By Kristy McCaffrey
The month of November is known to writers around the world as Nanowrimo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. Many of us sign up to write a 50K book in 30 days. I’ve done this twice before (for my novels THE BLACKBIRD and DEEP BLUE), and it’s a great way to push the creative muscles and silence the inner critic. This month, I worked on a new addition to my Wings of the West series (historical western romances). And I’m happy to report that I hit my goal! However, this isn’t the entire novel since I tend to write 75K books, so I’ll be revising and adding words/scenes over the next few months.
But I thought I’d share a brief unedited excerpt from my Nano manuscript. This is raw stuff, people, so it will likely be tweaked as I edit the story, but it gives you an idea of what I was going for. Also, I don’t have a title for this book yet. Would you like to contribute a suggestion? Hop over to my Facebook page (click here) and leave a comment. I’ll be picking two commenters to win a $10 Amazon giftcard on Sunday, December 6, 2020.
Blurb
Kate Ryan has just been promoted to field agent at the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Her first assignment? Assume the role of “wife” to fellow agent Henry Maguire, already undercover. Only Henry isn’t expecting her …
(Kate Ryan is the daughter of Matt and Molly from THE WREN.)
Excerpt from upcoming Untitled Wings of the West Novel
Location – TBD
1899
Henry scanned the room. Arthur Wingate stood with two gentlemen
involved with the railroad, along with a low-level politician whose name Henry
couldn’t recall at the moment.
Interesting.
He took a sip of his brandy … barely. He had no intention of
clouding his judgment with alcohol this evening. This party was the perfect
opportunity to determine relationships, because that had been something until
now he’d struggled to learn. Asking questions outright was too obvious, and the
players in this game were too savvy for the obvious. Henry needed to blend. And
it had taken him six weeks of undercover work to even get to this point.
“Sir.” A valet drew his attention.
Henry nodded his acknowledgement.
“Your wife has arrived, sir.”
My wife …
What the hell? Louise was here? Now?
The agency had agreed that Louise Foster would be summoned
when Henry sent word. And he hadn’t sent word. Dammit.
“Of course,” Henry replied. “Thank you.”
“Please follow me, sir.”
Henry thought of abandoning the drink he’d been nursing for
the last hour, but instead kept it as he followed the valet through clusters of
people laughing and chattering. In fact, he took a large gulp as he walked, to
soothe his nerves. Sometimes his own rules needed to be amended. This wasn’t a
disaster, he reminded himself. Louise was a good field agent, one he’d worked
with before, and he respected her abilities. If she was here now, there must be
a good reason. While his cover had included a wife, Henry rather liked working
alone, and he’d told Jonesy, his boss, that Louise could join him when it
seemed absolutely necessary. And it hadn’t been necessary … yet. But apparently
Edgar Jones had pulled rank, thinking differently.
As Henry entered the foyer, his gaze landed on a young woman
in a deep blue gown conversing with Arthur’s wife, Lottie, near the front
entrance. For a moment, Henry considered what it would be like if he weren’t
working, if he could simply pursue a conversation with an attractive woman. He
had purposely not set down roots. His work made it impossible. Well, not
impossible. He had simply not met a woman who could turn his attention from his
work.
Reluctantly, he peeled his eyes from the attractive
distraction and searched the foyer for Louise, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“She must have stepped into another room,” Henry said to the
valet.
“No, sir.” The young man stopped and gave a nod toward Mrs. Wingate
and the stunning woman beside her.
Henry was momentarily confused, an unnatural state since he
kept everything in his life compartmentalized and in order. Recovering quickly,
he said, “Of course, thank you. I must need my spectacles this evening.” He
left the valet before he was forced to converse further, giving even more
opportunities for a slip up. He walked slowly to the two women, since he wasn’t
certain what he should say. Clearly, the valet had been misinformed.
Henry glanced over his shoulder, catching the backside of
the valet as he left the foyer. With a twinge of regret, he made a sharp turn to
miss the two conversing women, ignoring a flare of curiosity about the woman in
blue. Now wasn’t the time for personal interests. Just as he was passing within
three feet of the women, a voice rang out, “Gilbert! Darling!”
Henry stopped and faced the woman in blue who had spoken.
She had used his alias. It all became clear in an instant.
She was his wife.
Hell.
He plastered the biggest smile he could on his face.
“Sallie, there you are.” He went to her, took her hand, and planted a kiss on
her cheek.
His Sallie blushed, her cheeks a bright crimson, and
although her skin had been smooth as porcelain, leaving a lingering impression
upon his lips, he had to suppress his frustration—and a hint of anger
threatening to uncoil in his chest. Instead, he kept his expression amiable and
besotted, playing the part, saying, “I had no idea you were coming.”
He took some measure of pleasure when his new wife flinched
ever so slightly, no doubt catching the flash of censure he allowed to escape
his gaze. He could accept her as his wife, but it didn’t mean he had to like
it.
But still, where the hell was Louise? Why had Jonesy sent
this much too young of a woman with whom he had no acquaintance and could
therefore not assess her skills as an agent? To make it all worse, his pulse
had quickened as soon as he’d looked into her clear green eyes. She might be
young, but a spark of intelligence snapped the distance between them.
“It was last minute, darling,” she replied, her voice tinged
with excitement.
It was too late to turn back now. They had an audience with Lottie
Wingate, who was watching them intently.
“I’m thrilled you’re here,” he said, taking Sallie’s hand
again. He turned his attention to the older woman. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d
like to have a word in private with my beautiful bride.”
“Certainly,” Lottie said. “It was lovely to meet you,
Sallie. I hope we’ll have a chance to speak more. And you’ll have to accompany
Gilbert the next time he comes here. We could have tea while the men discuss
business.”
“I’d like that,” Sallie said.
Having abandoned his drink on side table, Henry tucked
Sallie’s gloved hand into the crook of his elbow and led her into the next
room. He had wanted to speak privately, but in a flash he knew this would be
impossible. It was too risky to engage in any kind of conversation beyond the
benign while they were at this party.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked quietly. He definitely
needed another one.
Sallie smiled and nodded, sliding a quick glance at him and
then letting her eyes roam the room.
They found a waiter and Henry soon had a sherry in his
wife’s gloved hand, and he had a whiskey, straight up. He drank it in one
swallow. His wife narrowed her eyes, the first sign of backbone in the woman.
“I know my arrival is unexpected, Gilbert,” she murmured
over the rim of her sherry glass. She took a sip and then said, “But rest
assured, I’m here to stay. You’re not alone any longer.”
Copyright © 2020 K. McCaffrey LLC
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