Emily arrives at Westbury Hall with a job
to do. She’s to clean and conserve all of the books in their impressive
library, preserving them for future generations. Not long into her stay at the
house, she bumps into the night guard, George. She’d expected an old, balding
guy with a comb over, so the hunky chap she actually meets is a very pleasant
surprise. The introductions complete, George leaves Emily in peace to get on
with her job. But when a falling photograph sets off a chain reaction of
ghostly events, Emily and George are thrown together in order to find out
who—or what—is causing them. Their investigation uncovers a tragic past, a lost
love, and a stunning secret.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a revised and extended
of a previously published title, Love Through Time.
*****
Excerpt:
Emily received some strange looks and
frowns from the people she passed as she walked across the graveled drive
towards the front entrance of Westbury Hall. She could appreciate their
confusion. It was closing time for the stately home and the last of the
visitors were being politely ushered out of the building, yet she was heading inside.
What’s more, she’d been invited. She had a job to do.
An elderly lady stood in the porch smiling
and nodding as she held the door open for those departing the property. Most of
them seemed in no hurry to leave, stopping to make comments to the woman, thanking
her for a lovely visit and so on. Emily waited patiently, allowing the patrons
to leave before attempting to get in. When the staff member—most likely a
volunteer, Emily thought—caught sight of her, she gave her a polite nod of
acknowledgment.
Finally, the last of Westbury Hall’s
visitors moved out, leaving Emily free to enter. Climbing the single stone step
to the threshold of the front porch, she took the hand that had already been
offered to her.
Shaking Emily’s hand with a surprising
firmness, the woman said, “You must be Miss Stone.” Her smart appearance and
the intelligence in her eyes indicated that despite her advancing age, she was
far from past it, “I’m Mrs. Thompson, house supervisor.”
“I am,” replied Emily, dropping her hand
back to her side, “but please, call me Emily. It’s lovely to meet you. So,
house supervisor? Do you live on site?” Not a volunteer, then, but a paid
member of staff.
Indicating Emily should step inside the
entrance hall, Mrs. Thompson proceeded to close and lock the porch and front
doors of the house, securing them in.
“I do,” the older woman said, turning back
to face Emily, “I have rooms in a separate building just off the back of this
one. So you needn’t worry about me disturbing you.”
“Oh no,” said Emily, worried she’d
inadvertently rubbed Mrs. Thompson up
the wrong way, “I didn’t mean that. I was just curious, that’s all. You’re more
than welcome to see me at work, Mrs. Thompson, although I’m afraid you won’t
see anything terribly exciting.”
Mrs. Thompson smiled now, the warmth
reaching her eyes. Emily almost sagged with relief. She’d yet to see the extent
of the work she had to do, but she’d been told it was no easy task, so she
could be here for some time. The last thing she needed was to upset any of the
staff.
“Oh, you’d be surprised, my dear. This is a
fascinating old place. Of course, all these old houses have history, but
Westbury Hall’s is particularly rich.”
Emily smiled. The woman’s enthusiasm was
infectious. “Well then,” she replied, “I can’t wait to learn more about it. I
hope you’ll feed me some historical tidbits throughout the time I’m here?”
Mrs. Thompson gave an enigmatic smile.
Then, startling Emily somewhat, she turned smartly on her heel and walked
deeper into the house. “Come, my dear, I won’t hold you up any longer. I’ll
show you to the library, where you’ll soon start uncovering Westbury’s
illustrious history for yourself.”
*****
Author
Bio:
Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She
writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and
has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These
include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women's Erotica 2013 and
Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has
edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small
publishing house. She owns Erotica For
All, is book editor for Cliterati,
and is one eighth of The Brit Babes.
Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.
Join her on Facebook
and Twitter, and subscribe to her
newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
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