Title The Lady’s Courtship: A Second Chance Regency Romance (Conrad Legacy 5)
Author C.K. Mackenzie
Genre Regency Romance
Publisher Emelia Publishers LLC
Book Blurb
Betrayed by her childhood love, she vowed it would never happen again.
Three years ago, Savannah Shaw was happily in love with her childhood sweetheart—until he abandoned her, leaving her a broken, sobbing mess. But she is nothing if not resilient, and she spent the three years of his absence as a midwife, helping London’s less fortunate women. Never again will she let anyone close enough to crush her heart and soul. Especially not her former lover.
Three days ago, she witnessed a murder.
Tristan Conrad spent his life living up to his family’s name and his older siblings’ exploits. He wanted to forge his own path, experience all the adventure, espionage, and voyages around the world he could. In the process, he ended up hurting the only woman he’s ever loved and missing the one thing that inspired him. Maybe he should have expected his return to London to be met with that slap.
She doesn’t want his help, but her options are limited.
Someone is murdering London’s poor women, and she intends to stop them. Asking Tristan for help isn’t the hardest thing she’s ever done. That was watching him leave.
Burying memories of their past, she won’t make the same mistake twice. The problem is, they work well together—too well. Though Savannah might be able to forgive him, she can never forget the pain of his abandonment. When she finds herself the target of the murderer, Tristan will do everything in his power to protect her.
But will it be enough to win her over again?
Excerpt:
“I don’t want your help,” Savannah seethed. Hot anger flushed through her but did little to warm her. Despite the beautiful June day, the tall, cramped buildings hid whatever sunlight warmed the day. Certainly, no warmth thawed the streets. Or her fingers where they locked around the rabbit. “And I certainly don’t need it.”
His lips pressed together and his gaze flicked around the street.
So many emotions raced through her, she didn’t know which one to grab first. Anger. Anger worked. Anger had sustained her; it gave her something to hold on to when she thought she’d drift away from heartache, drown in anguish. Anger gave her a means to stand tall in the face of gossip and those horribly pitying looks.
A broken engagement, abandonment. The scandal that had accompanied all that. His family had tried to contact her, of course, but Savannah hadn’t wanted anything to do with the Conrads. Unfortunately, their families were far too intertwined to sever all ties.
However, Savannah had tried. She’d cut off all contact with Tristan’s siblings, though she’d once been close with them. She’d stopped visiting Hertfordshire where her grandmother lived with the Conrads, even though the long trip from there to London made her grandmother ill.
“Someone tried to kill you,” Tristan said in such a reasonable tone that she wanted to slap him again. Unfortunately, she knew him far too well, despite the pain and heartbreak and three years’ separation.
Fear. It lurked beneath his reasonable tone, thick and heavy between them. She struggled with that. His fear for her, that something might happen to her. He had no right.
“Why do you care?” She shoved away whatever feeling she had at realizing he still cared for her and grabbed onto that anger again. It buoyed her in this new storm she found herself wading through. “You have no right, waltzing back into my life and acting as if you care.”
As if three years hadn’t passed. As if he had any say in how she lived her life now. Lifting her chin and holding his gaze, Savannah shoved down her heartache, that persistent longing for his arms around her. At the moment, it was all she had. The rabbit squirmed in her arms, and Savannah loosened her hold. Bringing Jiesha closer, she gathered her strength and stood her ground.
“Of course I care, Savannah—”
“No. Whatever happened three days ago won’t happen again. Things happen in St. Giles, you know that.” Her words belied the prickling down her back, as if someone was watching her. Which was ridiculous. No one did. Well, perhaps some onlookers gawked because of this very public argument, but not for any other reason.
“I know your family isn’t prone to overreaction. If Lyneé suggested a guard, there’s a reason.” He stepped closer, and Savannah had the absurd feeling that she should hold up the poor rabbit as some sort of ward against Tristan.
No. Never. She wouldn’t back down or show him any weakness. Never again.
“Whatever the reason for that man’s death, I’m not involved. Whatever happened, it no longer concerns you.” Savannah ran a comforting hand down Jiesha’s soft fur and wondered again how the rabbit had come into Tristan’s possession. She held back her curiosity. “You left. Our engagement is broken. We have no attachments any longer.”
Her throat ached with those words, words she never thought she’d speak aloud. Tristan paused, his only reaction the slight widening of his eyes.
“Goodbye, Tristan.” She spoke the words she hadn’t been able to say when he’d abruptly announced his departure, through a letter of all things. When she’d thought, for one wild moment as she read his laughingly brief letter, that of course she’d accompany him.
They’d done everything together from the moment they met. Learned their families’ businesses, learned to ride and dance and read together, explored London and the wharves and the grounds of his family’s estate. Learned each other’s bodies. Nauseous now, Savannah wondered if he’d taken other lovers while he was out exploring.
Her throat closed with that staggering realization, and she turned and left. Tears blurred her vision, and she angrily blinked them away. Until this moment, that thought had truly never occurred to her. Fool that she was.
She already knew she was a fool when it came to Tristan Conrad. She didn’t need her own internal voice reminding her over and over.
He didn’t follow her. Savannah knew that without looking around. Then again, she always knew where Tristan stood, felt his presence as keenly as she did the breeze over her face.
No, he hadn’t followed her, and she had no idea what emotions that evoked.
Her path cleared as she strode toward St. Giles in the Fields, the church where her carriage always waited to take her home. Lyneé was nowhere to be seen, the traitor, leaving her alone with Tristan. Closing her eyes for a moment, Savannah pushed that aside. Lyneé had no doubt returned to her errands in her own carriage. She knew the dangers in the area. On any street, for that matter.
Nodding at Browne as he held open the door, Savannah wordlessly climbed inside. She needed a moment, one single moment of privacy, but she couldn’t foresee that happening. Not in St. Giles, where so many knew her. Not in the carriage, where any crying or screaming she indulged in would be heard by the staff. Not even her family home. Given what happened three days ago, she might never have a moment alone again, and she needed one now more than ever.
The rabbit burrowed into her lap, seemingly content.
At least one of them was.
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Author Biography
Hello! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m a Regency Romance author, dog lover, French fry connoisseur, and explorer of new and interesting teas. I recently lost my beloved corgi after almost 14 years together and am now exploring becoming a foster dog mom.
But let’s talk books!
I’m a Regency Romance author with a taste for a hint of intrigue and mystery. I have several series planned and can’t wait to share them with you! As happens with most things in my life, once I start a story the secondary characters demanded attention. So in addition to the main Legacy stories (4 families, 4-5 siblings each) I also have shorter stories of those side characters.
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