Josie Dennis
Classics Rekindled 7
Return to Norrington Abbey
Isabella Thorne is an heiress with no desire to marry. Men fall in love with her, but she never gives her heart. When she meets Captain Frederick Tilman at Norrington Abbey, that changes. She's wildly attracted to him, but his blatant sensuality frightens her.
James Morris, her sister-in-law's brother, is quite different from Frederick. He's warm and affectionate but just as attractive. When he orders her to stay away from Frederick, she balks. No man dares to tell her what to do!
Frederick knows Isabella is smitten with James, who says he wants a future with her. For the first time in his life, Frederick wants that, too. But Isabella is torn between them, certain she can never hold two men's hearts. James might stay true, but she's afraid she'll never be enough for Frederick.
Will she surrender her heart at last and perhaps earn both of theirs in return?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among the men.
Genre:
Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length:
23,559 words
Classics Rekindled 7
Josie Dennis
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
RETURN TO NORRINGTON ABBEY
E-book ISBN:
1-61926-544-3
First E-book Publication: April 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Return to Norrington Abbey
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RETURN TO NORRINGTON ABBEY
Classics Rekindled 7
JOSIE DENNIS
Copyright © 2012
England, 1815
Isabella Thorne stared out one of the tall windows in the grand parlor of her family’s home, all at sixes and sevens. She had no correspondence to occupy her and, though March had nearly passed, it was still damp and chilly in their part of Somersetshire. Far too dismal for a walk about the grounds, even if the sky wasn’t already growing dark. Besides, there was no one to accompany her.
Her brother and his wife of six months, Catherine, were busy doing newly married things, and her brother’s friend and steward, Henry Tilman, was out and about on estate business. She blew a curl away from her cheek and sat on the settee beside the marble hearth. There was more to the relationship among the three of them. She was sure of it. It was obvious her sister-in-law was quite fond of Henry, and her brother didn’t seem to mind that fact. It was passing strange.
At least Catherine’s brother James had recently come to Thorne Manor. At first she envisioned him as a diversion, a man to flirt with as she was wont to do when in London. However, in the past month since his arrival, she’d realized he was unlike most of the gentlemen of her acquaintance. He was warm and kind, though he seemed frustratingly immune to her teasing. Oh, he received her coquettish comments and looks with apparent pleasure, but it seemed less likely with each passing day that he would profess his love for her. Not that she wanted it, of course. Securing a man’s affections was something of a sport for her, and she was piqued that he didn’t seem to want to play the game.
He was deuced handsome, though, in that bright way Catherine had about her. Thick black hair, deep blue eyes, and a smile that caused her insides to heat. His mouth was beautifully shaped, without that sardonic twist she’d once found so captivating. Unbidden, thoughts of another man intruded on her pleasant musings. Captain Frederick Tilman, Henry’s brother.
Frederick was dashing and handsome, and just the recollection of his tall, imposing form made her heart skip a beat. True, she hadn’t seen him in seven months, not since they’d all visited the Tilman’s ancient family home, Norrington Abbey. He’d flirted as wildly as she, to her delight and satisfaction. Though now, in the safety of Thorne Manor, she could admit to herself that he’d frightened her to her very toes. He was so blatantly sensual and, from what she’d gleaned of his reputation during that visit, he was accustomed to taking a woman and leaving her with little more than memories. Her woman’s flesh pulsed to life, and she shifted on the settee. Oh, but what memories they would be.
“Are you here alone, Isabella?” a feminine voice said from the doorway.
She turned her head to see Catherine enter the room. She flashed a genuine smile at her sister-in-law. “As you see, Catherine. Where is John?”
“Your brother and Henry are closeted in John’s study.” Catherine perched on the settee across from her, settling her skirts around her. Isabella took a quick perusal of her. Catherine’s face glowed and her eyes sparkled.
“I suppose I cannot begrudge them a bit of work at last,” Catherine said.
Isabella could guess what put that color in Catherine’s cheeks. She’d seen the heat between her brother and his wife from the start and couldn’t be happier for the both of them. Their connection to Henry was less clear, however. Perhaps she should ask James what he thought of their odd arrangement.
“And where is my brother?” Catherine asked as if she could read Isabella’s mind. “It is nearly the dinner hour.”
She’d been wondering that herself, blast him, and Catherine seemed to know it. “I have no notion.”
Catherine shook her head. “James does not like to remain idle. No doubt he went into the village.”
Isabella bit her tongue to keep in a waspish response. He could have asked her to go with him. There was little to captivate her among the shops in nearby Martock, true, but it would have filled a few hours of her day at least. She sniffed to herself. Perhaps he was afraid she would once more dare him to kiss her.
“Sister,” the man himself said as he entered the parlor. He dipped his head in Isabella’s direction. “Isabella.”
Her heart jumped at the sight of him. Oh, he looked so fit and handsome today! He was dressed in somber black, but his shirt was snowy white and made his blue eyes sparkle. She might have been fantasizing about Frederick Tilman earlier, but with James before her she couldn’t ignore her body’s reaction to him. “Hello, Mr. Morris.”
“James, please.” He smiled, that sunny expression Catherine often wore. “We are nearly brother and sister, are we not?”
That stilled her.
Were they?
The feelings he aroused within her were far from sisterly, that was certain. “James.”
His eyes ran over her, and she felt her breath catch. Should she offer herself to him again? Demand he admit his attraction and kiss her senseless? Her heart clenched at the frightening thought. She kept it locked tight within, and had done so since her come-out. Many men had attempted to win it, but the stubborn muscle refused to yield to any of them. When she’d met Frederick she had dared to hope that might change, to no avail. And now that James filled her every waking thought?
“Ah, there you all are,” her brother John said.
Pulled from her musings, Isabella watched as John bent down to place a kiss on his wife’s cheek. “Hello, love.”
Catherine blushed pink as she smiled up at him. There was such affection between them Isabella couldn’t help but feel woefully out of place. “Just in time for dinner.”
“Did you doubt it?” he asked. “Although Henry’s prodigious notes on the fence repairs to the north side of the property threatened to make us both late.”
“You wish me to be less than thorough?” Henry joined them then, a wide smile on his handsome face. He had his brother’s coloring, all dark hair and eyes, though his eyes lacked Frederick’s devilish glint. “Hello, Catherine.”
Catherine and Henry exchanged a heated glance that caused Isabella’s cheeks to flame. She looked sharply at John, who was merely gazing upon the two of them with obvious affection. It was most perplexing.
“I neglected to divulge a bit of correspondence I received yesterday,” Henry said, settling down beside Isabella. “I wished to work out some matters before bringing it before you all.”
“All of us, Henry?” Isabella asked. “How can your correspondence concern me?”
“You are included in the invitation, Isabella.”
“An invitation?” John’s blond brows drew together. “Do not say the banishment has been lifted.”
“It has,” Henry said.
Catherine sucked in a breath, and Isabella felt a touch of the alarm she saw on her friend’s face. “No.”
“Catherine,” John began, taking her hand. “If the general wishes for us to visit Norrington Abbey perhaps—”
“He ordered me to leave, John.” She turned to face Henry. “Your father does not want to see me there, I’m quite certain.”
“Your father was deliberately cruel to my sister,” James put in. “Why the devil would she wish to endure his company?”
“Apparently he wants to make amends,” Henry said.