Thank you, all who voted for A Lady by Midnight in the DABWAHA tournament! It was a hard fought match against Courtney Milan, and her excellent book The Duchess War. The lead changed several times, and it was a tight race…but Team Tessa prevailed in the end!
So here is the scene I promised. A bonus from the margins of A Lady by Midnight, wherein Colin teaches Thorne to waltz. I had too much fun writing it. I will freely admit, much of the dialog lacks a certain…historical accuracy. 🙂
Reader warning: Profanity ahead.
“First, let’s make one thing understood.” Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, tapped a hand to his chest. “You came to me, Thorne. So recognize the skills. And stop scowling.”
“I’m not scowling.”
“No?” Colin tilted his head, examining. “I guess that’s just your face. Unfortunate.”
Samuel Thorne released his breath in a long, long-suffering sigh.
He should have known this was a bad idea. It wasn’t as though he and Lord Payne were friends. During the year they’d both lived in Spindle Cove, there’d been no love lost between them. They’d sniped at one another, disagreed at every turn. Colin was a viscount, and a talkative, spendthrift, rakish one at that. Thorne came from nothing, said little, and currently wished he were anywhere but here.
But he had no choice. The ball was mere days away, and it would be Thorne’s one and only chance to prove himself worthy of his … Read More »