Regency Women, Money & Men -- And My New Release!

There was many a woman and her children in the Regency who had to make do with little after living a grand life… actually there are women still today who deal with this but that’s a topic for a different blogsite.

When you think of widows being removed from their homes and having to survive off of what meager means were left to them or the charity of friends and family, while some far off male relative lives in the house they used to inhabit, Mr. Collins comes to mind. Do you recall Mr. Collins? Oh, the silly little man…the bane of Elizabeth’s existence…

Just because a woman was taken care of before her husband died, didn’t mean she’d be taken care of when he was gone. If a man held a title, and that title owned the property, and could only be transferred to the next legitimate male heir, and that man happened to only have daughters, when he passed on, his wife and daughters would have to vacate the premises if the male heir so deigned it—and more often than not, he would. They might be left with a meager yearly allowance from the estate, which she would have to make do with until or unless she re-married, or was able to live off of her daughters marriages.

Everything seemed to come down to living off of someone else. Unless you were lucky enough to be left a substantial inheritance which would make you wealthy in your own right, or the peerage title could be passed to a female.

In my newest release, Her Captain Surrenders, the 2nd story in my Regency Men of the Sea series, I wanted a strong willed widow. A woman who was wealthy in her own right, and didn’t have to get married for money. Juliette can survive on her own, and simply wants a lover. A man she could share things with, a companion and best friend.

She finds that in one Captain Nathaniel Cruise. When she falls in love with him, it isn’t a worry for her that he doesn’t hold a title, she is free to pursue him, free to follow her heart—and he leads her on a merry chase!

Blurb:

Captain Nathaniel Cruise has a job to do. But what happens when a beautiful woman tempts him to turn his eye from his duties to pursue more…pleasurable entertainments? Not only that, the woman has a wit and intelligence that rivals his own and he finds himself falling deeper and harder for her.


Lady Juliette Blackburn, knows what she wants, and she wants Captain Cruise. A rich widow in her own right, she’s decided to take her love life in her own hands. However, at every turn the man of her dreams is running away from her. She’ll have to keep up a subtle chase to discreetly reel him in.

Despite their mutual attraction something darker is pulling them together. A rogue former lover of Juliette’s is the main suspect in Nathaniel’s investigation, and now he’s threatening both their livelihoods. Together they’ll fight the villain and perhaps on the way Nathaniel and Juliette will surrender to love.


“Author Eliza Knight delivers maximum heat per page in HER CAPTAIN SURRENDERS. Confirmed bachelor Captain Nathaniel Cruise meets his match in Lady Juliette Blackburn whose aim is matrimony. Captain Cruise must uncover a traitor to the Crown while resisting Juliette’s sizzling advances. Their lives depend on his success. HER CAPTAIN SURRENDERS is a sexy romp that keeps you guessing right to the end.”

~Sarah Richmond,
author of award winning ROSE ADAGIO


Excerpt

“Captain Cruise.” His hostess Lady Challedon came up behind him. “May I introduce to you to a dear friend?”

Nathaniel swallowed his distaste at meeting another groom hunter, and turned to gaze into the most stunning pair of lavender eyes, made all the more brilliant by a frame of thick, curling black lashes. Lady Blackburn. For a moment he was struck dumb. They’d never been formally introduced, yet he’d seen her everywhere, the park, ballrooms, Covent Garden, and dinner parties. And she had seen him. More than once, he’d looked up to find her eyes on him but he’d been too preoccupied helping Captain Montgomery, the Earl of Stafford, to beg an introduction. He’d managed to find out her name, that she was a widow, and little else.

“My pleasure, ladies.”

He bowed. She curtsied. Nathaniel let his gaze fall to where full breasts pushed the limits of her silvery gown. His gaze lingered on her breasts a scant moment longer before traveling the length of her narrow waist and rounded hips. The curves of her figure promised to be a lush experience for any man. His body stirred to life with the thought. Perhaps he could persuade her to enjoy a night with him.

He caught his bearings and managed a polite, “Lady Blackburn, would you care to honor me with a dance?”

“I should like that very much.”
Deep golden blonde hair, with hints of coral red, bobbed atop her delicate head as she nodded. She slipped her arm into the crook of his elbow, and gazed up at him. Her touch sent a shocking hunger racing through his veins. He’d never reacted this way to a woman before.
Get ahold of yourself, Nathaniel! He felt like an adolescent rather than the two and thirty years he was.

“Captain Cruise, I seem to be running into you quite often. Are you enjoying the Season?”

He paused a moment before answering. He couldn’t tell her he would rather chew off his own arm than attend another ball. He should let her know he didn’t intend to tarry long in London. The sea called his name, begged him to return, and he planned to answer as soon as he possibly could.

“’Tis a most fascinating way to distract myself until I return to my ship.” Nathaniel glanced at the lady to gage her reaction.

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked away, as if trying to hide her disappointment.

“What is the name of your ship, Captain?” Her voice held a note of pique. Was she a saucy lady then?

Contest.... answer this question: Which British monarch abdicated the throne in order to marry his love, an American divorcee?

Email your answer to writer@elizaknight.com for a chance to win a copy of BOTH Her Captain Returns and Her Captain Surrenders.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Eliza
Visit me at http://www.elizaknight.com/

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