Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick
Forsaking All Other by Catherine Meyrick
Publication Date: April 1, 2018
Courante Publishing
eBook & Print; 291 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Amazon (Kindle) | Kindle (Paperback) | Barnes and Noble | Kobo
Excerpt
The room was unusually quiet. All
that could be heard was the slither of thread through cloth and, outside, the
sleepy cooing of doves. Eloise rose from her seat and wandered to the window.
She stood, both hands in the small of her back, arching backwards, the swelling
of her belly obvious through the folds of her gown. She leant forward, resting
her hands on the windowsill, a frown on her usually cheerful face.
‘What is it, Eloise?’ Dame Margaret asked, her voice sharp
with concern. ‘It is far too soon.’
Eloise turned back to the room and brushed her hand
impatiently through the air. ‘No, nothing like that. We have visitors. One is
the image of Sir Christopher.’ She smiled at her good-mother. ‘Perhaps I should
go down and greet them.’
Dame Margaret concentrated on her sewing. ‘Wait here—let
whoever it is seek you out.’
Eloise returned to her seat and took up her sewing. After a
few stitches she put it aside once more and sat back, her fingers spread on her
belly, smiling to herself.
Dame Margaret held her needle still in her fingers and
waited as the door to the solar swung open and her youngest son, Edmund, was
led in by the footman. So like his father! He had Sir Christopher’s build and
light brown hair. He would have been as handsome too but for the discoloured
pockmarks spread across his forehead and his cheeks above his neatly trimmed
beard.
Dame Margaret did not rise to greet him.
Edmund stopped six feet from her chair and bowed formally.
He was still in his dusty travelling clothes, the faint smell of sweat and
horse a sharp reminder of his father too.
Dame Margaret wrinkled her nose. ‘You have arrived,
finally.’
‘I came as quickly as I could, Mother.’
‘But a month?’ she asked, incredulous.
‘I could not walk away from my responsibilities at a
moment’s notice. Travel from Ireland is nothing like an unhurried ride from
London.’ Edmund scowled at his mother, ‘I supposed Father had been buried long
before I even received the news.’
The other women watched him from beneath their lashes while
pretending to sew. Only Hester Shawe, Dame Margaret’s woman, stared openly at
him.
‘I have been to the church. Is that all that will be done
for Father—a flat stone in the floor?’
‘Oh, no,’ Eloise said as she rose from her chair. ‘John
will explain when he returns home.’ She laid a hand on his arm and smiled, ‘I
am John’s wife, Eloise, and I am delighted to meet you, Edmund.’ She stood on
tiptoes and kissed his cheek. ‘John has organised a mason to come from London
and is planning a monument with both your parents and all the children on it.
He is certain your father would have approved.’
Dame Margaret watched as Edmund turned his attention to
Eloise, saw him take in the glowing skin, the reddish-blond hair, dark eyebrows
and smiling eyes. She pressed her lips together in a tight line. All men were
the same—it was the nature of the beast.
‘Father would indeed be pleased,’ Edmund said.
‘Now Edmund, you must come and meet your nephews.’ Eloise
linked her arm in his and guided him through the door.
About the Author
Catherine Meyrick is a writer of historical fiction with a particular love of Elizabethan England. Her stories weave fictional characters into the gaps within the historical record – tales of ordinary people who are very much men and women of their time, yet in so many ways not unlike ourselves. Although she grew up in regional Victoria, Australia, she has lived all her adult life in Melbourne. She has worked as a nurse, a tax assessor and finally a librarian. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also a family history obsessive. For more information, please visit Catherine Meyrick's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.Forsaking All Other
Thanks so much for your great review & for hosting Catherine's blog tour!
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HF Virtual Book Tours
Thank you for the lovely review, I am glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteCatherine