Welcome Today's Feaetured Author
Nadine Millard!
Protecting the Princess
Blurb:
Princess Harriet Wesselbach is growing tired of her pampered, privileged
lifestyle. The only thing worse than the gilded cage of a royal life is
the overprotective nature of her brother, the crown prince.
When the palace is suddenly thrown into turmoil, Harriet takes the opportunity to run away and branch out on her own. After all, how hard could it be to live not as a royal, but as an ordinary young lady?
Harriet wants to stand on her own two feet, and she is determined that nothing will get in her way. Especially not a chance encounter with a handsome stranger.
***
The last thing Jacob Lauer needs or wants to do is play nanny to a spoiled princess.
But that’s exactly what he finds himself having to do.
From the moment he meets her, she is nothing but trouble, and what should have been an easy assignment is turning out to be more difficult than he had bargained for.
Not least because the longer he spends in Harriet’s company, the more difficult it is to hide his growing attraction to the lady.
***
When Harriet’s safety is threatened, Jacob must put aside all his conflicting feelings and concentrate on the job at hand.
Will he be able to ignore his heart, when he’s protecting the princess?
When the palace is suddenly thrown into turmoil, Harriet takes the opportunity to run away and branch out on her own. After all, how hard could it be to live not as a royal, but as an ordinary young lady?
Harriet wants to stand on her own two feet, and she is determined that nothing will get in her way. Especially not a chance encounter with a handsome stranger.
***
The last thing Jacob Lauer needs or wants to do is play nanny to a spoiled princess.
But that’s exactly what he finds himself having to do.
From the moment he meets her, she is nothing but trouble, and what should have been an easy assignment is turning out to be more difficult than he had bargained for.
Not least because the longer he spends in Harriet’s company, the more difficult it is to hide his growing attraction to the lady.
***
When Harriet’s safety is threatened, Jacob must put aside all his conflicting feelings and concentrate on the job at hand.
Will he be able to ignore his heart, when he’s protecting the princess?
Buy links:
Excerpt:
Her eyes skidded to a halt as
she realised, with no small amount of dread, that she seemed to have drawn the
attention of the most unsavoury looking man she’d ever seen.
“Oh, no,” she whispered, fear
making her clutch her reticule tighter.
Harriet turned her head away,
but she could sense that he was still watching her.
She’d known, of course, that
it was going to be risky making this journey alone. But she wasn’t even out of
the city yet!
“What’s a pretty little thing
like you doing all alone?”
Harriet felt a jolt of fear
shoot through her as she realised the man had made his way closer.
Even with her back turned, she
could smell the alcohol mixed with unwashed clothing and sweat emanating from
the man.
Should she ignore him? Turn to
face him?
Harriet had no idea how to
deal with such behaviour. Barring one or two lascivious glances from visiting
dignitaries, she’d never been exposed to unpleasant male behaviour. In point of
fact, she’d never been much exposed to males at all. Kept at a distance
befitting the Crown Princess, the only time she’d felt anything close to normal
was when she and Alex had visited England and hidden their royal status.
Even then they’d travelled in
private, relative luxury, and with a small retinue of servants.
And much as she’d envied the
young women of Aldonia who lived a non-royal, freer existence than she, this
part of things she really could have done without.
Mustering her courage and
considerable diplomatic skills, Harriet turned to face her unwanted companion,
hoping that a cool but pleasant smile and a request to be left alone would
suffice to send him on his way.
But her smile stiffened then
died as she turned and saw that he was watching her in a way that could only be
described as predatory.
“Don’t you talk then?” he
slurred.
“I – I do,” she stumbled,
tightening her grip on the reticule that held her only coin. Coin she
desperately needed.
“Where you off to all alone?”
the man repeated, his eyes taking in the two bags at her feet.
“That’s not really any of your
business,” Harriet answered with a boldness she didn’t feel.
The bloodshot eyes that were
studying her filled with an ominous menace.
“I can make it my business,”
he threatened softly, putting the fear of God into her.
“Sir,” Harriet could hear the
accent she’d tried to adopt slipping, could hear that she was sounding more
imperious by the second. “I suggest you take yourself elsewhere. I have no
interest in speaking to you further.”
She watched in horror and no
small amount of trepidation as the blackguard raked an insolent gaze over her
then promptly burst into a peal of laughter, spittle flying from a mouth absent
of several teeth.
“Sounds like you could do with
learning some manners, my lady,” he sneered, the moniker clearly meant as a
jeer.
“I –”
Whatever Harriet had been
about to say was cut off with her outraged gasp as the man suddenly reached out
and grabbed her arm.
Harriet didn’t know what to
do. Screaming for help would draw too much attention to her, and her efforts to
drag herself from the drunkard’s grasp weren’t doing any good.
“Sir, if you do not release
me, I’ll –”
Suddenly he leaned forward,
and Harriet almost wretched from the stench radiating from him.
“You’ll do what?” he smirked.
“Ah, there you are, sweetling.
Please, forgive my delay in joining you. Made a new friend, have you?”
Harriet spun around at the
sudden sound of a jovial voice behind her.
There stood the handsomest man
she’d ever seen. Though his clothing was simple, it was well made and clean,
leading her to believe that he was a merchant of means or perhaps a modest
gentleman.
She could only stare at him,
taking in the golden blonde hair, the shockingly blue eyes.
Something about him was
familiar, though she knew they’d never met before. She would have remembered.
So distracted by his chiselled
jaw was Harriet, that it took a moment for his words to sink in, and when they
did, she was more confused than ever.
Was everyone in Aldonia mad?
Between the blackguard
accosting her and the handsome stranger acting as though they were – well, that
she was his sweetling, Harriet was fit to scream and run back to the
safety of the palace.
She turned her gaze to the
drunk’s and saw that his own was now darting warily between Harriet and the
stranger.
“Ahem.”
The sound of the golden-haired
man clearing his throat brought Harriet’s eyes back to him, and she noted that
though his expression remained neutral, his eyes, as they took in the drunk’s
hand still on Harriet’s arm, were coldly dangerous.
Without speaking a word, those
same eyes rose to meet the drunkard’s, and Harriet almost felt sorry for the
man, so lethal was the look.
“I assume you don’t want this
man’s hand on you, my dear?” The stranger’s tone was soft and would have been
pleasant, if it wasn’t for the dangerous edge to it.
Just who was this man?
Guessing that she was “his
dear” though she had no idea who he was, Harriet managed to shake her head.
“Um, no,” she answered.
She had no idea what the
stranger was up to, but there was an air of authority about him that made
Harriet feel secure in his presence. Strangely enough, she trusted him though
that was probably rather foolish, given the fact that he was an unknown to her
just like the drunkard.
But she instinctively knew
that her chances of safety were far better with the blonde man helping her than
the drunk one threatening her.
“And you.” He turned to her
would-be harasser. “I assume you would like all of your limbs to stay attached
to your body?”
Harriet felt her jaw drop at
the words, so softly spoken, so calm.
“Er – yes?”
The attacker sounded as
confused as Harriet felt.
“Excellent.” The man was all
politeness and joviality once again. “Then remove your hand from her arm, and
remove yourself from the vicinity, and we’ll all get what we want.”
Harriet’s arm was immediately
released as the drunk stumbled backwards.
“I – I didn’t know that she –
that you and she –”
“Well, now you do,” the man
quietly interrupted the slurred rambling. “So, be on your way.”
Harriet watched in both relief
and confusion as her harasser beat a hasty retreat, nearly falling over himself
as he stumbled away.
The silence in his wake was
deafening.
Harriet turned once more to stare
in consternation at the overly familiar man.
The grin on his face could
charm birds from the trees.
About Nadine Millard:
Nadine Millard is a romance author hailing
from Dublin, Ireland.
Having studied and then worked in law for a
number of years, Nadine began to live her dream of writing when she had the
first of her three children.
She released her first book in 2014 and has
been writing ever since.
When she’s not writing, she can be found
reading anything she can get her hands on, running around after her three
children, her cat, her dog, and spending time with her long-suffering husband!
You can find out all about Nadine and her
books at www.nadinemillard.com
Social Media Links:
Interview With Nadine Millard:
1. Can you tell us a little about your books?
I
usually write historicals that don't take themselves TOO seriously. I
might bend the rules a little here and there but I like to think I keep
all the great things about writing from a different time - the clothes,
the glamour, the balls, and the dashing lords of course.
2. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Oh gosh! I've written thirteen (gulp) full length novels and lots (and lots!) of novellas. I tend to write in series' but all of my books can be read as standalones. Less "series" I guess, and more inter-connected. As for my favourite - eek! I don't know! Every time I write a new one I think ok this is DEFINITELY my favourite...and then I write the next, lol! Although I have to admit that my Royals of Aldonia Series was pretty amazing to write because I got to make up a country AND write swoony romance - but with crowns for that extra sigh factor :)
3. Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I
usually do but thanks to coronavirus that's pretty much gone out the
window. Usually my three children are out at school from 9 - 2.30 and
3.30 respectively so I do most of my writing and admin stuff then. But
right now I'm homeschooling AND trying to write so bye-bye structure,
hello pandemic hair and an increase in caffeine consumption that REALLY
shouldn't have been increased!
4. Do you have a release day tradition?
My daughter who's 11 bakes me a different cake every time I have a release which is just so sweet. For Protecting The Princess she made a giant chocolate chip cookie with pink mirror glaze. I gotta say, if ever I lose motivation to write, the baked goods thing really helps push me. And I always have a glass of sparkling wine on the day I write "then end" on a book.
5. If you could be friends with one of your character, which one would you chose?
Ooh, that's a great question. So many! Rebecca from An Unlikely Duchess would be fun to hang out with but you'd definitely have to expect the unexpected. Evelyn from Highway Revenge is awesome but might get you arrested. Gabrielle from The Spy's Revenge is an actual spy so that would be very cool. Maybe Amelia from The Devil of Dashford Manor because she's smart, sassy, and doesn't suffer fools gladly which I love!
6. For someone who hasn't read any of you books yet, which one would you suggest they read first?
I would say any of my first in series so An Unlikely Duchess, Highway Revenge, The Monster of Montvale Hall, or The Hidden Prince. The Monster of Montvale Hall has a hero who has proven VERY popular with readers so maybe start with him ;)
For contemporary it would be Can't Escape My Love which is available in the Love Under Lockdown boxset and is a hoot!
7. If your fairy godmother waved her wand and whisked you away to the location of your choice, which place would you choose?
This is a really tough question for me because I literally want to go EVERYWHERE. I've been all over Europe, and I've been to Morocco, and Egypt...but I think right now I'd go to Colorado, or Wyoming, or Montana. Staying on a dude ranch is currently on the top of my bucket list :)
8. What writing projects are you currently working on?
Right
now I'm writing Can't Buy Me Love which is the second in series from
Can't Escape My Love. And I'm working on my A Lord For All Seasons
books, the first of which will be out this year. So I'm super busy but
loving it! I'm also in the middle of a really cool Christmas project
that I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about yet but let's just say it's
the retelling of a very well known, and not very well liked Christmas
character ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment