
Title: The Glass Coffin
Author: Kelly Martin
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Blue Tulip Publishing
Hosted by: Lady Amberâs PR
Blurb:
Gertrude "Trudy" Dodsworth wants nothing more than to be with the love of her life, William Haddington, Earl of Waverly. Her father, the evil "sin collector" Frederick Dodsworth, forbids the union and sends Trudy and her mother far away to a town called Everdale. While there, Trudy catches the eye of the roguishly handsome and very controlling, Lawson Stockwell--also an earl. He asks for her hand in marriage. Trudy reluctantly agrees for the sake of her mother who has fallen suddenly ill. William Haddington has hit a new low. Once thought of as a virtuous man, William has fallen from grace. Laden heavy with guilt, he trudges through life carrying the burden that is his to bear. He set the fire that disfigured Nicholas Wellington, The Beast of Ravenston. William goes to Everdale to start over, become himself again, try to move on, but when he sees the love of his life, Trudy, arm in arm with another man, he falls back into the bottle. When the "gifts" begin appearing on his doorstep, William has no doubt they are from Lord Ra-venston, who is known to get revenge on those who hurt him. With time running out and his love for Trudy tearing him apart, William must decide if he will give into his feelings for her or force her to hate him forever. Because The Beast is coming to Everdale. And he's coming to make William suffer. Based on Sleeping Beauty
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Only stalkers and men of ill-repute watched women from behind street corners and lampposts and carriages. William felt like both, but he could not keep her out of his sight.
Heâd only just arrived in Everdale an hour before, and, to his surprise, he saw her immediately, Trudy, not fifteen paces away. He should have talked to her. Instead, heâd hidden.
William was a coward. He felt like a coward. He did cowardly things out of fear. Fear, his biggest weakness.
Fear made men do strange and peculiar things.
Fear made men travel hundreds of miles away from home to stay alive. Fear made men drink more than they should to forget the past â though William hadnât drank in over five days, since heâd first left Darenset. And he felt it too. Every bit of him begged for a drink, only one, to take the edge off. Only one to chase the nightmares away.
Without the alcohol, William dreamed. In his dreams, he remembered everything. The fire. Lord Ravenstonâs face. Losing Trudy. Blackmail by Mr. Dodsworth â a man even more evil than himself. Mr. Dodsworth was a 'sin collector', a man who collected the misdeeds of both the titled and commoners and used them against anyone he wished when the time suited him. Though William knew he shouldn't judge. He had no way of being saved. What heâd done⦠He would never be forgiven. He didnât deserve it.
He hadnât meant to set the fire. No, that was a lie. Heâd meant exactly to set the fire. Revenge and all. Heâd just never meant for anyone to get hurt.
The fact that someone had, Nicholas Wellington â the Beast â well, it was fitting. William knew heâd never be forgiven. Not for the fire or what heâd done to his best friend, Vaughan, Earl of Brighton.
But, even with all that, even with the fact that he knew heâd spend his eternity in hell, William made the conscious decision to not drink â to try, try, to do good. He might never, in his mind, make it to the Pearly Gates, but he would do his damnedest to never hurt another living soul.
He never should have chosen Everdale; he knew that now. Not after he saw her. He should have hopped right back on the first carriage out of town and headed⦠somewhere. Anywhere. This was supposed to be a place to start over, refresh, and move on.
How could he move on with her beautiful face taunting him?
So, he crouched behind carriages and behind corners, watching, waiting, and gawking.
The first time his gaze had slid passed her, he hadnât recognized her.
Gertrude â Trudy â Dodsworth had become more of a lady since that fateful night six months ago. Her long red hair that had always lain in unruly curls, the tresses he wanted so much to run his fingers through, to pull her toward him and take her lips on his, was piled atop her head like all the proper ladies. William understood pomp and circumstance. He understood the ways of the world, more than most. However, he missed seeing those wild locks. The girl who, though wealthy and well-brought-up, always had a wildness about her. But not around her father. No, she was too smart for that. Frederick Dodsworth would have scared the devil. He sure as hell scared William.
Around her father, Trudy was the perfect lady. Around William, it was completely different.
In Darenset, their encounters had come about unintentionally at first. Theyâd run into each other, literally, as he rounded a street corner on the way to Vaughanâs residence, and sheâd come bounding around the other direction. Sheâd ended up on her bottom. William had wound up red-faced and apologetic.
Then, the most wonderful thing had happened.
Sheâd laughed.
A proper young lady, laughed at him â not at him. Not like heâd done something wrong, but a light-hearted chuckle. People around them had stopped and stared, but the girl hadnât seemed to mind. Sheâd taken Williamâs extended hand, and heâd pulled her upright.
Heâd found out later that sheâd escaped her chaperone because sheâd only wanted a few minutes to herself. Her father wouldnât allow it. Trudy had always assumed heâd been afraid someone would hurt her. William figured it was because he had to control every single situation. Even his daughter.
Especially his daughter.
Time went on, and they continued to run into each other. William found that he looked forward to those meetings most in the world. Not the ones with the important folks that he had to attend. No, he daydreamed about Trudy, about pulling her into his arms, about things he knew he should not even consider.
Then came her ball, her coming-out party. And William had never felt more alive⦠and more scared. Heâd known it meant that sheâd start courting. Other men would be able to meet her, unless he asked her father for her hand. William had a title, a good title, anybody â well, most people â would love their daughter to marry above her station.
Not Mr. Dodsworth.
The answer had sullied Williamâs spirit, and heâd done something he never in his life imagined heâd do; he had set a blaze to Dodsworthâs textile factory.
Heâd stood there and watched it burn.
1 Comment
4/19/2016 09:24:28 pm
Thank you for having The Glass Coffin on your blog. I appreciate it very much <3 ~Kelly
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