by Sahara Kelly
He too had spent some time with Madelyne, and she’d quickly overcome any awkwardness with him—learning how much he loved their conversations, and answering her questions. She’d discovered so much about him that was honorable, and so much that yet remained hidden.
It probably always would, she mused, watching Marie-Claire make her way down the aisle to Gyorgy and the waiting vicar.
Fabyan had stopped speaking for many years. By choice too. A man like that would know how to hold his counsel. He’d protected these men, kept their secrets, and led them on a wild and dangerous dance through Europe. He was truly a father to be proud of.
And pride was in his eyes as they swept the full church. Madelyne couldn’t miss it, nor did she miss the smile directed at her or the hot glance as his eyes brushed Annabelle’s.
She looked away, unwilling to steal even a little of that passion. Her mother deserved it.
The ceremony underway, Viktor and Gyorgy performed their roles and Fabyan gave the bride away on behalf of her absent family.
It was done. Gyorgy had joined the ranks of married men. His long and passionate kiss brought cheers and applause to the church, and blushes of color to his new bride’s cheeks.
Viktor returned to Madelyne’s side with a smile as the wedding concluded and people began to leave the church. Peter and Freddie led the way, following Gyorgy and Marie-Claire. Then Mat and Luk carefully handed Prioshka from the pew and marched out, flanking her. Fabyan had tugged Annabelle into his arms, and then reluctantly allowed her loose to set her hand on his arm as was proper. She grinned at his reluctance to let her go.
“A moment, Madelyne…” Viktor’s hand stayed her as she would have followed the throng.
She looked up at him. “Is everything all right?”
He swallowed. “It couldn’t be better. I just wanted to tell you…” He stroked her hair back from her cheek. “I just wanted to tell you how much I love you. That’s all.”
She sighed. “Viktor, that’s so much more than ‘all’. That’s everything. You are my life. My heart. My soul. I bless the day I found you…I’ve even blessed Eventyde and asked God to forgive him his sins. If it hadn’t been for him, I’d never have met you. And my life…well, without you it would have been nothing.”
She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips reverently to his. “I love you so much, Viktor.”
The kiss turned heated, and reluctantly Viktor pulled back. “I must stop, or I’m going to forget I’m in God’s house, and do something quite inappropriate.”
She flashed him a wicked grin. “Can you wait and do it when we get home?”
“Oh yes.”
His growl turned her body to a mass of churning excitement. “Oh good.”
Madelyne Karoly turned towards the door and, like her friends before her, followed her Gypsy gentleman into their future.
THE END
More Risqué Regencies
If you’ve enjoyed this Regency adventure, you might like to take a look at another of Sahara Kelly’s successful series set in the same time period. Thus far, there are four books available – connected by friendships, but each a stand-alone passionate romance
Here’s a brief excerpt from the first book, Julia and the Devil, available now at Amazon.com.
Julia and the Devil – Sahara Kelly
Julia Willoughby walked to the window of the salon for the fourth time. She wasn’t nervous. No, certainly not nervous. Apprehensive, she’d allow herself. It wasn’t every day that one entertained a notorious rake and his offer of marriage.
And if she’d had her way, she wouldn’t be doing it today, either.
Staring through the glass, she cursed her uncle, society, Napoleon and the world in general. In her mind, the oaths were violent and pithy, and would have shocked every single one of her acquaintances who assumed her to be the polite widow she had portrayed so conscientiously.
In the five years since Edward had been killed at Albuera, during the Peninsula Wars, Julia had behaved decorously, quietly, and as befitted a grieving young wife deprived of her husband too soon by the evil powers of darkness, as represented by England’s foulest enemy.
She had mourned him, but they had both been quite young and as the years passed his memory became softer in her mind. They had loved, wed and parted. It had been a magical time for the two of them, but to be honest, Julia admitted that there wasn’t much about the marriage bed she missed.
She had maintained her decorum, always aware that a widow’s behavior must be above reproach. Especially a rich young widow who lived just outside the limits of the Ton.
She allowed a small grin to escape. She’d managed to pull the wool over a large number of eyes. But now, the wool was thinning, and her life was changing.
She sighed and turned away from the window, pacing the length of the room once more as she struggled with her thoughts. Marriage, insisted her uncle, was the only choice.
But did it have to be to a dissolute aristocrat who was far too close to penniless and was marrying beneath himself to save his fortunes? No matter that the man was rumored to be as handsome as the devil he’d been called—something she doubted. No matter that his title went back to the year dot, and his pride probably farther than that.
She was aware that she was a huge come-down for the Gordon lineage. He must be desperate indeed.
Running her hands along the back of the elegant sofa, she wondered just how desperate he was and how best she could use that desperation to her own advantage. Squelching down her nerves, she focused on what she wanted to accomplish and how to use Sir Lucius Gordon’s offer of marriage to achieve her goals.
Those goals were relatively simple. She intended to continue managing her financial empire and keep doing the supportive work she performed alongside some less-privileged members of London’s “other” side.
Neither would be acceptable to most of society. Certainly neither were public knowledge. And both were as important to her as breathing. Which she found she was quite unable to do when a tap sounded on the closed door.
Oh God. Already?
“Mr. James Danforth, Ma’am.” The maid’s voice was respectful as she moved aside and allowed a rotund gentleman to enter.
“Uncle James…” Julia rushed across the room to hug him. “I wasn’t expecting you. But I’m so glad you’re here. I really didn’t want to face this alone.”
Danforth hugged his niece and grinned at her. “Sorry, lass. You’re going to have to. I can’t stay.”
Julia’s heart dropped to her slippers. “Oh.”
“Come on, sweetheart. Sneck up. It’ll be fine, you’ll see. I just wanted to make sure for m’self that you hadn’t gone and done something silly like lope off for the day.”
Julia smiled wryly at the older man and sat down on the edge of a chair. “Don’t imagine I didn’t consider the notion.” She stared at him, her gaze fixed on his face. “But I have no choice, do I?”
“No, lass. Not now. It’s inevitable. If you want to keep Danforth Investments up and running, you’ve got to wed. Quiet down the rumors that you’re somehow involved. You know what it’s been doing to our stockholders.”
Julia slumped. “It’s not bloody fair, Uncle.”
To find out what happens when Julia meets Lucius ‘Mad Devil’ Gordon, and how they manage a marriage of convenience that turns out to be damned inconvenient…check out Julia and the Devil, available now.
Also in the series are
The Fifth Wife
Deverell’s Obsession
Oh My Laird!
About the Author
Sahara Kelly is always happy to explain to editors that her spelling errors aren’t really errors, since she was born and raised in England, where an extra “u” is quite in order. She likes to think it adds colour to her writing. Sadly, it’s not a widely held belief in the United States, so she’d like you to know she still retains a lot from her English childhood even though you won’t see much of it in her spelling.
Arriving in America with her almost-complete collection of Leslie Charteris’ Saint novels and a passion for Monty Python, Sahara’s new life eventually expanded to include a husband, offspring, citizenship, and a certain amount of acclimation to her new surroundings. (She still cherishes that extra ”u” though.)
After more than two decades of writing, Sahara is now enjoying the greater freedom offered to authors by the rapidly expanding self-publishing scene and looking forward to many more such experiences. Being freed of restraints has opened doors—for Sahara and many other writers. There are now no impediments; no obstructions barring the path from writer to reader. Which is, in many ways, exactly as originally intended when that first storyteller sat on a rock outside her cave, tugged her bearskin around her shoulders and smiled at her kids across the open fire with the words “Once upon a time...” (or however it sounded several million years ago.)
To find out more about Sahara Kelly and her writing, please drop by her website and visit her at:
Sahara Kelly (Website – http://www.saharakelly.com)
This is where Sahara shares none of the intimate details of her life, but will present you with a list of books she'd like you to buy so that she can go do research on a beach in Aruba and be pampered with massages accompanied by drinks with umbrellas in them. She’ll send you a postcard. Thank you.
When not dreaming of lazing on tropical beaches, Sahara has a relatively active social presence on the Internet. Take a look:
Follow Sahara on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SaharaKelly
Friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sahara.kelly
See what she’s blogging about: http://writersaharakelly.blogspot.com
Sahara on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16158.Sahara_Kelly
You can stay on top of what’s on the way from Sahara’s fertile imagination by subscribing to her newsletter or picking up her app for your iPhone or iPad. Yes, there’s even an app for Sahara Kelly. Best bet? Subscribe to the newsletter and keep up to date with everything going on by clicking here. (http://eepurl.com/bxpvp) She doesn’t send them out too often, so you won’t be swamped with unwanted mail. Sahara loathes that and refuses to inflict it on anyone else so you can go ahead and subscribe without worrying about it.
Also by Sahara Kelly: (*- co-written with S.L. Carpenter)
Oh My Laird!
Deverell’s Obsession
The Fifth Wife
Julia and the Devil
Discreet Madness
The Viscount and the Witch
Miss Foxworth’s Fate
Feels So Right*
Whole Lotta Love Series
Love in the Cards*
Love on the Road*
Love Under the Lights*
Happy Endings*
With a Little Help from my Friends (with Ciana Stone)
Letting Off Steam
Winding Her Up
Stripping Her Gears
My Renaissance Romance
Hired Help*
Open House
So Into You*
Faerieland needs YOU
My Wish
My Prize
My Hero
Showing Off*
And many more…
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Several of the above titles were co-written with friend and writing partner S.L. Carpenter. Together, they have a dozen or so books available, each featuring their trademark touches of humor and heat. Their most recent releases are a contemporary romance - So Into You, a bundle of their very first three books now available together – Feels So Right, a collection of strange fairy tales – Happy Endings, and the Whole Lotta Love series.
These, and a whole bunch of Sahara Kelly’s other books, can be found online for your Kindle eReader or your Kindle reader app. Quite a few are also in print. No excuses, people. You can add her stories to your bookshelves physically or digitally. Go get ‘em.
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Sahara would like to mention that she’s recently initiated a new collaboration with her writing partner, S.L. Carpenter. They have blended another of their shared passions — art — and formed an online graphics business focusing on the complicated world of writers. If you’re interested in seeing what they get up to when they’re not writing something twistedly hot and sexy, they’d like to invite you to come visit their business at the link below and check out some of the amazing cover art currently being created by S.L. Carpenter. They’re certainly never bored…
P and N Graphics, LLC
Happy Reading…