From This Moment 1 – Elizabeth Camden

Tremont was now completely excavated, and he had to cross on a rickety pine-board bridge erected for pedestrians. The purpose of the temporary overpass was to get people to cross the street, not loiter on the bridge to gawk at the activity below. Why were people so fascinated by a hole in the ground? The trench was now fifteen feet deep and teeming with workers rerouting the gas lines.

The gawkers clogged traffic and annoyed respectable people who needed to get to work without having to push through the crush of sightseers on the bridge. By the time Romulus made it to his building, he was too angry to even exchange a greeting with the elevator attendant. Normally he chatted with Caleb on his way to the fourth floor because the boy was bright and hoped to go to college someday, but he wasn’t able to look Caleb in the face today.

Caleb was the oldest of eight children, and his wages were important for keeping his family fed. Even accepting help from the elevator attendant ratcheted Romulus’s anxiety tighter. The last person he wanted to see as he stepped inside the managerial wing was Stella, but there she was, chatting away beside Evelyn.

They both looked up as he slammed the door. Stella rose. “Thank goodness you’re here,” she said. “I need your help.” “Help with what?” he snapped “Exhuming bodies? Trying to get good men fired? Trying to destroy my magazine? It seems you are making progress on all three fronts, so I am breathless to hear what you need next.” Evelyn had a placating look on her face. “Romulus, please. Stella has had a difficult night. A couple of Boston policemen broke into her apartment and—” He looked at Stella, dressed in a spectacular green and gold ensemble offset by a black velvet choker around her neck.

On the side of the choker, she’d pinned a showy silk blossom, the white petals of the oleander looking fresh and spectacular. His eyes narrowed. “You don’t look any worse for wear.” “They didn’t attack me,” Stella said. “But they came to frighten and intimidate me. A few weeks ago, someone put bees in my mailbox.

And they broke my window, too. I think it must have been the police all along.” He struggled to maintain a calm voice. “You are insane,” he said tensely. “And in supporting your insanity, I have put my magazine at risk. Get out of here and go draw your pictures for someone else.” She blinked. “You don’t really mean that, do you?” Honestly, the arrogance!

© 2016 by Dorothy Mays Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan www.bakerpublishinggroup.com Ebook edition created 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. ISBN 978-1-4412-3008-9 Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. This is a work of historical reconstruction; the appearances of certain historical figures are therefore inevitable. All other characters, however, are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Cover design by Jennifer Parker Cover photography by Mike Habermann Photography, LLC OceanofPDF.com Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A Note From the Author Questions for Conversation About the Author Books by Elizabeth Camden Back Ads Back Cover OceanofPDF.com 1 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS MARCH 1897 Romulus White stood motionless in the crowded ballroom, staring at a woman he’d once longed for more than his next breath of air.

It was not a pleasant experience, especially since Laura stood alongside her doting husband. Even from a distance, her copper-red hair gleamed in the candlelight and made her stand out from the crowd. It had been several years since Romulus had last seen her. He braced himself for the blinding wall of anguish that was sure to clobber him, but surprisingly, it didn’t come.

He waited, holding his breath, but the only emotion Laura’s presence summoned was a cloudy swirl of bittersweet memories, an almost-pleasing sort of ache. Wasn’t that strange? But perhaps that was the nature of a first great love. If such a profound experience didn’t leave the trace of a scar, it would be disappointing.

“Are you going to say hello to her?” His cousin Evelyn drew up alongside him, pressing a glass of mulled cider into his hand. He took a sip before responding. “Who?” he asked casually, but Evelyn sent him a shrewd look. Evelyn was three years younger than his thirty-two years, but she’d already perfected a disapproving stare that could terrify lesser mortals.

They’d grown up together, and she knew all about his epic fit of despair when Laura broke their engagement ten years ago. It was not his proudest moment.

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

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• Title: –
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• ISBN: 9781441230089
• Pages: 285
• Language: English (en)

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