We were supposed to read excerpts from our books but everyone was having way too much fun without that so....I thought I would post it here. It's from Dangerous Masquerade (Amazon B&N.com kobo iBooks)
Ransford
stared at Rebecca, achingly handsome in his favorite jacket of blue Bath cloth
that matched his eyes and pantaloons of biscuit hue. Rebecca wanted to tell him
the truth, had meant to tell him the truth, but when she tried to speak no
words came out. Instead, she was paralyzed by fear. He was a friend of Lord
Templeton and he even knew her stepbrother now. Despite Lady Sarah's assurances
that she was safe here, Rebecca could not help feeling that if they knew where
she was, Andrew and Lord Templeton might try to snatch her away from here.
Later, when it became common knowledge Rebecca was a guest in Lady Sarah's
house, it would be harder for them to try to harm her.
To be sure,
she might be wrong to be suspicious of Ransford. If she was, Rebecca ought to
tell him the truth now, for the longer she waited, the worse it would be. He
would not like her masquerade, but it would be better if he heard the story
from Rebecca's own lips rather than from someone who would tell him he had been
made a fool by her.
It was
useless to deny, either, that she wanted to tell him the truth, to trust him
and to have him see her as she really was. For what had only been a seed so
long as Rebecca was in his house, now became a full grown truth: she was in
love with Oliver Ransford. She loved his kindness, his quick intelligence, and
much more she could not even put into words. But head must rule her heart and
Rebecca did not speak.
Ransford,
of course, did not expect her to speak. He went on, gently, "How do you
like it here, as my mother's companion? Is she kind to you?"
Rebecca
nodded emphatically.
"I'm
glad you're happy here," Ransford said.
Even to him
the words sounded trite and he rose to his feet, holding out a hand to her.
"It is time, I think, that I took you back in to see my mother. She asked
me to come and fetch you, you know."
Rebecca
rose and gave him her hand, trembling slightly at his touch. She was not
prepared for the wellspring of longing that rose in her heart. A longing to be
held by this man. A longing to be kissed. She could not break the gaze that
bound her eyes to his and it seemed as if he was about to lean forward, perhaps
even to kiss her on the lips, when the door to the library opened, breaking the
spell.
"Here
you both still are," Lady Sarah said mockingly, but the look she bent on
them was kind, indeed one might say approving. "Have you had a pleasant
conversation together?"
Ransford
shot a warning glance at his mother, unable to credit the insensitivity in her
choice of words. Rebecca colored, pulled her hand free of Ransford's, and
looked at the floor, unable to meet Lady Sarah's eyes.
