Graeme’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head in disbelief. “Of course, I love her. She’s Bea.” He moved to rise, but Shelton’s hand on his arm stopped him.
“No, not as a friend. She’s the one you spoke about when you visited, is she not?”
Graeme blew out a breath and turned to face his friend. “Bea loves my brother, and I only wish to see her happy.” No matter how the idea of his brother marrying Bea irritated him! She deserved better than a dolt who had to be convinced of her worth rather than recognizing it of his own volition.
Shelton nodded his head slowly as if he were considering what Graeme was saying, but Graeme knew better. Shelton was reasoning things out, piecing things together, and drawing conclusions. A gentleman did not survive as a rake and be generally well-liked as Shelton had without a keen mind.
“She loves my brother,” Graeme repeated. It had been foolish of him to speak to Shelton about a lady whom he found enchanting but was unavailable. However, his tongue had been loosened by alcohol that night after they had ridden out to purchase Shelton’s new hunter, and the things that Graeme had been pondering since the evening he had nearly kissed Bea during that blasted card game had come spilling out. He had been wise enough to leave out names, but still, he knew Shelton was no fool.
“You truly wish to see her happy?”
Graeme looked at Shelton warily. “Yes.”
Shelton smiled. “Then, capture her heart before your brother can break it.”
The hairs on the back of Graeme’s neck bristled. The smile Shelton was wearing was calculating. He had seen it before — often right before some poor chap was about to be fleeced or lose his lady.
“I consider myself the charitable sort,” Shelton continued, “and I am approaching that age where a wife will be expected. I could save her heart from harm.”
Graeme’s eyes narrowed. “You will stay away from her,” he growled.
Shelton chuckled, clearly enjoying taunting his friend. “Will you call me out if I do not?”
Graeme folded his arms and smirked in return. Shelton knew that Graeme would never call anyone out. It was, for one thing, illegal, and for another, Graeme was not the best shot nor all that adept with a sword. So to use a duel as a threat would be of no effect. However, there was a threat that Graeme knew would shake Shelton. “No, I will shoot your horse.”
[from His Beautiful Bea, A Touches of Austen Novella]Published to YouTube by Solis Music on March 5, 2017.
Mr. Shelton in the above excerpt is getting his own story! His story will have some definite nods to Jane Austen’s Emma just like His Beautiful Bea had nods to Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. And I am working on fleshing out an idea for a story for Bea’s brother Max that will have nods to Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. That book will be released in the fall as part of a multi-author project which I cannot yet tell you about but am nervously excited about being part of. However, you can start reading Mr. Shelton’s story tomorrow right here on my blog. I have chapters 1-3 scheduled and should have chapters 4 and 5 written before the end of the week. (I missed writing a chapter last week — but more on that later.) The name of Mr. Shelton’s story will be His Darling Friend, and even the title has a bit of a nod to Emma in it. In Emma, Mr. Knightley calls Emma dearest and most beloved. I wanted something similar but did not want to use those words, and darling has the idea of being dear and beloved, so that is why I chose that word for the title.
Needless to say, I am a bit excited to begin sharing this story with you tomorrow. 🙂
His Beautiful Bea is going through a little bit of a makeover. I have given it another reading and cleaned up yet more typos and such (although no matter how often you proof, there always seems to be something that gets missed.) I have updated the file for the ebook and given the book a new cover! The print book will hopefully be ready before next Monday. There are a few more hoops to jump through to get that done than to do an ebook. For those who read in Kindle Unlimited, His Beautiful Bea is in that program and can be read using your subscription.
Now, for the reason I did not get a chapter of His Darling Friend written this past week:
I finished writing Tom: To Secure His Legacy!
Yes, I am excited about that as well! This week, I might be a bit less excited as I reread it before sending it off to my first reader to check for story issues. 😀
The bad part of this news is that I will not have any new story excerpts to share here on Mondays for probably two or three weeks as I need to pick a story to work on then start writing. 🙂
I have no idea what that next story will be at this point. Hopefully, I will have that figured out by next Monday as well. It seems I have a lot of things to do this week! 🙂
So, here, for the last time as a Music Monday work-in-progress, is…
AN EXCERPT FROM Tom: To Secure His Legacy:
[note: Do not read if you do not like spoilers or excerpts that end on a bit of a teasing, tempting cliffhanger. 🙂 There is a limit to the amount and type of spoilers I am willing to share. 🙂 ] Continue reading Music Monday: Allan Walker “Sing Me to Sleep” Piano Cover (David Solis)
