First Kiss Friday with Rue Allyn
Welcome back to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is Bluestocking Belle Rue Allyn who has an excerpt from her novella A Harvest Blessing within the Belles upcoming boxset Under the Harvest Moon. Take it away, Rue!
The first real kiss exchanged between Thom Owen and Charité du Pessac occurs when he shows her the house that he hopes they will start their married lives in together. He is about to propose, but Charité doesn’t have a clue.
Excerpt: A large bed occupied the center of the room not far from a fireplace that must share a flue with the hearth in the kitchen. The bed was completely at odds with the rest of the cottage. Made of smooth, polished, wild cherry, it had four elegant posts. Deep blue velvet curtains were tied back against each scrolled post. A lacy canopy topped the posts. A dozen fluffy pillows were decorated in the same material as the creamy counterpane embroidered in blue.
“Oh my.” It was a bed made for marriage, for loving. Were it hers, she’d never leave such luxury. At the moment all she felt was dismay. Days ago, Thom had asked permission to ask Aunt Faith if he could pay his addresses to her niece. Then Sam had gone missing, and nothing more had been said. He must have changed his mind. I would too if a man I contemplated marriage with lost a child in his care. However, why show me all of this, if Thom wants to share it with some other woman?
He moved to the bed and reclined, careful to keep his shoes off the counterpane. “Come test the mattress. Please. Lay down beside me. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“I shouldn’t.” She wrinkled her brow.
“We’re alone. Who will know?” He patted the counterpane.
She wanted to touch that lovely bed, lay beside him. If only once and only at a distance. “Since you invite me.”
She smiled and advanced to the unoccupied side of the bed. There she swept her hand over the counterpane. Silk? She tested the material again. Silk! She smoothed her palm across the nearest pillow case. The texture was the same, but beneath the cloth, was a small lump.
Since the lump did not move, she burrowed her hand between the cloth and the pillow. Finding the object she withdrew it, discovering she held a ring of braided gold. She put it into her open palm then looked at the man she loved too much for words.
He reached into the pocket of his trousers. “I have a companion piece here.” He held out a similar band with smallish diamond attached by four prongs. The band had the same braided pattern.
She took the ring from his hand, studying the pair as she held them together before her. “They are lovely.” She returned the rings to him.
He looked down at the gold.
“They were my mother’s.”
Butterflies swarmed her stomach, and her breath caught in her chest. “Thom?”
He grinned at her, then removed his shoes tucking the rings into one before he set it on the floor. Then he turned and crept across the bed to kneel before her on the silk covering.
“Charité Estelle Benéntia Marmont du Pessac will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She kissed him.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she fell with him onto the bed. He stroked her hair, as he returned her kiss with matching fervor.
She held his face, unable to get enough of him, peppering kisses from forehead to chin and back to his lovely, very skilled mouth.
His lips moved beneath hers, and she thrilled to his hand on her breast. Pleasure hurtled through her like one of the Congreve rockets she’d heard of, exploding when it reached her center putting every sense on alert and every nerve begging for more.
She found the ends of his neckcloth and managed to untie it without breaking the luscious kiss.
She began to open his shirt.
He left off his caress to stop her and broke the kiss.
Looking up at him, she lowered her brow in question.
“You’ve not responded to my proposal.”
She relaxed her forehead. “I would think our current activity is answer enough.”
“I need the words, Charité. I give you my heart, my entire being with my proposal. Is it too much to ask for one simple word?”
She stared into his earnest face, and decided not to tease him more. “Yes, Thom Owen, I accept your proposal. I want to marry you, grow old with you, bear your children. I give you my love and will hold yours close for as long as I may live.”
About A Harvest Blessing: All the battles are over, or are they? When Captain Thom Owen is forced into a false engagement, he must escort his pseudo-fiancée home to meet his father. Can an English vicar’s son and a French Comte’s daughter find love despite their differences?
About Under the Harvest Moon: As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.
But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.
With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.
Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.
Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses by Collette Cameron
A scarred veteran with no future, Courtland Marlow-Westbrook wants to be left alone. Scottish heiress Avery Levingtone never stopped loving him and is determined to win his love again. Will these former sweethearts find happiness together, or will the wounds of the past keep them apart?
The Morning Light by Caroline Warfield
Adam Wagner is meant to save lives, not take them. He is haunted by Waterloo. The horror of it keeps him from those he loves. Meg Barlow doesn’t understand how Adam could turn his back on her so thoroughly, but she isn’t about to let him get away with it.
A Harvest Blessing by Rue Allen
All the battles are over, or are they? When Captain Thom Owen is forced into a false engagement, he must escort his pseudo-fiancée home to meet his father. Can an English vicar’s son and a French Comte’s daughter find love despite their differences?
Coming Home by Mary Lancaster
Old memories, new love
Home from Waterloo, Captain David Buckley contemplates settling down near his home town of Reabridge—only it is full of painful memories. The mysterious Lady Lorna falls literally into his arms, and he begin to understand the true meaning of love and home.
Under the Champagne Moon by Alina K Field
Fleur Hardouin’s heart longs for Captain Gareth Ardleigh, but she needs an advantageous marriage.
Gareth has promised to find Fleur—on behalf of another man.
Now he must choose between honoring a promise and trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.
A Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Widowed at Waterloo, where she also nursed the wounded, Veronica Petersham promised a dying man to bring his effects to a family in Reabridge. She falls ill just short of her goal, in the milking shed of kind and stoic Martin Bromelton.
Perhaps there is hope for the future after all and the opportunity to find love once more.
A Love Beyond Time by Sherry Ewing
Eight years ago, Hannah Pownall had her heart broken by a young lord.
Captain Brandon Worthington returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from the war and finds the girl he once loved still unwed. Can love at first sight be reborn after heartbreak, proving a second chance is all you need?
The Widow’s Harvest Hope by Cerise DeLand
The new Earl Barlow returns home from Waterloo, intending to live by his own rules. The woman he loved and lost years ago visits for the Harvest festival—and he plans to offer Vicky Wright what they both want. Can a lady who has lived by the rules throw them all away to seize her last chance for happiness?
Love In Its Season by Jude Knight
The Battle of Waterloo lost Jack Wrath the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. He has no place to go and nothing to offer. Gwen Hughes has a business to run and no time for romance. Under the harvest moon, two people who believe romance has passed them finally reach their season for love.
Available for Pre-order: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/under-the-harvest-moon/
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About Rue Allyn: Award winning author of historical romances, Rue Allyn fell in love with happily ever after the day she heard her first story. (She claims she was a precocious little brat who read at the age of two but could hear much earlier than that.) She studied literature for far too many years before discovering that writing stories was much more fun than writing about them. One of her greatest pleasures as an author is being able to read the story before anyone else. Rue is happily married to her sweetheart of many, many years. Insatiably curious, an avid reader and traveler, she loves to hear from readers about their favorite books and real-life adventures. Crazy Cat stories are especially welcome. You can contact her at Rue@RueAllyn.com. She can’t wait to hear from you.
