I'm part of a Launch Wave! Stop Three

It’s launch day for Rae Summers’s new historical novella, Dear Julia, and to celebrate she’s having a Launch Wave of excerpts! You can keep up with the wave’s progress on the Twitter hashtag #DearJulia. If you enjoy the story, feel free to tweet your comments and chat to other wave surfers.
By clicking on the links below each excerpt, you’ll be able to follow the wave across 8 blogs to read the entire first chapter - or you can click on the buy links below to get your own copy! * * *
Dear Julia is set in the English countryside in the early 1920s, and is part of the Love Letters series from The Wild Rose Press.
Read the opening extract here.
Extract Three
“Mr. Fortescue died during the war, after a nasty riding accident, and his wife soon after in the Spanish Flu epidemic, though many of us thought she died of a broken heart.”
Rosalie’s heart sank. How old might the letter be? And what if Julia no longer lived? She brushed aside the threatening disappointment. She would not give up so easily. “Did they have any children?”
Mrs. Wallace smiled, her eyes warming with memory. “Just the one daughter, Julia. Such a sweet girl, so pretty, and lively as a bean.”
Rosalie’s heart thumped against her ribs. Victory at last. “Do you know where I can find her?”
A cloud crossed Mrs. Wallace’s face, and she sighed. “Last anyone in the village heard, she’d gone to live in America with her new husband. Of course, he might know...”
“Who might know?”
Mrs. Wallace shook her head. “No, perhaps not. You could ask the vicar.”
Now why hadn’t she thought of that?
“Thank you, Mrs. Wallace. This has been very interesting.” She hopped down from the stool.
“Any time, Miss Stanton.” Then, as Rosalie headed for the door, Mrs. Wallace added, “You remind me of her, you know.”
Rosalie turned back.
“Same fair hair and bright blue eyes. And you have the same smile.”
She smiled now. “Thank you, Mrs. Wallace.”

Rosalie took the short cut to the vicarage, through the graveyard, where lichened headstones stood tall above the freshly mown grass. The scent of drying grass hung heavy in the somnolent air.
The vicar himself opened the door, a man built lean and tall like his church.
“Good morning,” she said brightly.
“Good morning, Miss Stanton. Would you care to come inside?”
She followed him into the living room and perched on the edge of a heavily brocaded armchair.
Now that she was here, she wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Or whether to tell him about the letter and the ring. The vicar settled himself on the sofa across from her. “I suspect this isn’t purely a social call?”
“Not entirely, though in a village this size it’s good to know one’s neighbours.”
“Indeed.” His eyes sparkled with amusement. He reminded her of her favourite uncle.
“I found some items during the renovations that seem to belong to Julia Fortescue, and I was wondering if you had any idea where I could forward them?”
His face clouded, just as Mrs. Wallace’s had done. What was it about this woman that her memory caused such sorrow?
* * *
For the next instalment, click here to go to the blog of Harlequin Medical Romance author Scarlet Wilson, or you can buy Dear Julia at Amazon or Amazon UK.

Here is the full list of participating blogs:
Stop 1 - Minxes of RomanceStop 2 - Sally ClementsStop 3 - you are here!Stop 4 - Scarlet WilsonStop 5 - Olivia MilesStop 6 - Jennifer ShirkStop 7 - Suzanne JonesStop 8 - Romy Sommer
Dear Julia is on sale through Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, AllRomance eBooks, and The Wild Rose Press. You can find out more about this novella here - and don’t forget to tweet your feedback using the hashtag #DearJulia.
To everyone doing the wave, have fun!