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Small Town Romance – The Patron

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Emerson Pass Contemporaries, Book 2

Small Town Romance, Women’s Fiction

Date Published: May 2021

She’s afraid to take risks. He’s an incurable daredevil. When tragedy throws them together, will it spark a lasting devotion?

Crystal Whalen isn’t sure why she should go on. Two years after her husband’s death on a ski trip, she’s devastated when a fire destroys her quiet Colorado mountain home. And when she can’t keep her hands off the gorgeous divorcé who’s become her new temporary housemate, it only feeds her grief and growing guilt.

Garth Welty won’t be burned again. After his ex-wife took most of his money, the downhill-skiing Olympic medalist is determined to keep things casual with the sexy woman he can’t resist. But the more time they spend with each other, the harder it is to deny his burgeoning feelings.

As Crystal’s longing for the rugged man’s embrace grows, she worries that his dangerous lifestyle will steal him away. And although Garth believes she’s his perfect girl, the specter of betrayal keeps a tight grip on his heart.

Will the thrill-seeker and the wary woman succumb to the power of love?

The Patron of Emerson Pass is the emotional second book in the Emerson Pass Contemporaries small-town romance series. If you like lyrical prose, unexpected chances at happiness, and uplifting stories, then you’ll adore Tess Thompson’s sweet tale.

Other Books in the Emerson Pass Contemporaries series:

The Sugar Queen

Emerson Pass Contemporaries, Book 1

Published: May 2020

True love requires commitment, and many times unending sacrifice…

At the tender age of eighteen, Brandi Vargas watched the love of her life drive out of Emerson Pass, presumably for good. Though she and Trapper Barnes dreamed of attending college and starting their lives together, she was sure she would only get in the way of Trapper’s future as a hockey star. Breaking his heart, and her own in the process, was the only way to ensure he pursued his destiny. Her fate was the small town life she’d always known, her own bakery, and an endless stream of regret.

After a decade of playing hockey, a single injury ended Trapper Barnes’ career. And while the past he left behind always haunted him, he still returns to Emerson Pass to start the next chapter of his life in the place his ancestors built more than a century before. But when he discovers that the woman who owns the local bakery is the girl who once shattered his dreams, the painful secret she’s been harboring all these years threatens to turn Trapper’s idyllic small town future into a disaster. Will it take a forest fire threatening the mountain village to force Trapper and Brandi to confront their history? And in the wake of such a significant loss, will the process of rebuilding their beloved town help them find each other, and true happiness, once again?

Fast forward to the present day and enjoy this contemporary second chance romance set in the small town of Emerson Pass, featuring the descendants of the characters you loved from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson’s The School Mistress.

About the Author

Tess Thompson Romance…hometowns and heartstrings.

Tess Thompson is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of contemporary and historical Romantic Women’s Fiction with over 40 published titles. She lives in a suburb of Seattle with her husband and their blended family of four kids and five cats.

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Contemporary Romance – Burlesque Baby

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Burlesque River, Book 3

Contemporary Romance

Published: May 2021

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

AN UNTAMED HEART

Olive Meeks is anything but. Quiet – yes. Shy – sort of. Yet underneath beats a heart filled with hope and promise.

Which is why she accepts the challenge and applies for one of the open positions with Burlesque A La Mode. No surprise she’s really good at it and becomes a darling burlesque baby.

But…Vic Thornton is the owner of the Speakeasy, where the troupe performs, and weeks before, she literally crashed into him. Well, her bicycle hit the truck he was riding in.

Now, she’s certain he’s what she wants, but Vic’s sending mixed messages, and Olive doesn’t play games. More than most, she’s learned to live life and to love when she feels it since no one is promised tomorrow.

Vic still has to figure out he’s worthy of the incandescent sprite who has the potential to become his whole world.

Other Books in the Burlesque River series:

Amazon

Burlesque River

Burlesque River, Book One

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Published: April 2020

EVERYTHING REVEALED

Twelve years ago Amanda Lane fled her small town, and the man she loved. She changed her life in Chicago, and found a new family with Burlesque A La Mode. Now on tour, the troupe is performing near her former home, and her past walks in looking better than he ever did.

Mike Nichols never understood why Amanda left him, and his heart has never recovered since she ran away. Now, watching her take off her clothes in his crowded club, he wants to drag her off the stage and yet is mesmerized by her beauty and her charms. Mostly, he needs to know why the hell she disappeared, and what he can do to make her stay.

Amazon

Burlesque on Bourbon

Burlesque River, Book 2

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Published: October 2020

DANCING WITH DESIRE

Brigette O’Hare – photographer and graphic designer by day, burlesque performer by night – is in New Orleans to dance with a local burlesque troupe. Touring the city, she has an incredibly sensual encounter in a voodoo shop with the mysterious Henri Dauphine.

Henri defines everything Bridgette doesn’t trust she deserves: wildly sexy, old money, his own man, and crazy about her.

She can’t wrap her mind around why he wants more than a weekend fling while he’s trying to figure out how to get to her to stay in New Orleans with him – forever.

Henri won’t give up on the only woman he’s ever loved and Bridgette finally realizes he’s the man who colors her life with everlasting happiness.

Amazon

About the Author

Kitty Bardot juggles a life full of excitement and love. By day, she’s a chef with her own catering company, by night she puts tens years of burlesque experience to use in various venues in the Quad Cities. She writes from her country home not far from the Mississippi River, enjoying every moment with her husband and their three children. Currently, she is working on her next Burlesque River story.

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Dark Fantasy – Vow Unbroken

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Faerie Tales, Book 3

Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Release Date: May 28, 2021

In the third book of the Faerie Tales series, the story expands. In the outset story, Fergus, Aoife, and Niamh hunt down the reincarnation of Tamlin so that they might break the curse.

On the inset story, Aoife attempts to find Cu Roi Mac Daire’s weakness, so she can use it against him. She finds darker secrets await outside his castle’s walls.

Fagan, now going by Fergus, takes up Tamlin’s offer to train with the fae warriors so that he might gain favor with Mab. The prospect of ever seeing Aoife again is bleak until the legendary Cuchulainn, Mac Daire’s sworn enemy arrives.

(This book is written to stand alone, but reading Warrior Tithe will give you the backstory of the characters.)

If you’re a fan of Maas, Black, Armentrout, or Martin, you’ll love this take on the fae and legends of ancient Ireland.

Tam Lin: A Modern, Queer Retelling

Faerie Tales, Book One

Published: October 2020

Never break a promise to the fae…

After a fight with his fiance, Tom Lane needs a change of pace–more accurately, an escape so he can lick his wounds. He travels to Ireland in search of his Ulster-Scots roots.Though he was adopted as a child, Tom is adrift in adulthood and hopes the history of his biological family will help him understand himself and what he truly desires.

While on holiday, he meets Fergus and Aoife, sexy tour guides looking to show Tom a little more than the scenery. Their whirlwind romance sweeps him off his feet, and Tom dreams of making a life with his new lovers. But not all is merry and twee in the Emerald Isle.

Tom soon learns the truth of his past…and the history of his legendary ancestor. The stories he’s heard his entire life aren’t stories at all: they’re warnings. But when Tom finds himself facing the Wild Hunt, it might be too late to listen.

Warrior Tithe

Faerie Tales, Book Two

Published: March 2021

Sparks fly between an unlikely pair with a spurned sorcerer hot on their trail.

Aoife, a kelpie, flees a marriage trap laid by her father, Mannan mac Lir and the sorcerer king Cu Roi mac Daire, only to fall prey to an iron snare in the mortal realm.

Fagan, a poor cottar, with nothing left to lose takes pity upon the kelpie he finds in his snare, setting her free. When the kelpie transforms into a beautiful fae maiden and offers to take him to the queen of Sidhe to repay him for his kindness, he joins her on her journey.

However, Aoife is keeping secrets.

Her betrothed Cu Roi mac Daire will not let his betrothed go so easily. His life and his kingdom depends on it.

About the Author

T.J. Deschamps likes to build worlds with words. She lives in the American Pacific Northwest with her three children, two cats, and a very friendly tortoise. In her spare time, she loves to enjoy her beautiful state, read, dance, lift weights, and might possibly be a dragon.

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Contemporary Romance – His Sister’s Best Friend

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Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 03-29-2021

Solomon

The man of the house since my father’s death at sixteen, I knew I’d be the guardian for my sister, Susan, who has Down syndrome. However, I didn’t realize I’d become her guardian while dealing with my mother’s mini-strokes, rehabilitation, and selling the family home. I’m drowning in paperwork and emotions as I try to get Susan adjusted. A new care plan and a specialized school act as light at the end of the tunnel. I never expected to find her new best friend at the school was my old high school crush.

Ezra

I always regretted keeping my feelings for Solomon to myself. When we became the victims of losing touch in college, I added it to my list of regrets. Now he’s back as the guardian of a student, and the years have been exceedingly kind. My habit of following rules is suddenly out the window. Risking the reputation I’ve worked so hard to gain isn’t on my to-do list.

Can we manage a relationship without it becoming a conflict of interest?

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author Shyla Colt is a chaos wrangler, chronic crafter, and imaginary friend collector. The mom of two and a wife road trips with her weird brood when she’s not taking on a new hobby or bingeing on spooky podcasts and documentaries. She writes strong women with sass, plenty of nerdy tendencies, and the intriguing intense males who love them.

You can interact with Shyla Colt online via her website

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Twitter: @shylacolt

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Contemporary Western Romance – Breaking Wicked

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Crooked Brook, Book 2

Contemporary Western Romance

Published: May 2021

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

THE MIDDLE

Katherine Grant spectacularly trashed her relationship with her high school sweetheart, and cut herself off from the only people who ever loved and respected her. She’s in trouble, and if she doesn’t get help she fears her already messed-up life will become a disaster.

Three years ago, Jacob “Trix” Doyle started a new life at Crooked Brook Ranch, and it was the best decision he ever made. Every day he works hard, and enjoys the care and support of his new family. The rules are simple: you take care of your people and your people take care of you.

There’s only one woman in his orbit Trix considers off limits: his best friend’s ex. Yet, he’s falling victim to Katherine’s irresistible pull. As things intensify between them, their fragile bond threatens everything and everyone he loves. But things are not what they seem – they never are – and Trix has to make things right with all the people in his life who matter.

Other Books in the Crooked Brook Series

Breaking Country

Crooked Brook, Book 1

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Published: April 2020

CRUEL TO BE KIND

One day Alexandra Weber looks up and everyone around her is moving on, growing up, and storing their emotional baggage, which leaves them little time to continue to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. In a moment of rash impulsiveness, for which she is famous, following a night that goes entirely out of control – she’s done that way too many times to count – she makes a mistake that leads to an impossible ultimatum and a chance at happiness.

Winn Taylor grew up at Crooked Brook Ranch. His life is full of good friends, close family, and a job he was born to do. Yet, he feels like he’s drowning. Just when he’s certain he can’t take on one more responsibility, the girl from Chicago shows up. Alex and Winn hate how they spotlight each other’s brokenness. It seems, the only good things they share are their protective affection for Winn’s brother, and their love for an abused horse who needs both of them to get better.

Amazon

About the Author

E. J. is a wife and mother, a foster parent, a reformed corporate lackey with a degree in something unhelpful, and is a twenty-year veteran of the horse training industry. Currently, she works part time trying to teach adults and children how to not damage themselves on horseback. In her spare time – when she’s not ignoring laundry, bathing one of the multiple dogs and/or children, or acting as an unpaid chauffeur – she gives in to her persistent craving to tell a story she hopes you can lose yourself in.

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Action Fantasy – The Scarred Man

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Demon in Exile Series, Book 2

Fantasy, Action Fantasy

Published: November 2020

My district. My city. Murderhall.

Colivar is a Kingdom plagued by seemingly random attacks from the Infernal Domain. For centuries, the Order of the Vigil has fought to stem the demonic tide and preserve the Realm, but politics and uncivil wars have depleted their ranks. For reasons unknown, the High Prince of Hell has decided to lend them a hand in the form of a demon in exile.

In the City of Maidenhall, a demon-slayer arrives on a mission to solve the most vile of murders. He soon discovers the dangerous dark forces hidden beneath the surface of Colivar’s Capital and within himself.

In a world where nothing is as it seems, coming of age takes on a whole new meaning for a young man grappling with his inner demons as he battles the fiends that are plaguing his land.

The Demon in Exile Series offers a witty blend of pain-filled action and twisted drama in a series where the characters are as strong as they are flawed and striving to keep their own fragile humanity intact.

Appropriate for Adult and Young Adult readers.

The Complete Demon in Exile Series:

FIREFANGED

Demon in Exile, Book One

A demon in Exile. It wasn’t a gift. It was a message.

The Demon in Exile Series offers a fast-paced mix of paranormal and military fantasy. It’s a witty blend of pain-filled action and twisted drama in a series where the characters are as strong as they are flawed and striving to keep their own fragile humanity intact.

The Scarred Man

Demon in Exile, Two

My district. My city. Murderhall.

The second book of the series brings us into the urban, fantasy setting of Maidenhall, where Ara Storm confronts the dark forces hidden beneath the surface of the Realm’s Capital City and within himself.

Sorrow’s Twin

Demon in Exile, Three

Sometimes, everything goes according to plan. I dread those moments.

In the third book of the genre-bending Demon in Exile series, deep in the jungles on the Realm’s eastern border, a Vigil Campaign becomes more deadly than anyone imagined. Struggling to control his inner madness, a demon-slayer finds himself in the worst of all possible positions as he confronts a clan of heretics and their demonic overlords.

Wind Catcher

Demon in Exile, Four

Don’t confuse insanity for intent.

In this genre-bending fantasy series, coming of age takes on a whole new meaning for a young man grappling with his inner demons as he learns to battle the fiends that are plaguing his land.

Black Fortune

Demon in Exile, Book Five

Coming June 2021

Gray Prince

Demon in Exile,Book Six

Coming December 2021

The Devil and Koki-Ten

Demon in Exile, Book Seven

Coming in 2022

Storm Sister

Demon in Exile, Book 7 1/2

Coming in 2022

Vigil Storm

Demon in Exile, Book Eight

Coming in 2023

Amazon

Excerpt: Daggerman

Durk left the docks and the dirty barge behind. Oblivious to his salty scent of fish and sweat, the owned assassin made his way up through the River District and into the capital city of Colivar. The trip upstream from the coastal city of Southport took a torturous fortnight to travel the two hundred miles, and he was sure that he could have walked it in half that time.

From his perch in the barge’s bow, Durk had often imagined shooting the plodding tow team dead, one by one, with his trusted crossbow in hopes that the barge owner would buy a younger, faster set of mules. Fortunately for Durk, his crossbow remained packed away below decks, and knowing the consequences of a failed mission kept him in good graces with the shipping company.

Maidenhall was a city of many faces, the riverfront docks being one with an organic perfume. Stevedores and river crews plied their skills to exchange cargo in all shapes, sizes, and scents: livestock, barrels of grain and fish, casks of ale, oil, and spirits, passengers, wood, textiles, and leather, to name just a few. The workers of this district tended to live south across the Barrens Bridge on the Bull River’s far side, an area famous for its laundries.

Hefting his heavy pack, Durk wended his way through the narrow streets en route to his meeting in one of the more mundane areas of Maidenhall. Entering ahead of the dinner crowd, he found a secluded table at the Loaded Wagon Inn, a local favorite on the edge of the Warehouse district, and ordered an ale or three while he waited. It wasn’t until night had fully descended that a woman in a long, hooded cloak approached his table. She was unremarkable in all ways except for her eyes, which were mismatched in color, one sky blue, one milky white.

“My regards to Boss Sarpa,” she said, taking a seat. “We are eager to conclude our business with the Coven.”

Durk didn’t object to the newcomer’s presence, but he didn’t like it either. She didn’t smell right and her self-assurance, her pretense of complete control, clashed with his present situation.

“Sarpa wasn’t given a choice, from what I hear, and I’m not so eager to please,” he replied.

“Come now; the contract is signed. We’re on the same side here. I’ve even brought you a bonus,” she said, sliding a dark sheath across the table.

Durk eyed the ornate dagger hilt with suspicion. “What’s this? My payment is due in Royal gold marks, not antiques.”

“Coin, of course, I wouldn’t forget.” She handed him a heavy pouch. “I offer the knife as a gift, that it might be sold back to us for an even larger reward, but only if you use it to kill the mark.”

Durk scowled at the woman’s new proposal. “Why don’t you use it? You know my weapon is the crossbow. You should have asked Sarpa for a daggerman to do the job.”

“The last daggerman sent was caught and executed in Stonnberg. Sarpa said you were more than capable,” she goaded him.

“I’m plenty capable but with my weapon. If you had offered me another crossbow, I still wouldn’t use it,” Durk replied, tiring quickly of the woman’s games.

“I’m not so thick as to suggest otherwise,” she said. “Use your crossbow, but if you get the chance, use the dagger before they draw their last breath. Certainly, you can disable as easily as kill, no?”

“Is the mark guarded?” Durk damn well knew the answer to that.

“Of course, heavily. But the target is young and won’t have the experience needed to avoid someone of your skills.” The woman stood to leave. “The offer is before you. You have been paid. If you ever want to be free of Sarpa, you know what you need to do.”

Durk thought about that for the time it takes to drink yet another ale, and he left in search of a daggerman.

About the Author

Rory Surtain is a 2020 debut novelist. They reside on the Gulf Coast of the USA, dodging hurricanes, airports, and alpha-personality domestic cats. After a few decades of waxing creative for the technical corporate world, freedom has taken the form of fitness, Irish whiskey, full-time writing, and independent publishing. Translation: It was either this or learning to golf.

Toting a boundless imagination, Surtain is an avid cloud photographer, art collector, and long-time reader of Historical, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Fiction. He is in it for the art, the escape, and the chance to entertain.

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Regency Romance – Her Scottish Scoundrel

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Diamonds In The Rough, Book 7

Regency Romance

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Destined for the hangman’s noose, love is a dream he cannot afford…

When Blayne MacNeil agrees to be Miss Charlotte Russell’s bodyguard, he doesn’t expect her to expand the job description to fake fiancé. After twenty years in hiding, announcing his engagement to a viscount’s daughter could prove fatal. For if anyone were to recognize him, he’d be charged with murder.

Determined to keep her independence in order to safeguard her writing career, Charlotte must avoid marriage. After all, no respectable gentleman would ever permit his wife to pen outrageous adventure novels. But when her most recent manuscript disappears, the roguish Scotsman posing as her fiancé becomes her closest ally – and the greatest threat to her freedom.

All Books in the Diamonds In The Rough Series:

A Most Unlikely Duke

Diamonds in the Rough, Book 1

The Duke of Her Desire

Diamonds in the Rough, Book 2

The Illegitimate Duke

Diamonds in the Rough, Book 3

The Infamous Duchess

Diamonds in the Rough, Book 4

The Forgotten Duke

Diamonds In The Rough, Book 5

The Formidable Earl

Diamonds In The Rough, Book 6

Her Scottish Scoundrel

Diamonds In The Rough, Book 7

Coming May 2021

The Dishonored Viscount

Diamonds In The Rough, Book 8

Coming September 2021

Amazon

About the Author

Born in Denmark, USA TODAY bestselling author Sophie Barnes spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish, and Romanian with varying degrees of fluency. But, most impressive of all, she’s been married to the same man three times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.

When she’s not busy dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.

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EXCERPT

Chapter One

London

July, 1821

Blayne MacNeil picked up his glass of Madeira and saluted his host. Nothing improved his mood as much as a meal at Windham House. The duke and duchess, Valentine Sterling and his wife Regina, had an incredible chef whose skill in the kitchen was second to none. Considerably different from what the two men had known in their nearly two-decade friendship in St Giles. But now that Carlton Guthrie, former Scoundrel of St. Giles, had taken his rightful place as Duke of Windham, Val denied his new wife, Regina, nothing, including incomparable food.

The sweet wine slid down Blayne’s throat, sending a warmth through his stomach. Truth was, sometimes he missed the old Guthrie—and the brutal force he and his friend had used to vanquish the vermin of the world. Now he himself was a businessman with a respectable tavern to run…well, a tavern, at any rate. And Guthrie still made sure justice was served, but it was done with more discretion now that he was a duke, and by accepting help from the authorities.

“I have been toying with the idea of hosting a ball,” Regina said. She glanced at her brother, Marcus, who also resided at Windham House, and then at Blayne. “If I do, I shall expect you both to attend so you can dance with some of the ladies the marriage mart has to offer.”

The comment was jovial – teasing even – yet it still caused Blayne’s lungs to strain against his next intake of breath.

Marcus snorted. “As if any well-bred woman would dare.”

Blayne met Marcus’s gaze and slowly exhaled. His insides eased and he forced a wry smile. “Even if one of the lasses cared to, I’m sure her parents would quickly step in to prevent it.”

“I could coerce them into compliance,” Guthrie murmured, a twinkle in his cat-like eyes.

“And into marriage, I’m sure,” Marcus said with a grin.

“Good lord,” Regina murmured.

“Without a doubt,” Guthrie told Marcus. “Shall I?”

“No.” Regina gave her husband a firm look. “There will be no coercing. I merely thought it might be nice to offer Blayne and Marcus the means by which to attend a social function.”

“To the horror and despair of the ton,” Blayne said right before he spooned more shortcake into his mouth. “I thank ye for yer thoughtfulness, Regina, but I think yer ball would be better served if I stayed away.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “You are a handsome man, Blayne. Kind, too, and hardworking.”

“Not exactly the qualities upper-class parents seek in their future son-in-law.” Blayne took another bite of his dessert. It truly was exceptionally good. “A yearly income close to five thousand pounds and un-calloused hands would be more desirable. Preferably a title or two as well. My income is modest though, my hands as rough as tree bark, and I’ve nae title to speak of.”

More importantly, he had a past he couldn’t in good conscience chain another person to. And he sure as hell couldn’t confide it in any woman. So if he did wed, his marriage would be a sham. He took another sip of Madeira.

“My situation is similar,” Marcus said. “Worse than Blayne’s, in a sense, seeing as I had a title and lost it because of our father. No man in his right mind would allow his daughter to be seen with me, Regina.”

The duchess huffed a breath. “In my opinion, a man’s character – his very own actions – ought to be of greater value than what a relation of his might have done.”

“I don’t think any of us disagrees with you there,” Guthrie said. He gave Blayne and Marcus a pensive look. “Perhaps I can help?”

“Thank ye, but no.” Guthrie had offered to give Blayne a handsome sum once before, and Blayne had turned him down then as well. He didn’t want handouts, not even from a friend who wished to disguise it as overdue wages. “There is something to be said for earning one’s own living.”

“I’m of a like mind,” Marcus said. “Although I might appreciate a loan for the sake of acquiring a profession.”

“Indeed?” Regina regarded her brother with a pensive mien. “And what profession do you have in mind, Marcus?”

“Well.” Marcus cleared his throat. “Medicine would be an interesting field of study. Certainly more so than law.”

“I think that would be marvelous,” Regina said with a smile. “Don’t you agree, Guthrie?”

Guthrie nodded. “I would be happy to provide you with the necessary funds, Marcus.”

“As a loan,” Marcus reiterated.

Blayne hid a chuckle behind his last spoonful of dessert. It was clear Marcus did not want to feel beholden to Guthrie any more than he did.

“Of course,” Guthrie said. He turned his assessing gaze on Blayne. “What about you? If you accept a loan you’ll be able to purchase that property you want a lot sooner than otherwise.”

“What property?” Regina asked.

“I’ve been of a mind to get away from London for a while now,” Blayne said. “With my interest in plants, I’d like to have a spot of land to cultivate, maybe with a wee house on it. I dinnae require much in the way of a home, but a sizeable piece of property would be grand.” It would provide him with the freedom he’d started to crave since Guthrie had left The Black Swan. Blayne ran the St. Giles tavern on his own now and saved every hard-earned penny, but the place was different without his friend there, and with every passing day Blayne could feel himself getting older. It was time to move on and settle down to a quieter way of life.

“Then I hope you shall soon be able to acquire it,” Regina said. She raised her glass. “To Marcus’s medical aspirations and to Blayne’s countryside acquisition.”

Blayne drank and breathed a sigh of relief when the conversation turned to the recent coronation of George IV.

It appeared Regina’s idea of a ball had been forgotten for now, for which he was grateful. Aside from the obvious reasons he had for not wanting to attend, there was the more dreaded prospect of being recognized. As unlikely as it might be after twenty years in hiding, one couldn’t be too careful.

Least of all when one was on the run for murder.