The following day graced them with a glorious faux-spring atmosphere replete with a clear blue sky and unseasonable warmth exuded by a sun which seemed to laugh its delight at the sight of grateful throngs of promenaders traversing the Grands Boulevards of the French capitol. Gardens overflowed with Parisian elite despite the lack of adornment, […]

Eric stepped into the closet with a sigh. How he wished his life weren’t such an open-ended lie. Among his family he was one person, to the world, another, and now a strange mixture of the two with Eloise. How she would despise him if she knew he understood what she had said, all the […]

Angelique cut across the field from the road once her home was in sight. She’d got the feeling of eyes watching her the entire time she was out, during her hurried walk into town and now on her way home. The open grassy field beside her home offered no hiding spots, as opposed to the […]

Grinding his teeth as he watched her run from him, Gavin knew Mary was right. The marriage arrangement was wrong, no matter how her brothers thought they were protecting her by it. They should have dispensed with the idea the moment it came up. And he had gone along with it. Said nothing in Mary’s […]

Mila squinted into the sharp afternoon sun when she heard the approach of horses’ hooves. “What does he want?” she whispered to herself as she recognized William Stanford trotting up. She made a point not to move from her task. This was first to accentuate the fact his visit wasn’t welcome and second because if […]

“May I?” Rick nodded toward Lucy’s plate. “Oh, yes, of course.” She was about to pick up the plate to hand it to Rick, but hesitated. The tilt of his head belied his curiosity. A quick study of the tent indicated that there were only a few other people milling about at the other end. […]