Without a Chaperone – Excerpt from THE ICE CAPTAIN’S DAUGHTER

Victorian-era manners and sensibilities were a lot different than they are today. A young lady’s virtue was everything, and a slight misstep could bring ruination to an entire family. With nothing like the Internet, television or radio for entertainment, gossip was elevated to a sport. Public and private behavior was scrutinized, analyzed and dissected for every possible nuance. And if something calamitous should occur by happenstance, disaster management was in order by friends and family.  This is the setting for The Ice Captain’s Daughter.  Enjoy the excerpt!

~ S.G. Rogers

Excerpt:

“I cannot countenance your bringing a trollop into this house.”

Logan’s mouth fell open in shock, but Mrs. Lyman scarcely drew breath.

“Your mother and father would roll over in their graves if they knew Idunn Court had been so besmirched.”

“A trollop? Surely you cannot be referring to Miss Roring!”

The housekeeper’s nostrils flared. “Indeed I am.”

Logan had difficulty keeping his countenance.

“Mrs. Lyman, let me set your mind at ease. Miss Roring is a gentlewoman of good breeding and the highest morals. She was traveling to the train station yesterday afternoon when a highwayman accosted her very near my hunting cottage. A bullet grazed her leg and I rendered her assistance.”

Mrs. Lyman’s lips narrowed into a harsh line. “That is my point, exactly. She spent last night with you in the cottage, without a chaperone.”

“For mercy’s sake, it was not her choice, nor mine! The lightning storm forced us to seek shelter.”

Not at all mollified, Mrs. Lyman sucked in her cheeks and folded her arms across her chest. Logan sighed.

“Her aunt will collect her this afternoon,” he said. “Can you bear with me until then?”

“The sooner she is gone, the better.” In a swirl of self-righteousness, Mrs. Lyman strode over to the door, yanked it open, and disappeared down the hall.

The daughter of a wealthy ice merchant, Miss Jillian Roring intends to marry for love.  En route to her first Season in London, however, a failed kidnapping sends her into the arms of the most jaded bachelor in England.  When Logan and Jillian unwittingly violate the rigid rules of propriety in Victorian-era England, he is obliged to make her an offer of marriage.  Because she aspires to be more than an obligation, Jillian refuses the match. Logan follows her to London to woo her properly, but his scheming ex-fiancée has other plans.

Can Logan convince Jillian that his love for her is real or will the cruel gossip and sharp tongues of London society tear their budding relationship apart?

A romantic novella set in the turn of the century, Victorian England.

Available for the Kindle at Amazon ($0.99).