Laura: A Sensuous Regency Romance

eBook ISBN · 978-1-60174-017-5
Publisher ·Uncial Press
Genre · Sensual Historical Romance
Length · Full Length Novel

After watching her husband die at the Battle of Corunna, Laura Wickenham wants nothing more than to live quietly with her sister Phyllis and Phyllis's lovely 17 year old daughter, Belinda.
When Belinda becomes involved with fortune-hunter Lord Harris, Laura has to try to separate the couple before Harris separates Belinda from her money. Danger lies with Lord Harris's uncle, Ross Stansfield, newly returned from India. Attraction between Laura and Ross is instant, but Laura is afraid to let herself love again.
Ross is not, but when Lord Harris's father, Lord Blickleigh, tells him one of Laura's two regular suitors is a spy, he has to curtail his courtship until the spy is caught.
When Belinda and Harris elope, Laura sets out in wild pursuit, followed by Ross, who is more concerned for Laura's safety than that of the young couple. Blickleigh discovers a paper vital to England's security is missing, and the chase is on.
Finding love and more in the wintry English countryside, Ross and Laura are set on a chase to discover the spy, prevent family scandal and find their own destinies.
This sensual historical romance from Lynne Martin moves from the battlefields of Spain to fashionable Regency London, to an England blanketed in snow and a gem of a country house. Excitement, love and adventure is served up in full measure as Ross and Laura search for their happiness and the security of their country at this dangerous, thrilling time in British history.
Don't miss a minute of it!

Excerpt
Reviews
Buy the Book

Excerpt from Laura

When Ross Stansfield called one afternoon after regular visiting hours, but before the time to dress for dinner, Laura elected to receive him alone. Phyllis lay upon her bed, as was her invariable habit, something Stansfield would probably know, but Laura deserved some time of her own. Time to talk to the one person who leavened her burden instead of adding to it, someone she genuinely liked and respected.
So she received him alone, in the small parlour at the front of the house on the ground floor. Hartley showed him in, showing his disapproval with a sniff before he closed the door behind them. "I'm very happy to see you," she confessed, "But I'm surprised Hartley let you in. And he'll send a maid in with some tea in a moment, see if he doesn't!"
Ross laughed, but she was proved right. He declined a cup of tea, and so did Laura. They let the pot remain where it was on the small table, rapidly cooling and Laura waved the maid out of the room.
"We're leaving for Lawrence Court tomorrow," she told him.
"Well I won't flummery and say I'm glad because I'm not," he confessed. "But it is the best thing for Miss Greaves. I take it your brother won't let anyone by the name of Stansfield past the front door?"
Laura tried to hide her wistfulness. "No. I think he wants a quiet family Christmas, so he won't encourage anyone to visit other than the local gentry. And I've told him about Lord Harris. James will take care to be not at home if he should chance to call!"
"Sounds damned dull to me."
"Me too," she said. "But I've bought a parcel of novels, and some new embroidery silk, as well as refreshing my paint box, so I shall have plenty to do."
"So you will," he agreed docilely.
The gleam in his eyes betrayed him, and she laughed. "I'll manage," she said. "And I can console myself with the thought that I'm doing something good for someone else."
"Laying up riches in heaven?"
She sat down in a chair near to the fire, and at a small wave of her hand, he sat down opposite her, stretching his legs before him to the heat. "Is this yours?" He picked up the tambour frame, and studied the design of roses. "Very pretty."
"Thank you," she said, as docilely as he had a moment before.
"And you think you can be happy doing this all winter?"
She smiled. "I've known worse. Did you call to discuss the situation with Lord Harris and Blickleigh?" She didn't wait for his response, but hurried over her words. "I regret I can't help you more, but I do need to think of my family first. We must prevent Belinda from doing something foolish!" She paused, and avoided his gaze, fully aware Stansfield watched her closely. "She has been exchanging torrid love letters with him, and he has not hesitated to ask her to go away with him. We must prevent that. It would hold her open to all kinds of unpleasantness!"
His expression was all sympathy, a closeness she knew she should deny but felt unable to. "Was it so bad when you eloped?"
She laughed, but it was a shaky effort. "Yes indeed. Matrons can be deeply hurtful when it isn't their own child involved. I was considered a beauty, and although my portion was modest, I did quite well. When we returned, I went with my parents into the country. Then illness took them both in short order, and I was in mourning for some time. My sister Mary persuaded me to return to London and the social scene."
She looked at him, not wanting to hide anything. Why it was so important was beyond her, and why she could not stop discussing what was dead and buried. He was watching her, the expression in his light eyes unfathomable. "The first season was terrible. If it had not been for my family, I would have liked to run away, and I have come to believe that was the worst thing I could have done. But I survived."
She bit her lip. "When I returned to London the next year, I met Michael. I went to Portugal with him rather than be separated."
His smile was warm. "You are now beyond reproach, it seems."
She liked his directness, would miss it in the coming months. "Yes, I'm highly respectable. Michael was a hero, you see, and I was received in military circles with open arms when I returned. But I didn't want the constant reminders, so I retreated. The men in uniform, the discussions of strategies and campaigns--I found it all very painful for a time."
He nodded again, in complete understanding. "And now?"
She smiled again. "Now I'm alive again. Michael wouldn't have wanted me to repine forever. I can meet his erstwhile colleagues without a qualm, and even listen to stories of him without wanting to cry." She wasn't speaking the complete truth. Michael would also have wanted her to remarry, but she couldn't bear to think of that.
"Poor Laura!" he said, entirely in sympathy with her. She let his familiar use of her Christian name pass without comment. "What you must have gone through!"
"Yes, but I had my family. A real strength, when I needed protecting. I owe them a great deal."
He looked at her without speaking for a few minutes. Then he said, "They must have been. I wish I'd been here!"
Her heart beat a little faster. "So do I, my friend."
One hand gripped the arm of his chair until the knuckles showed white. Abruptly, he stood up, went over to the window, then turned around.
His expression made her breath catch in her throat, though she told herself sternly, she couldn't imagine why. True, his gaze was warmer than she was accustomed to seeing in company. Laura suddenly felt the impropriety of their situation, alone, unchaperoned, and tension prickled her spine. She'd invited this intimate conversation by inviting him in. Had she gone too far? Did she want more?
Moving over to where she sat, he held out his hand, and without thinking, she placed her own in it. He drew her to her feet and gazed at her, warmth filling his light eyes until she felt herself flush.
Then he drew her closer and bent his head. Laura knew what was coming, but she didn't try to pull away. If this was all she would know of him, then it might warm her lonely bed in the time ahead. It could not be wrong.
He kissed her gently. She slid her hands around his waist to his back, feeling the soft cloth of his dark blue coat under her fingers, warmer and safer than she had felt in years.
In response his arms tightened around her and he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue between her teeth and into her mouth, tasting her deeply before he withdrew. When he released her lips it was only to kiss her along her jaw, and down to her throat and then back to her mouth once more.
Laura responded as though in a dream. She had imagined an encounter like this, lying in her solitary bed at night, waiting for sleep, but this wasn't what her limited imagination had told her. Not this tingling of every nerve in her body, awareness of a beginning, not a flirtation, not a sweet interlude, but something else, something she wasn't sure she wanted to allow. But her treacherous body held her in place, in his arms.
His kisses reflected his knowledge of something more intimate, more demanding. They held more danger, and more promise than anything she'd known before. Her mouth parted under his, and he took advantage of it, softly entering her mouth, invading her.
Laura was shaking when she pushed him away. "No, my friend, we can't do this."
"Why not?" he asked, eyes half closed. He pulled her back and kissed her throat gently, his teeth just touching the sensitive skin.
Laura shuddered in response.
"Surely we know our own minds by now?" He sighed, and drew away from her, but kept his arms lightly around her waist. "Laura, I've fallen deeply in love with you. Will you marry me, my love?"
Laura swallowed hard and made a great effort to keep her countenance clear of the passion he evoked in her. "How can we?"
His eyes were steady, tender, filled with an emotion she was hesitant to name. "Very easily, I would imagine. We can obtain a Special Licence and marry as soon as maybe. I don't want to be apart from you any longer than it takes to make our union respectable."
She gave a shaky laugh. "Not that! I mean the situation is impossible. We would leave the road clear for Belinda to marry your nephew, give ourselves no room to argue with them!" There was more, a deep, unreasonable fear, but she could not give voice to it.
He ignored that, but asked, "Do you love me? If you don't, then there's no more to be said and I'll consider myself fortunate to have you as a friend."
She glanced down at the shiny buttons on his waistcoat. "I could say that, but I've given myself away haven't I?" She ruefully remembered her eager response to his kiss. Something inside her cried out for her to stay there, in his arms where she felt safe and wanted, but other considerations warred against it. Mostly the fear she felt.
He tilted her face up to his with two fingers and kissed her gently on the lips, then drew back. "Then I won't let you go. I won't let my foolish family ruin my happiness, any more than I'll let your family ruin yours."
Aware of the open curtains behind her, the busy street beyond and her own internal confusion, Laura pushed away from him, trembling. "We can't. It's what my relatives most dread. I can't do that to them!" She knew the way his mouth quirked up at the corners, the warmth in his eyes and she wanted nothing more than to go back and kiss him again. But she knew she must not. She could not.

Buy Laura Here

Top of Page

Reviews

Ms. Lynne Martin has chosen a plot which has intrigue, love and familial responsibilities. She has a definite gift of the written word. This tale involves an unwanted young love, a web of deceit in the form of spying for the French, and a secret involvement between Laura and Ross. The story flows so well, it is almost impossible to put down.
Laura has a bit of everything you could possibly want in a novel-love, of course, conflict between parent/child, courtship, meddling older sister, and all the excitement this entails. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly. I would love to read other of her works.
Brenda Talley for The Romance Studio. 4 1/2 hearts.

I really liked Laura. She was strong and kind, and genuinely wanted what was best for her niece. It was interesting watching her come back to life, wanting things for herself for the first time, and actually believing there is more to life that residing with her sister and acting as liaison between mother and daughter.

Ross sees the truth of Laura, and can see what she desires better than she does herself. I liked that he wants what is best for her, and that he was unwilling to let her get away with sacrificing her future for her sister or niece. He did a great job of taking care of her without taking advantage of her.

The storyline was an interesting one, with Ross and Laura forming a team against Ross's nephew, with Blickleigh's blessing, and the twist that the story takes was intriguing as well. Overall, I was quite taken with this book. It had good characters and a good story. Laura is a good read.
Lynn Lamy for Rakehell