Fanning The Flame – Kat Martin

Winifred, my maid, is in the carriage, along with a driver and a footman. They should be arriving any moment.” Adam cursed softly. “You should have stayed with them. How many times have I warned you about the danger of riding off on your own?” Maggie waved away his concern. “Oh, don’t be such a toad, Adam. I daresay, nothing happened. I hate riding inside that stuffy old coach and you know it. Besides, I told you, I only came ahead the last few miles.”

Jillian fought a smile at the dark look on Adam’s face. He glanced from his sister to Jillian, imagining, perhaps, what might have occurred between them if his sister hadn’t arrived, and frustration flashed for a moment in his eyes. “I think we’re through with supper,” he said. “Why don’t we adjourn to the drawing room? Maggie can regale us with tales of her journey.” She flicked a sideways glance at Jillian. “I should rather hear what is happening with the murder investigation you are involved in.

Perhaps there is something I might do to help.” Adam sighed. “How did you know I was conducting an investigation?” He offered his sister one arm and Jillian the other and guided both women out of the dining room. “It was mentioned in the Times. And on every wagging tongue in London. I swear, brother dear, you have a knack for stirring up trouble, even when it isn’t your own.”

“And you, young lady, have a knack for sticking your nose into other people’s business.” “You’re my brother.” She aimed a pointed glance at Jillian. “That makes it my business.” With those words, Jillian realized that Maggie Hawthorne was far more than the flighty, outspoken young woman she appeared. She had come to assess the situation her brother had got himself involved in and perhaps do something to protect him.

Jillian was beginning to like Margaret Hawthorne. It would be interesting to see how the evening progressed. ****************** As it happened, the night developed quite differently than Jillian expected. In the beginning, it was rather a sparring match, with Adam irritated at his sister’s none too subtle probing and Jillian deciding the best approach to Margaret Hawthorne’s interest was an honest one, which meant giving the girl the answers she had come to get. “So the butler accused you of murdering Lord Fenwick,” Lady Margaret said, repeating the explanation she had been given thus far.

“You were afraid no one would believe your side of the story so you ran away.” “Yes, that is exactly what happened.

The London ton is abuzz with the latest scandal. Jillian Whitney, well-born but penniless, has been living under the roof of a wealthy nobleman old enough to be her father. When Adam Hawthorne, the mysterious Earl of Blackwood, meets the lovely rebel, he’s intrigued enough to want to lure her into changing protectors. Suddenly, Jillian’s beloved guardian is murdered, and she is the only suspect.

Forced to flee, she falls into the arms of the earl, who offers refuge from the law but no escape from an intoxicating passion. Although Jillian loses her heart, she knows that the eligible earl would never marry a woman tainted by scandal. But is she underestimating the strength and depth of a man’s passion?

Pocket Books Copyright 2002 1 London, England April 1806 The battle raged inside his head, the crack of musket fire, the thunder of cannonade, hot lead tearing into flesh and bone, men weeping in fear and despair. It’s a dream, he cried inside his mind, trying to convince himself, to awaken from another of the nightmares that plagued his sleep. Inch by inch, clawing his way back to consciousness, Adam Hawthorne, fourth Earl of Blackwood, sat upright in his huge four-poster bed. His heart was pounding. Sweat ran in rivulets down his naked chest and dampened his hair, urging it into heavy black waves that stuck to the cords at the back of his neck.

Though a chill pervaded the room, Adam shoved the feather comforter down past his waist and a shiver swept over him, pebbling his skin above the crisp linen sheet. He was used to nights like this one. He had suffered the terrible images for more than six years. Penance., he believed, for the part he had played in the war. Running a hand over his face to erase the last vestiges of slumber, he swung his long legs to the side of the bed and stood up.

Through a slit in the gold velvet draperies, the first gray light of dawn filtered into the room. Adam poured water into the porcelain basin on his dresser and performed the necessary ablutions, then pulled on buckskin breeches and a full-sleeved white shirt and shoved his feet into a pair of high-topped Spanish riding boots.

Making his way downstairs, he headed for the stable at the rear of the town house for his daily morning ride.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 0918e5db93e52cbd
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 941,592 bytes (0.898 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 390
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 507.75 minutes
• Total Words: 101,551
• Total Characters: 560,243
• Average Words per Page: 260.39
• Average Characters per Page: 1436.52

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