"Lucas, you must return
home."
Twenty two year old Lucas Bywood abandons his Grand Tour in
response to those words from his father. Everything is not well at home and he
finds himself in a bit of a fix. A little warning that his father had made
tentative arrangements for his marriage would have been nice but Luke really
wishes it had been anyone other than the young lady chosen. After all, Phoebe
Ramsey had always been an annoyance and any time they had spent together had
resulted in physical injuries for one of them. Just when Luke thinks he's escaped that particular future, he finds himself courting a young woman he doesn’t want, a furious best friend who wants a duel to satisfy honor, and the responsibility of finding who and why someone had caused an accident for his mother.
For as long as she can remember, Bethany Swafford
has loved reading books. That love of words extended to writing as she grew
older and when it became more difficult to find a ‘clean’ book, she determined
to write her own. Among her favorite authors is Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, and Georgette Heyer.
When she doesn’t have pen to paper (or fingertips
to laptop keyboard), she can generally be found with a book in hand. In her
spare time, Bethany reviews books for a book site called More Than A Review.
Connect with the Author here:
The Author's Top Ten Favorite Movies
1.
Northanger Abbey (2007)
2.
The Man From Uncle (2015
3.
The Princess Bride (1987)
4.
Persuasion (2007)
5.
Hidden Figures (2016)
6.
Gone With the Wind (1939)
7.
The Sea Hawk (1940
8.
The Phantom of the Opera (2005)
9.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
10.The Avengers (2012)
Snippets from the book!
Snippet #1:
Holding up my hand as though swearing a vow, I said, “I
will be the model of a proper gentleman and treat her as my sister.”
“That’s hardly reassuring, Lucas. I’ve seen how you choose
to tease your sisters.”
“All right, Father. I will treat her better than my
sisters. But you didn’t summon me from my journeys just to tell me the family
news, did you?”
Something in my father’s expression changed right before
he glanced down at his papers. “There’s time enough for that later. You’ve only
just arrived and haven’t even freshened yourself up from your journey. You must
do so before your mother demands you dance attendance on her.”
“Oh, Mama won’t mind the smell of the stable, as she will
undoubtedly smell of it herself before she dresses for dinner. I will just wait
until then to get cleaned up. I did not get too dusty on the ride here.”
While Father was a superb horseman, it was Mother who had
instilled the love of riding in me and my siblings. My fondest memory of her
was of her on her horse, laughing at something said. She would rather be
outdoors on the back of her beloved Sprite than sit by the fireside with
needlework in her hand.
His lips flattened into something bordering on anger for
only a second, but I didn’t miss it. “Is there something wrong, Father?” I
asked, feeling the worry that had begun to subside come surging back.
“I’m afraid your mother took a tumble early this spring.”
Snippet #2:
A woman’s voice startled me out of my reverie. Across the
pond, I saw a young woman coming around a bush, following the path that led from
Braglow to the pond. She was looking over her shoulder, and hadn’t noticed my
presence yet. A moment later, another woman came into sight, twirling a
parasol.
One of them could be Phoebe, and I felt a moment of panic.
I didn’t feel ready to face her, not without this whole engagement thing
settled. Then again, who better to settle it with than the lady in question?
And being away from both sets of parents was a definite advantage.
“Here we go, Phaeton,” I murmured, patting my horse’s
neck. “Let’s see what has brought two ladies out so early.” I rode around the
pond towards them.
The second lady hurried to the first lady’s side.
I slowed Phaeton to a halt and dismounted a few yards from
them. “Good morning,” I said, lifting my hat from my head. I offered a bow,
keeping Phaeton’s reins in my hand.
“Lucas Bywood?” the second young lady asked, sounding
alarmed. “Is that you?”
Turning my attention to her, I frowned. Gone was the
tangled hair I remembered her always having, and no longer did she appear gangly.
Her hair was arranged in a surprisingly elegant way, for her being on a country
walk, with one curl resting on her shoulder. Her pale green gown wasn’t
wrinkled or stained, but dainty and fashionable. Phoebe Ramsey had gone from an
ugly duckling to a swan while I had been gone!
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