winter coat, stood between two columns, watch in hand and umbrella hooked on one arm.
Another minute ticked by. Where was he? The train would depart in twelve minutes. The rest of her charges were aboard, and she felt a twinge of unease at not being safely aboard, though she’d reminded herself several times that she still had plenty of time.
Baron wanted Kelly on that train, and Baron had asked her, specifically, to wait for the man. But she couldn’t make this Kelly come to the train station. He knew the train schedule, didn’t he? Surely, he did. Baron informed her Kelly had been given his ticket days ago. Whereas, she had held the tickets for her other passengers.
She looked at her watch again just as a gust of steam from the train ruffled her black skirts and momentarily deafened her. When she looked up again a man sprinted toward her.
He dashed down the platform, his greatcoat flying behind him, revealing dark, fitted evening clothes beneath. He’d lost his hat at some point and his chin-length hair flew back from his clean-shaven face. She might have retreated if not for the grin he wore. He looked like a man having the best night of his life.
She’d been struck momentarily immobile by his sheer masculine beauty. The way he moved, the way his eyes glittered, the way the wind whipped his hair back...
He was coming straight for her.
Bridget glanced at the train then the lounge, trying to decide which was closer should she need to flee. But even as she turned toward the lounge, the man, who was now only a few yards away, called out to her. “Are you Miss Bridget Murray?” His voice had a lilt she couldn’t place at the moment, but she understood him well enough.
“I am.” She shoved her watch into the reticule hanging from her wrist.
“Sure and I’m Callahan Kelly.” He skidded to a stop before her and reached up to doff his hat. Finding it missing, he shrugged and gave her a sweeping bow. Oh, yes, he was handsome. That was undeniable.
Even more undeniable was the fact that he was trouble. One look into his gray-blue eyes told her that.
A commotion at the other end of the platform caused him to straighten and cast a look over his shoulder. Just then four other men tumbled down the far stairwell. A remarkably tall men led three burly men. They paused and looked about as though searching for someone. She sighed. “They’re after you, of course.”
Kelly hissed in a breath and stepped behind the nearest column, pulling her with him. “How long until the train leaves?”
“Eleven minutes.” She peered around the column. The men had slowed, seeming to search, and moving in the direction of the lounge behind her.
“Too long.” Kelly took her wrist and yanked her out from the columns and into the shadows at the back of the platform.
“Let go!” she objected as he pulled her into an archway built into the stone.
But instead of releasing her, he shoved her against the white tiled wall and pressed himself beside her. “Be quiet.”
Bridget brought her foot down hard on his shoe, and he jumped back, a look of incredulity in his eyes. She straightened. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I have not given you leave to touch me.”
“Bridget—”
“Miss Murray, if you please.”
“You’ll be Miss Murdered if you don’t shut up and step back.”
She might be angry, but she wasn’t an idiot. She could see the men who’d come for him were not the sort to listen to reason or, more importantly, to respect train schedules. She stepped back, pressing herself uncomfortably close to Mr. Kelly and dug out her watch. “Nine minutes until the train departs.”
“We’ll catch the next one.”
She turned to face him. “You think trains to the Farm leave every day? I have strict instructions to be on that train no m—”