The Indispensable Wife
by Philippa Lodge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Historical Romance
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BLURB:
Aurore was
delighted when a marriage was arranged with the boy she loved, her older
brother's friend Dominique, Comte de Bures. But in a few years the first rush
of joy has worn off, and their promising life seems ruined by loss, betrayal,
and misunderstanding.
One terrifying
morning mercenaries overrun their château and usurpers take Aurore hostage.
Miles away at Versailles, where he is required to dance attendance on Louis
XIV, Dominique is nearly killed by a crossbow bolt.
Escaping, Aurore
travels with a troupe of itinerant musicians, hiding in the open while
discovering hidden resources within herself.
Dom sets out to
find his wife. He needs his old life back. He needs revenge. But his lands, his
title, and his honor mean nothing unless he can win back the love of his
indispensable wife.
On
that hot summer day, Aurore, Comtesse de Bures, wore patched skirts and a faded
red linen stomacher over a rough linen chemise while she sang with her
musicians in a village somewhere outside Paris. To be truthful, they weren’t
her musicians so much as she was their singer.
She
was in the middle of a wistful love song when she spotted her husband,
Dominique, at the back of the little crowd. She stopped short, bringing her
hand up to her chest, suddenly unable to catch her breath. Even after five
years of marriage, none of them terribly happy, he was the most handsome man
she had ever seen. Although in drab knee breeches and a smudged leather coat
with plain dark buttons, he stood straight and proud, every inch an aristocrat.
She
had longed for him so intensely she thought for a moment she had imagined him,
as she had so many times over the last several weeks.
He
stared as if unsure it was her, due, certainly, to the mask hiding the top half
of her face. She’d trimmed a riding mask and added ties to it to leave her
mouth and nostrils uncovered for singing. She had to be heard, even if she
might sunburn her chin. Who would care if she were sunburned?
The
couple with the lyre and the wooden flute played on for a few notes and then
paused before looping back to the part of the song between verses. She couldn’t
remember the words and coughed suddenly to cover her hesitation. “It is dustier
than I had noticed, my good people. Would someone bring me a drink of water,
please?”
Two
young men who had been shouting crude comments grabbed a bucket and ladle and
pushed their way forward, laughing. She pointed, however, at her husband. “Good
sir? I see that you have a lovely, large water skin, and I wish with all my
heart to drink from it.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Philippa Lodge has been an
avid reader since she asked her mother to point out where it said
"Ma" in Little House in the Big Woods. She read everything she could
get her hands on until grad school in French Studies, at which time she lost
her reading mojo. Only through the twin discoveries of Harry Potter and romance
has she gotten her groove back and gone back to the stuff she loved about
seventeenth century France: kings, swords, opulence, and love. She lives in the
suburbs of Sacramento, CA with her husband, three children, two cats, and a
head full of courtesans (Oo la la!). She does the newsletter for her local
chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
Links:
http://philippalodge.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @plaatsch
Facebook:
facebook.com/AuthorPhilippaLodge
http://www.amazon.com/Indispensable-Wife-Ch%C3%A2teaux-Shadows-ebook/dp/B014T3V7D2/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-indispensable-wife-philippa-lodge/1122601153?ean=2940150919433#productInfoTabs
http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6407
Philippa will be awarding a
$25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the
tour. Use the Rafflecopter link below to enter.
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