BOOK & AUTHOR INFO:
THE
DEVIL’S GIFT by best-selling author Laura Landon is one of twenty-five
titles—all historical romance—that all carry the Union Jack Heart. Featured
authors also include Christina McKnight, Ava Stone, Deb Marlowe, Meara Platt,
Julie Johnstone, and more! Romance,
deception, murder...happily ever afters you won't want to miss. Look for titles
that carry the Union Jack Heart.
Publication date: June 25th, 2017
Genre: Victorian Romance
ABOUT THE DEVIL’S GIFT:
Jackson Rafferty, second son of the eleventh Earl of Devlin, held his dying brother in his arms and swore he’d avenge his murder. That pact made in blood led him to the back halls of Kingston Manor and the woman who would stand between him and pursuing the man Jack knew had killed his brother. That man was her father.
Miss Jenevieve Kingston has a secret. Keeping it is the only thing keeping her father alive. When a rogue by the name of Jack Dawson comes dangerously close to spoiling everything, Jenna forces him from her home. But not before he has worked his way into her heart.
Now he’s back, proving he is not who she thought he was. But how can she trust him after weeks of deception?
THE
DEVIL’S GIFT EXCERPTS & TEASERS:
“It’s
rather funny, don’t you think?” the Earl of Devlin said as he continued to make
his way down the street. “Father thought if you were gone, I would step in to
take your place. He thought your absence would make me assume some
responsibility in running Devlin Downs. Instead...”
“Instead,
what?” Jack asked, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
When
Sheridan stopped on the sidewalk and turned, Jack felt a cold chill race down
his spine. The color left his brother’s bronzed face and a haunted look filled
his eyes.
“Refusing
to marry Kingston’s daughter is probably the first selfless act I’ve ever
committed.”
“How
can you say that?”
Shad
paused and Jack knew his brother was weighing how much he should reveal.
“How
much do you know about Kingston?”
“Very
little. I only know about the agreement he made with Father for you to marry
his daughter.”
“A
pact made in blood,” Shad said barely loud enough to be heard. “Marrying into
that family would have condemned us all. Or worse.”
“What
are you talking about? If there’s something we should go to the authorities
with—“
Shad
dropped his head back and laughed. “The authorities. Oh, that’s rich, Jack.
You’ve been in government service too long. The authorities are the last ones
you can trust.”
“That’s
not true, Shad. I have connections that have nothing to do with the local
authorities. Tell me what you know and I’ll figure out what to do.”
The
Earl of Devlin smiled sadly at his brother. “You always could fix everything. I
should have known to come to you right away.”
“Yes,
you should have. Now, what do you know?”
Sheridan
hesitated as if knowing what he was about to do was the same as stepping off a
ledge. Once you took the first step, there was no going back.
“Promise
you’ll be careful, Jack. I don’t know all the details. In fact, I’m confused on
some of them, but somehow the Kingston name is behind it.”
“Behind
what?”
“Behind—”
A nondescript
carriage clattered noisily by on the far side of the street. A few yards
further on a drunken trio assaulted a familiar tune. Shad’s words halted
abruptly. At the same moment Jack saw the surprised look on Shad’s face he
heard a muffled pop and knew instantly what was happening. In horror he saw
Shad’s features sag as he crumpled to the ground in front of him.
Jack
threw his body over Shad but no second shot came. Jack cautiously lifted his
head and looked around. In the faint light he focused on the area from which he
felt the shot had come. All was quiet. The street was empty.
Jack
knew that even if he left his brother to race after the assassin, he wouldn’t
find anyone. Whoever had shot Shad was long gone.
“Shad,
how badly are you hit?” Jack asked, kneeling beside his brother. “Can you—”
Jack
stopped. He was going to ask if he was able to stand, or if Jack should send
for a doctor. But he knew the answer. Shad couldn’t stand. And it was already
too late to send for a doctor.
Shad
was dying.
“Hold
on, Shad. I’ll take care of you.”
Shad
lifted his trembling hand and pulled Jack down to whisper.
“Don’t
let...”
Shad
coughed through the rattle in his throat.
“...get
you...
“...too.”
“How
old were you when your father remarried?”
“Thirteen.”
“He
married so soon after your mother died?”
Her
expression changed—and the look on her face turned to marble. Whatever was to
be read in the look on her face was significant.
“Are
you always so inquisitive?” she finally said, her voice tinged with an icy
clip.
“I
am when I’m with someone about whom I’m curious.”
Jack
wanted to take the words back the second he spoke them. What was wrong with
him? He was behaving as if he were in a London ballroom and he’d just met a
debutante he was interested in getting to know.
The
look on her face told him he couldn’t have made a bigger blunder if he’d tried.
The sharpness in her words told him the same.
“It
would behoove you to learn your place, Mr. Hawkins. A servant—especially one
who intends to achieve the exalted and trustworthy station of butler—is still
nothing more than a servant. No servant, you will quickly discover, has the
right to make inquiries of his master.”
“You
are right, of course,” he said with a subservient nod of respect. “I
overstepped my bounds.”
“Yes,
you did.”
She
walked away from him and made her way to the other side of the table. When she
reached a place directly across from him, she stopped and motioned to the array
of beautiful china and silver set out for his lessons. “You’d best learn the skills
you’ll need to serve dinner before you’re expected to use them. You will find
Benton a demanding overseer.”
Jack
motioned to her from the other side of the table and listened with half an ear
while she explained which fork was used for what. What he concentrated on more
than anything though, was the husky tone of every word. Even though she
remained very stern and proper, the timbre of her voice wrapped around him like
the warm blanket he’d often wished for in countless battlefield trenches.
What
impressed him even more was her strength and determination. In the beginning he
may have mistakenly thought her to be naïve, and perhaps that would be the case
in certain matters, but she sure as hell wasn’t weak. She was one of the
strongest, most determined young ladies he’d chanced to meet.
And
the battle he was most desperate to win, yet knew he was already losing, was
his determination not to allow her to affect him.
In
truth, she moved him in ways he’d not experienced before. If she thought his
questions indicated he didn’t know his place, she’d be shocked at the place his
thoughts were taking him.
She
started to rush through the narrow crack as he held the door slightly ajar, but
Jack stopped her and peeked through the opening to make sure the hallway was
clear. It wasn’t.
A
yawning footman slowly made his way toward them, his eyes not yet open wide.
Jack
pushed Jenna back into the room and silently closed the door. To keep her from
alerting the footman to their presence, Jack placed his finger over her lips
and pulled her against him.
She
stiffened as if afraid, then quieted when he whispered a warning in her ear.
The second she realized their danger, she relaxed in his arms and let him hold
her.
Jack
waited for the footman to make his way past the door, wishing the lad would
hurry so he could release her and end the torture, and at the same time praying
the listless footman would take forever so the ecstasy of having her in his
arms would never end.
They
waited. At last the soft scuffing sounds of a sleepy servant faded as he walked
away from them.
They
were safe. It was a near call, but they hadn’t been discovered.
Jack
looked down to whisper how fortunate they were that the footman hadn’t been
completely awake or he might have noticed the faint light from the candle
beneath the door, but any word he might have said escaped him the second he saw
her face.
She
looked up at him in wondered awe, as if she realized the same as he that
something monumental had happened between them.
Perhaps
she heard the thundering of his heart inside his chest. Perhaps she felt the
desperation with which he held her. Whatever the reason, he knew she was
equally as confused by their attraction to each other as was he.
She
looked at him with a pleading in her eyes and opened her mouth as if intending
to speak.
Jack
didn’t want to talk. They’d talked enough already tonight.
Before
any sound she made could break the charged atmosphere in the candlelit room,
Jack lowered his head and kissed her.
Their
kiss didn’t last long. In fact, it was a very short kiss in comparison to some
of the others he’d shared with women he’d been known to favor. But he’d never
experienced such an explosive kiss. He’d never experienced a kiss that had
shaken him to his very core as this kiss did.
Bloody hell! What was happening to him?
Jack
pulled away from Miss Kingston and warned himself not to look at her. He knew
better than to look into her eyes, to see the expression on her face. But he
did it anyway.
He
absorbed her confused expression, studied the dazed look in her eyes. Was
struck by an emotion that contained the power of a lightning bolt when he
considered the ramifications of what he’d done.
The last thing he intended was to care for Jenna
Kingston to the point that his feelings for her overshadowed his desire for
justice. Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he allowed
Shad’s killer to go unpunished because he’d come to care for the killer’s
daughter.
A
cloud skittered over the moon, casting the place where he’d been hiding in
eerie shadows. Though he still had a few minutes, it was the perfect time to
go. With the moon hidden behind the cloud cover, he would be hard to spot as he
made his way across the open meadow.
Jack
stood, then took his first step away from Kingston Manor. His worn boots hadn’t
touched down to take his second step when a muffled scream stopped him short.
The
sound came from inside the house, and Jack knew he never would have heard it
had he not been concentrating on every sound around him.
He
spun around and listened. Another indistinct sound followed the first.
As
he raced back to the manor, he was aware of only one fact.
The
pain-filled cry was Jenna’s.
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ENTER TO WIN:
ABOUT LAURA LANDON:
Laura Landon is a
Prairie Muse Platinum, Kindle Press, and Amazon Montlake bestselling author.
Laura enjoyed ten years as a high school teacher and nine years making sundaes
and malts in her very own ice cream shop, but once she penned her first novel,
she closed up shop to spend every free minute writing. Now she enjoys creating
her very own heroes and heroines, and making sure they find their happily ever
after. A vital member of her rural community, Laura directed the town’s Quasquicentennial, organized funding for an exercise center for the town, and serves on the hospital board.
Laura lives in the Midwest, surrounded by her family and friends. She has written nearly two dozen Victorian historicals, thirteen of which have been published by Prairie Muse Publishing and are selling worldwide in English, one in Japanese, and several in German. Two are Scottish historicals.
In October 2012, Laura experienced an amazing day when Amazon’s Montlake Romance published not one but three of her newest novels. Two of these have been optioned for publication in Russia and Turkey. Several are also available in German. To date Montlake had published seven of Laura’s Victorian historicals and Kindle Press three.
Always beautifully set and with a mysterious twist or bit of suspense, Laura’s books average over a million and a half pages a month read by her loyal readers.
CONNECT
WITH LAURA:
Website: http://www.lauralandon.com/
