The Boys Club
by Amanda McIntyre(c) 2008
eHarlequin.com 10/08
Click here to read The Boys Club at eHarlequin.com |
The Boys Club
I was but a trophy. One more notch in his belt to bragger about with the boys on Wednesday night. I could hear them in the drawing room, beyond the closed doors where women were not allowed. Cognac, fresh wrapped imported cigars and tales of their conquests both business and otherwise poured freely.
I stood on the stairs listening to their banter. The rich deep sound of their laughter given only in each other’s company and rarely in mine. Still, what complaint do I have? That their glasses leave a white ringed mark on my mahogany tables? Or that the window sash must be thrown wide to air the oppressive scent of their sweet-smelling cigars? I have everything a woman could want and more. And yet if I have a complaint, it is perhaps only in not having the choice of who I will lie with this week.
I am the housekeeper for Lord Grant Thurgood. My duties, aside from the daily dusting, making of beds, laundry and cooking is to provide entertainment to milord’s men’s club. It was not a duty I’d sought when I answered his interview.
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Garden of Dreams
by Amanda McIntyre © 2007
Crescent Moon Press |
Garden of Dreams
Satisfied, Celeste rocked back on her heels and surveyed her first day's efforts in the garden. Having a purpose had become her salvation. She'd seen the picturesque ad of the remote seaside, Victorian bed and breakfast in a magazine three weeks ago. The day was vivid in her memory. She gave up on love the same day...more |
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Her Captain Returns
The townspeople of the tiny upper New England town, now called Cape Elizabeth, never gave much thought to the beautiful woman who would appear at the onset of winter each year. In quiet wonder, she would smile at the renovations and new products on the shelves. And folks would just tip their heads in a friendly nod and keep to their business-as good New Englanders do.
Most knew that Lizzie was preparing for her captain's return. Without a word, she'd collect her supplies and walk the five miles of rough road to the old lighthouse that had been closed to the public for over one hundred years. No payment was necessary, for her debt had already been paid the fateful night that Captain Stephen Hatchinson and his new bride lost their lives near the lighthouse in the fierce New England winter storm known as "Keeper Hanna", the winter of 1885...more |
