A Gentleman’s Promise
The Gentlemen Series
by Penny Hampson
Publication Date: March 11th, 2021 (2nd edition)
Publisher: PP&M Publishing
Pages: 221
Genre: Historical Romance / Regency Romance
A docile wife is what he wants. A husband is the last thing she needs. Can a quest for a killer teach them that they are both wrong?
Emma Smythe and her brother arrive at Easterby Hall to discover that a handsome stranger has laid claim to their ancestral home and the family title. Have her relatives been murdered, and is her brother next? Determined to find the answers, she has no option but to trust the gentleman who insists that he will help. But danger appears in many guises, and for a woman intent on remaining single, her intriguing protector may prove the biggest threat of all.
The attempts on Richard Lacey’s life begin when he inherits a title and a rundown estate. A coincidence? He’s not so sure. Problems multiply with the unexpected arrival of Jamie and Emma Smythe. Long thought dead, they too are potential targets. Richard thinks he wants a docile, obedient wife, but will the task of keeping headstrong Emma safe from danger change his mind?
Embroiled in a sinister mystery, can Richard and Emma work together to catch a killer? And will this dangerous quest teach them that what they both wish to avoid is exactly what they need?
The front door at the top of the steps remained closed. Fool. Obviously, he wasn’t expected. What was he thinking? If the interior was in too poor a state, he’d return to the inn at Minster Lovell. Not something he wanted to do. Like his horses, he’d had enough of travelling for the day.
Flexing his shoulders to ease aching muscles, Richard’s hopes for a hot bath, a decent meal, and a warm bed began to fade as he eyed the closed door.
He smiled to himself and shook his head. Must be getting set in my ways if all I’m anticipating is a bath and an early night. His boots thudded on the steps as he marched to the door and gave the bell pull a vicious tug. Chimes resonated through the house. What seemed like minutes later, footsteps could be heard clattering over a tiled floor. A key grated in the lock. Through the now partly opened door, a grey-haired gentleman of advanced years peered out, the expression on his face far from welcoming.
‘Yes, yes, may I help you? I’m afraid the family are not at home to visitors at present.'
The old man’s querulous tone indicated that he’d been disturbed from a far more pleasant activity than opening the front door to passing strangers. Controlling his temper – this was now his property, after all – Richard replied with his own question.
‘And you are…?'
The old chap pulled himself up to his full height and announced, ‘I am Wrighton, butler to the late Lord Easterby. Who might you be, sir?'
‘Richard Lacey, Viscount Easterby. Your new employer.'
Penny Hampson
Penny Hampson writes history, mystery, and romance. Her first contemporary novel, The Unquiet Spirit, a ghostly, romantic mystery set in Cornwall, was published by Darkstroke in 2020 and was a contender for the Joan Hessayon Award 2021. Penny has also written a series of Regency romances because, as a historian, there is nothing she likes more than researching her favourite period in history and bringing it to life.
Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).
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