If He’s
Daring
Wherlocke
# 6
By: Hannah Howell
Releasing October 7th, 2014
Zebra / Kensington
In a dazzling new novel in the
Wherlocke family saga, New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell creates
an unforgettable story of intrigue, jeopardy, and desire…
Stealing a
stranger’s carriage is the second most reckless thing Lady Catryn Gryffin de
Warrenne has ever done. The first is succumbing to her powerful attraction to
the carriage’s owner. Catryn has heard the rumors about Sir Orion Wherlocke’s
family and their otherworldly gifts. He’s the one person who can keep her son
and his inheritance safe from her late husband’s ruthless brother. As for how
to protect herself…it may be too late for that.
Orion is facing the
worst danger a man of his ilk can find: a woman he can’t walk away from. Catryn
is an intoxicating blend of innocence and sensuality, and for the first time,
seduction is far more than a game. But her beauty and fortune have made her a
target—one that will dare him to risk everything he’s known—in pursuit of
everything he’s ever longed for…
Catryn checked her
saddle and saddle pack to make certain both were secure before swinging up onto
the back of her mare. She had packed enough to sustain her if she had to chase
Morris down to the de Warrenne country house, but sincerely hoped she did not
have to. Although she was a good rider, she had not ridden any great distances
for a long time.
Fury warmed her blood as she rode
through the cool, misty streets of London towards Morris’s town house. The man
had been a thorn in her side from the moment her useless husband had breathed
his last, but this act went far beyond being a nuisance. For a moment she
considered setting the authorities on his trail, but she was not sure who to go
to or if she could even afford such help. Legal help of any kind did not come
cheaply and, after so many court battles with her brother-in-law, both her and
her father’s purses were painfully light.
Just as she rode within sight of
Morris’s town house she saw him shoving a thrashing, screaming Alwyn into his
carriage. Shouting at him to halt gained her only a hard glare before he joined
her son in the carriage, which began to move. The heavy traffic upon the road
made a swift escape impossible, but it also slowed down all her attempts to
catch up with him.
Cursing softly, she did her best to
gain enough speed to overtake Morris’s carriage, but the only thing she was
able to do was keep him in sight. Catryn knew he would soon reach a road that
lead out of the city. If she could not catch him before then she would quickly
lose sight of him. Her mare was a fast, sturdy creature, but the animal could
not outrun a carriage pulled by four strong horses.
“Never expected him to actually
leave the city, Sorley,” she muttered to her horse. “Am certainly readied for a
journey but truly did not expect, or wish, to make one.”
Ignoring the curse shouted at her by
the man she splattered with much as she wove her way though the crowded
streets, she struggled not to lose sight of Morris’s carriage. It troubled her
when she realized they would soon leave the part of the city she knew well,
might even pass through the more dangerous streets. Even as a child she had
been sternly warned about the dark, filthy, and dangerous streets where the
desperate poor and the criminals lived. Catryn prayed that Morris’s carriage
would soon turn away from that rapidly approaching peril.
A moment later Morris’s carriage
took a left turn and she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly moved to follow
him, only to see several small boys rush into the street to pick up the coins
Morris had tossed out of the carriage. In her frantic attempts to avoid
trampling the children, Sorley reared and then stumbled as its hooves hit the
cobblestones again. Once she was safely through the crowd, Catryn realized that
the hasty prayer she had uttered that they would all survive the brief
confrontation unharmed had not been answered. Sorely’s gait was no longer
smooth.
Moving to the far edge of the
street, Catryn dismounted and began to walk her horse, closely studying the way
the animal moved. The injury was not a bad one, just soreness in the muscle or
hoof but there would be no more chasing Morris on horseback now. Not only would
continuing to ride Sorely worsen the mare’s injury, but she would have no
chance of catching the man while riding an injured horse. She would have to
come up with another way to chase after the man. Fighting the strong urge to
weep or scream, Catryn walked along trying to think of what she could do.
Then she saw it. It was like a
miraculous answer to her prayers. The carriage stood in front of a pleasant
town house, ready to be driven away. It was being idly polished by a liveried
servant as the man waited for the passenger to arrive. Catryn’s heart pounded
with excitement and terror as a desperate plan formed in her mind. Stealing a
carriage was a hanging offense, she reminded herself as she approached the
vehicle and the servant, but she might find some mercy for her actions since
she was attempting to rescue her kidnapped son.
“Can I be of some help, ma’am?”
asked the servant when she halted in front of him, dismounted and yanked her
saddlebags off her horse.
“Why, yes, I believe you can.” She
pulled her pistol from a hidden pocket in her skirts and aimed it at the man.
“I have need of this carriage.”
Orion was a bit a charmer, but we didn't get to see too much of that, or have it cause any problems between him and Catryn. I loved the way he cared for his son Giles, even though he had only recently met him. Having never known love as a child, he doesn't even know what exactly he feels. That only lasts until he meets Catryn and is finds himself wanting the wife and family he didn't think he could have.
Catryn has a hard time trusting men, but finds herself trusting Orion with not only her safety, but that of her kidnapped son. No man has brought our her passionate side, until she meets Orion. She eventually gives in to her feelings, and decides to become his lover while they are on their trip. She knows that the affair will end, more than likely when they rescue her son. She figures that their time together will be enough, and she will have the memories to sustain her.
This was the first book I read from this series, and it can be read as a stand-alone. What an interesting lot of people we come across with the Wherlocke and Vaughn families. I found this to be a very interesting historical romance with a bit of paranormal thrown in. I can honestly say that I have never read a book with a similar plot. It was nice to see the author take a different route from other books in the same genre.
*ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Orion was a bit a charmer, but we didn't get to see too much of that, or have it cause any problems between him and Catryn. I loved the way he cared for his son Giles, even though he had only recently met him. Having never known love as a child, he doesn't even know what exactly he feels. That only lasts until he meets Catryn and is finds himself wanting the wife and family he didn't think he could have.
Catryn has a hard time trusting men, but finds herself trusting Orion with not only her safety, but that of her kidnapped son. No man has brought our her passionate side, until she meets Orion. She eventually gives in to her feelings, and decides to become his lover while they are on their trip. She knows that the affair will end, more than likely when they rescue her son. She figures that their time together will be enough, and she will have the memories to sustain her.
This was the first book I read from this series, and it can be read as a stand-alone. What an interesting lot of people we come across with the Wherlocke and Vaughn families. I found this to be a very interesting historical romance with a bit of paranormal thrown in. I can honestly say that I have never read a book with a similar plot. It was nice to see the author take a different route from other books in the same genre.
*ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hannah Howell is
the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 Zebra
historical romances. Howell, twice awarded the Golden Leaf Award, has been a
Romance Writers of America RITA Finalist and received RT Book Reviews’ Career
Achievement Award for Historical Storyteller of the Year. She lives West
Newbury, Massachusetts with her family. Visit her website at hannahhowell.com.
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