What a tease!

THE GENTLEMAN JEWEL THIEF debuts in nine days (not like I'm counting or anything!). In honor of this first single-digit day, I thought I'd share a teaser from the book. Check back for increasingly egregious teases as we get closer to the big day!

STOLEN HEARTS

Lady Violet suddenly grew very still; the color faded from her cheeks, and her smile drew itself into a frown. He watched her eyes go wide as the realization dawned on her, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place at last.

Somewhere behind them, birds twittered and flitted about them; the springtime afternoon marched onward as if today was but one of a string of simple, idle days, each the same as the last.

But for Harclay and Lady Violet, today was not quite so simple, nor so idle. It was suddenly complicated, mined with explosive truths and well-played deceptions and a most thrilling episode of physical encounter. It was impossible, it was improbable.

And great God above, it thrilled Harclay to no end. He hadn’t felt such excitement since he was a boy, and allowed to accompany his father on the hunt for the first time. He would never forget the way the rifle felt in his hands, the pounding of his heart as he took aim.

Granted, he’d ended up shooting the poor loader in the arse, a crime for which dear papa had whipped him senseless. But the thrill remained imprinted on Harclay’s imagination nonetheless; the same thrill he now experienced under the accusatory gaze of Lady Violet Rutledge.

She took a deep breath, all the while her blue-grey eyes never leaving his.  “It’s you, isn’t it?” she said, swallowing. “You’re the thief who stole the French Blue!”