At First Sight Saturday with Maureen MacKey

Hello and welcome back to At First Sight Saturday. Today’s guest is author, Lyndi Alexander, who gives us a ‘first sight’ look at her science fiction menage novel, Six Shooter, and introduces us to characters Valeni, Nik/Nikki, and Garrett. Be sure to leave a comment…

Hello and welcome back to At First Sight Saturday. Today’s guest is author, Maureen MacKey, who gives us a ‘first sight’ look at her novel, Lord Peter’s Page, and introduces us to Heroine Charlotte and hero Peter. Be sure to leave a comment to share your thoughts with Maureen.

Excerpt: The placid water mirrored the leafy canopy of leaves and the blue skies above. The pool looked so cool and inviting! The inviting scene made Charlotte keenly aware of how hot and dirty she felt. She clambered halfway up the bank, and saw where the men lay motionless, sleeping in the sun. Then she looked back to the serene water. The temptation was irresistible. She spread her shawl, along with the rest of her clothes, on a bush nearby. Peering around, she reassured herself she was alone, and stepped down into the water.

Oh, but it was glorious! The water was just as cool and fresh as it looked.

She didn’t want to stop, but she dare not stay too long. Reluctantly she swam towards the bank, stepped in the soft mud and grabbed the long shawl from the bushes. She used the rough fabric to towel off and was resignedly pulling on the filthy trousers when she heard a twig snap.She whirled around in horror. There, not five feet away was Lord Peter. Quickly she whipped the shawl in front of her, clutching it tightly.

“How dare you!” gasped Charlotte. “Turn around! This instant!”

“Certainly, Master Charles. But then you had better be prepared to answer some questions. Though I believe I have discovered some answers already.”

Charlotte picked up one of her heavy shoes and threw it at him. It landed squarely in the middle of his back.

He staggered a step. “Ouch!”

“That is just the beginning. When my father finds out what you have done, why, he’ll curry your hide and hang it out to dry! Cyril will, too!”

“I think a light is dawning. I must congratulate you, Miss…”

“Finbury,” Charlotte replied, as haughtily as she could. “Miss Charlotte Finbury. My father is a Baron.”

“Miss Charlotte Finbury. This is the most elaborate ruse I have ever heard of to try to entrap a man into marriage. After spending a night with me in the same chamber at an inn, not to mention this little incident on the stream bank, you are well and truly compromised. Can I expect to see an irate father with a pistol, or perhaps a blunderbuss, coming around the bend?”

“Entrap? Why, you conceited, arrogant coxcomb! As if I would go to all this trouble, not to mention discomfort and embarrassment, to force you to marry me! Why do you think I left London in the first place? If it was marriage I wanted, I could have stayed and gone along with my parents’ wishes.”

She took a deep breath, struggling to regain a modicum of control.

Lord Peter bent down and thoughtfully picked up the shoe she ‘d flung at him.

“If compromising yourself with me was not your aim, why did you threaten me with your father and brother just now?”

“My brother? Oh, you mean Cyril! He is not my brother. He is the man I intend to marry.”

“Poor devil,” murmured Lord Peter.

About Lord Peter’s Page: The match between Baron Finbury’s daughter Charlotte and Lord Satterly seems ideal to everyone but Charlotte. She longs for Cyril, the older brother of a friend. Desperate to escape the arranged marriage, Charlotte runs away from her parent’s Mayfair home on the night of a grand soirée to announce her engagement.

Disguised as a boy, she stows away in a carriage bound for Bath, where her sympathetic aunt lives. At the reins is Lord Peter Randolph, son of the Duke of Wickersham, and his friend Geordie. Hidden in the carriage, Charlotte hopes to get to Bath undetected by the men, but a carriage accident and an unplanned night at an inn makes that plan go awry.

Lord Peter soon sees through her disguise, but not before “the boy” proves to be a hopeless assistant, unable to polish a boot or tie a cravat. When Lord Peter discovers his clumsy page is a young miss, he goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her reputation, even bringing her home to his family’s estate where she is accused of stealing the family rubies.

As Charlotte struggles to clear her name, she realizes the naïve affection she felt for Cyril is nothing compared to the passion she develops for Lord Peter. But is it too late for Lord Peter’s “page” to win his heart?

Available Now: Lord Peter’s Page: A Regency Romance – Kindle edition by Mackey, Maureen. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

About Maureen MacKey: Maureen is an award-winning romance author who also writes mysteries. A California native, she earned degrees in English and journalism and worked as a reporter before getting the courage to pursue her real ambition, writing Regency romances. Now she and her husband live near Portland, Oregon, with their two grown sons and their families nearby. When she’s not writing, she enjoys crafting, crocheting, and taking walks in the rain!