Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 16 December 30th Gerard had wearied of staring at his bedroom walls while submitting to another poultice, so after Maddox had removed it, he went to stretch his legs. The drawing room was stuffed, like a meat pie, but with chattering young women discussing their gowns for the New Year's Eve dinner party the next evening. Gerard sneaked past the doorway and headed instead to the music room, where he heard the laughter of children. For most of the year, the ballroom at Wintrell Hall served as the music room on one side, and store-room on the other half, separated by some painted folding screens. He didn't realize until he entered the room that he had hoped to see Miranda there, but it was the governess at the pianoforte while the girls still in the schoolr...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 15 The bell to dress for dinner had already rung, but something drew Laura, Lady Wynwood, past her bedroom and up the stairs to an older section of the house. She followed a winding route she remembered well from her childhood, taking her from staircase to hallway to staircase, always climbing upward. At the top of the last narrow set of stairs, she wrestled with the door, but it eventually flung open to the pressure of her shoulder against it, and she was out on the rooftop of Wintrell Hall. The brick cupola, slit with glass to let light fall into the great front hall far below, was flanked by two small turrets, one containing the door out of which she stepped. The wind whistled harder at this height, but she’d brought her fur-edged cloak, and the fresh bite of the...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 14 Gerard almost didn’t notice the footman. He wanted to say it was because he was distracted, but in reality, it was because Michael was that accomplished. After Miranda left him, Gerard was too cold to remain out of doors and was seeking the comfort of his fire and perhaps a pot of tea with a splash of whiskey in it for good measure. However, the way to his bedroom was blocked by footmen leaving the music room, each carrying some chairs which had been stored there. They headed toward the drawing room, and Gerard guessed that the extra chairs were for the guests tonight. Felicity had planned a lavish dinner party for this evening. A certain footman passed Gerard, his ill-fitting livery looking as though it had been made for someone else. At first, the man’s face ...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 13 December 29th She was wearing his scarf. Gerard made his way out through the portico on the south side of the house, placing the crutches carefully on the icy stones. It had snowed last night, a few inches, and the children were having a rousing snowball fight on the south lawn. Miranda sat on a bench at the edge of the flagstone terrace, and his red and black scarf around her neck was a splash of color on the white landscape beyond her. She turned and saw him as he exited the house. Her face was pale, and for a moment she looked apprehensive. Then she gave a small smile that commanded the wind and waves of his anxiety to be still. The air sliced through his nose and lungs, but despite the cold, he reveled in the clean scent of freshly fallen snow, of firs an...

I want to confess that I am a total sucker for emotional manipulation in visual media. Whenever you’re supposed to cry in a movie, I’m sobbing. I will even cry during certain commercials, especially those touching ones that air around Christmas. And I will always start craving food when I see commercials for them, especially the ones showing pizza, fried chicken, and french fries. So I shouldn’t be surprised that when I was watching a Chinese romantic comedy TV series on Netflix, I was completely influenced by a certain character who appeared around midseason who loves making Chinese tea Gongfu style. In fact, he was making tea in practically every episode after he was introduced. I tried Gongfu style tea brewing when I first did my reviews of Adagio/Masters Teas a few months ago. I had done research on it, but apparently there are lots of different articles on Gongfu, which give different amounts of tea, water temps, and steeping times. I don’t know if the method I used then was...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 12 December 28th The next morning, as Gerard lounged in bed wearing a banyan, Maddox asked in long-suffering accents, “Will you attend the skating party today, sir?” He hesitated before answering. He had no wish to be cooped up, but he also had no wish to sit on the sidelines with the women, or worse, to be shoved about on the ice in a sled like an old man. It was also a jostling carriage ride to the particular lake that had frozen over enough for skating. There was a knock at the door, and Maddox had no sooner opened it than Miranda's voice asked, “Is he giving you a bear garden jaw, Maddox? Or is he pouting and refusing to stir?” “Neither, you heartless wench,” Gerard shouted to the open door. “I have another poultice,” came the disembodied voice. “I...

I know this news is a bit last minute, but I volunteered to be a last-minute replacement for our church’s worship leader tomorrow, and our church service will be streamed online so if you’d like, come watch. It starts exactly at 9:45 am West Coast time, and the service runs for about an hour (it might be less). For the first song, I’m singing one of my favorites, “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells , which I’m actually rather excited about. It think it’s pretty appropriate for current events, but also I really love the message of the song. I've walked among the shadows You wiped my tears away And I've felt the pain of heartbreak And I've seen the brighter days And I've prayed prayers to Heaven From my lowest place And I have held Your blessings God, You give and take away No matter what I have, Your grace is enough No matter where I am, I'm standing in Your love On the mountains, I will bow my life To the One who set me there In the valley, I w...