The Enigma of a Widow by Linda Rae Sande Book Tour and Giveaway :)
The Enigma of a Widow
The
Widows of Aristocracy Book 2
by
Linda Rae Sande
Genre:
Historical Regency Romance
Having
lost her husband in the Battle of Ligny, Lady Lydia Barrymore is
determined to resume her work for the Foreign Office when her
mourning period is over. She's spent a year solving puzzles and
assembling dissected maps to maintain her skills. Her first
assignment has her perplexed, though - do what she must to help a
fellow operative recover his sanity. Although she finds the man
rather beautiful, Sir Donald has also proved most annoying.
Newly
knighted Adonis Truscott returned from the Continent with a tendency
to get lost in his thoughts. His frequent episodes of staring into
space have his sister claiming he's a candidate for Bedlam - and he's
not about to argue. He doesn't always remember where or when he was
when he recovers, but he remembers he made a promise, and he's
determined to keep it. A promise to provide protection for Lydia,
whether she wants it or not.
When
a puzzle's directions require Lydia to solve it with the help of
Adonis, she discovers the man harbors secrets that may be impossible
to reveal. With her own sanity in jeopardy - a year-long mystery
involving her late husband may be more annoying and dangerous than an
errant knight - Lydia will have to piece together a solution that
suits them both in The Enigma of a Widow.
At
precisely one minute to three o’clock
in the afternoon, Lydia Barrymore entered the open area outside the
office of Lord Chamberlain, reported to his secretary, and took a
seat in a rather uncomfortable chair meant for visitors to the
viscount’s
office.
It
was nearly four o’clock
before she was called into Chamberlain’s
office. She was being punished, she knew, and decided not to
complain. “Lady
Barrymore,”
Chamberlain
said. He didn’t
get up from his chair, nor did Lydia expect him to.
“Lord
Chamberlain. So good of you to summon me,”
Lydia
replied in the most pleasant tone she could manage. She reached into
her reticule and pulled out the parchment she had filled out whilst
in the study earlier that day.
The
viscount frowned when he realized she held more than one sheet. “And
what’s
this?”
he
asked as he nodded toward the papers she held.
“Oh,
this?”
Lydia
asked as she lifted the papers in a silk gloved hand. “It’s
what I’ve
discovered about Sir Donald during our recent encounters. So far, at
least. I expect I’ll
learn even more later tonight.”
Matthew
Fitzsimmons, Viscount Chamberlain, leaned back in his chair and
regarded the viscountess with an arched, bushy eyebrow. Although he
tried hard, he couldn’t
hide the surprise he felt at hearing her words. “Let’s
have it then.”
Lydia
allowed a nod and began reciting everything she knew about Sir
Donald. She never once looked at the papers she held, but she did put
the front one behind the second page as she spoke, as if she had
memorized every word and knew exactly where the notes continued onto
the next page. “Have
you any reports from doctors? Physicians?”
she
wondered when she had completed her report. “That
might assist me in this project?”
Lord
Chamberlain sighed and pulled open a desk drawer. A thick stack of
papers slammed onto his desk, the force of which had the other papers
on his desk lifting up and moving slightly away from the offending
pile.
Not
bothering to hide her disappointment, Lydia allowed a sigh. “He
is not insane,”
she
murmured with a shake of her head. “Preoccupied,
perhaps. Troubled, certainly. But he is not insane,”
she
repeated.
The
viscount nodded as he laced his fingers together. “These
mostly have to do with his leg,”
he
finally admitted. “Compound
fracture, dressed in the field but not reset until he was in hospital
in Brussels.”
Lydia
fought down the urge to wince. The man had to have been in severe
pain for hours. Even more so when the bone was forced back into
place. “He
walks with a cane and usually limps a bit, but when he’s
doing something he enjoys...”
She
stopped suddenly, remembering how Sir Donald had been at the
Serpentine, as if he had completely forgotten how to limp. “He
walks quite normally,”
she
finished after a moment. “Imagine
that.”
Lord
Chamberlain frowned. “What
was he enjoying?”
Despite
her attempt to hide the embarrassment she felt just then, Lydia could
feel a blush coloring her face. “Me,
I suppose,”
she
whispered.
A self-described nerd and lover of science, Linda Rae spent many years as a published technical writer specializing in 3D graphics workstations, software and 3D animation (her movie credits include SHREK and SHREK 2). An interest in genealogy led to years of research on the Regency era and a desire to write fiction based in that time.
A
fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the
local cinema. Although she no longer has any fish, she follows the
San Jose Sharks. She makes her home in Cody, Wyoming. See her
upcoming books on her website: www.lindaraesande.com.
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