Laurel Ames - Nancy Whiskey

Cover Page

Excerpt Some fragrance stirred his brain, like a wisp of fog reaching out to him, cooling and calming, to bathe away the feverish night horrors. Daniel raised an eyelid and realized it was Nancy’s hair, the clean-washed scent of her snuggled against his chest. She must have slept beside him to keep him from thrashing in the night, for her arms enfolded him still. She was awake, watching Trueblood build up the fire, waiting for him to wake up, as well. He felt a strange reluctance to do so, to break the spell of her caring. Sleep was all he wanted so long as she was beside him, yet he greedily kept himself awake so as not to lose one moment of her nearness. He shut his eyes gently and concentrated on feeling the pressure of her hands, the feathering of her hair against his cheek….

Dear Reader Dear Reader, Talented author Laurel Ames crosses the ocean to a young America for the setting of her newest book, Nancy Whiskey, the story of a daring British nurse and an American spy who discover love and adventure on a journey across the wilds of Pennsylvania, despite incredible hardships. Don’t miss this delightful tale from an author whom Affaire de Coeur describes as “…excitingly original….” In Quicksilver’s Catch by USA Today bestselling author Mary McBride, a runaway heiress throws herself at the mercy of a tough-as-nails bounty hunter who is determined to make as much money as he can from their association, if she doesn’t drive him to drink first. And Margaret Moore’s The Rogue’s Return is the next installment in her MOST UNSUITABLE…series set in Victorian England. In this story, from one of our most popular authors, a devil-maycare nobleman finds redemption in the arms of a respectable woman. Our fourth title for the month is Outlaw Wife by Ana Seymour, a bittersweet Western about the daughter of a notorious outlaw who loses her heart to the rancher who saves her from jail. Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you enjoy all of our books, available wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold. Sincerely, Tracy Farrell Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Harlequin Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page Nancy Whiskey Laurel Ames www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author LAUREL AMES Although Laurel Ames likes to write stories set in the early nineteenth century, she writes from personal experience. She and her husband live on a farm, complete with five horses, a log springhouse, carriage house and a smokehouse made of bricks kilned on the farm. Of her characters, Laurel says, “With the exception of the horses, my characters, both male and female; good and evil, all are me and no one else.”

Dedciation For reenactors everywhere, who keep history and its lessons alive.

Prologue Prologue Summer, 1793 “Nancy! You are back, finally, though I almost wish you had not come home”, Aunt Jane said, wringing her hands. “We might then have been able to put him off, even hide you from him.” “Who? Reverend Bently?” Nancy asked distractedly as she set down her basket of medicines in the hall and undid the ties of her cloak. “What? No, of course not. Your father has come.” “But how is that possible?” Nancy asked, her blue eyes alight with excitement. “I thought he was dead.” “He is sitting in the library drinking a whiskey and demanding to see you.” “I must go to him, then.” She tucked her long blond hair behind her ears and smoothed her work gown. “But he means to take you away with him.” “To the army?” She looked expectantly at her diminutive aunt. “Nancy, he means to carry you to America,” Jane said tearfully. Nancy rushed into the library, torn between excitement and fear. The man she encountered was not what she had expected. He was old, for one thing, his face red-veined from a life of hard drinking, and at the moment, also suffused with anger. “Ah, Nancy dearie”, he said, changing his scowl to a smile as he rose to embrace her. “Ye’ve the look o’ yer dear mother. I would have known ye anywhere.” She looked to her uncle for confirmation that this was her father, and he nodded sadly. “I do not understand,” she said, stepping back. “You are going to America? But there is no war in America.” “No, but there’s land, Nancy, and opportunity fer an adventuresome man. I’ve left the army and I’ve a bit o’ money by me now. Tis my one chance fer a life. Ye mean ta say ye will nay come with me?” the Irishman pleaded in his lilting voice. Nancy hesitated, all eyes upon her. Oddly, she thought not of her papa, whom she had never known, nor of her aunt and uncle who had raised her, but of the somber Reverend Bently, whose imminent marriage proposal she could now escape. She pictured him fuming at her departure. “Yes…I will come.” “Wot did I tell ye? She’s a plucky lass, fer all ye’ve cosseted her like one o’ yer own. I’m not unmindful o’ that, and I thank ye heartily, but she’s my dotter when all’s said and done, and I’ve a right ta have her by me in me last years.” As this impassioned speech put an end to all argument, even from Nancy’s now-tearful aunt, Nancy fled upstairs to pack her trunks and fend off the questions of her younger cousins about her coming journey.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Copyright

cooling and calming, to bathe away the feverish night horrors. Daniel raised an eyelid and realized it was Nancy’s hair, the clean-washed scent of her snuggled against his chest. She must have slept beside him to keep him from thrashing in the night, for her arms enfolded him still. She was awake, watching Trueblood build up the fire, waiting for him to wake up, as well.

He felt a strange reluctance to do so, to break the spell of her caring. Sleep was all he wanted so long as she was beside him, yet he greedily kept himself awake so as not to lose one moment of her nearness. He shut his eyes gently and concentrated on feeling the pressure of her hands, the feathering of her hair against his cheek….

Dear Reader,

Talented author Laurel Ames crosses the ocean to a young America for the setting of her newest book, Nancy Whiskey, the story of a daring British nurse and an American spy who discover love and adventure on a journey across the wilds of Pennsylvania, despite incredible hardships. Don’t miss this delightful tale from an author whom Affaire de Coeur describes as “…excitingly original….”

In Quicksilver’s Catch by USA Today bestselling author Mary McBride, a runaway heiress throws herself at the mercy of a tough-as-nails bounty hunter who is determined to make as much money as he can from their association, if she doesn’t drive him to drink first. And Margaret Moore’s The Rogue’s Return is the next installment in her MOST UNSUITABLE…series set in Victorian England. In this story, from one of our most popular authors, a devil-maycare nobleman finds redemption in the arms of a respectable woman.

Our fourth title for the month is Outlaw Wife by Ana Seymour, a bittersweet Western about the daughter of a notorious outlaw who loses her heart to the rancher who saves her from jail.

Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you enjoy all of our books, available wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold.