The Rogue's Ring (A Treasure Tale Novel #3) Historical Romance by Nancy Lee Badger ➱ Book Tour with Guest Post & Rafflecopter

 

 

The Rogue's Ring

A Treasure Tale Novel #3

by Nancy Lee Badger

Genre: Historical Romance 

Heading out on his horse, Ghost, into the snowy Highlands of Scotland in January 1817 was not sane, but Bryce Ketteridge would never let down his friends. If a duke, an earl, and a former spy felt finding the owners of nobleman’s rings was important, he would do his share. Coming across masked bandits, and shooting one, turned his life on end. What follows was not in his plans.

The last thing Cat Douglas wished to do was steal coins from the handsome stranger she meets at a tavern. When he later shoots her while she threatened a nobleman’s coach, she suspected he had no idea it was her. Kidnapped boys, pirate threats, and murder propel them to save a boy named Blake. He was, after all, special to them both.

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PG Excerpt: The Rogue’s Ring by Nancy Lee Badger

Where is it? Cat murmured, cursing under her breath as she sought the rest of the stranger’s gold coins. The sleeping draft would not last long. Long enough, she prayed, so she could make her way back home before he woke. 

When she couldn’t reach into the bulky overcoat and satchel he slept upon, she dug her fingers into his jacket’s inside pocket. 

Success! 

Removing her fingers, three more gold coins appeared. As she slipped them down her bodice, two silver eyes glared up at her.

“What are you doing?” The stranger sat up, grabbed both of her wrists, and pulled her into his lap.

“Why, nothing. Ye fell asleep and I dinna’ wish to wake ye. I worried that ye had stopped breathing, ’tis all. ’Twould never do to have a guest of the inn come to any harm. Are ye well?”

He blinked, then lowered his gaze to the tops of her breasts. She could feel the heat stirring from his attention. Was her flesh growing pink with guilt? 

Had he seen her hide the coins? Did he realize how much time had passed since she had offered him drugged wine? He ought to be fast asleep, but he blinked again, then growled.

“Please. I must be on my way home.” If she did not leave now, Devlin might slap her once again, or throw her to his men. His threats had grown worse and more depraved. Her plans to escape his influence required money. The three coins she’d stolen from the Englishman would help her achieve her goal.

He stared back at her face, then released one hand and turned her head sideways. “Did someone hit you?”

His warm fingers gently stroked her scar and the newer bruise she had to assume had turned purple. “Aye. ’Tis a consequence of working in such a place. Many travelers curse the weather yet take out their frustrations on whomever strays close. I shall survive.” 

“Like the brute who grabbed you by the hair tonight? You seemed to know him, but a stranger would do worse? You need a protector.”

When she attempted a small smile, he released his hold on her chin. In an instant, his free hand strayed down her bodice and gripped the coins.

“Nay!” she cried, to no avail.

“A thief? Strange, since I believe I compensated you more than enough inside.” He pushed her away.

Stumbling backward, she hit the wall, then returned to his side with her fists defiantly on her hips. She could only glare down at him. She was not leaving without those coins. Her future depended on acquiring the means to live elsewhere and free from her brother’s abuse. Those coins could get her and Blake hundreds of miles from him and his pirate crew.

He staggered to his feet. Surprise filled his handsome face at his loss of equilibrium. He tunneled his fingers through his dark hair. Several strands of silver glimmered at his temples, nearly matching the glaring silver of his eyes. Surprised to face eyes the same color as her son’s, she gasped.

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The Rogue’s Ring by Nancy Lee Badger

Sleet and Snow in Scotland 

It might be May, but my characters are feeling every bit of winter’s chill while traversing snow-covered roads or sleeping in drafty caves. What you do if you lived in the harsh climate of Scotland’s northeast coast, back in 1817? Wind and waves, crashing inland off the North Sea, bring icy sleet and heavy snow. Why would I want to set a book there? Because an author is sometimes pulling in directions that make no sense. 

Except to that writer, of course. 

To temper this nasty weather, I set The Rogue’s Ring inside a tavern or a cave for most of the book. Snow-covered trails and cold breezes off the sea kept my hero less than thrilled with traveling in winter. In order to give my readers a feel for the times, in this third book in my Treasure Tales series, I include the food, the beverages, and the dangerous atmosphere where my characters dwell.

Research brings me yearly to the Loch Norman Highland Games in North Carolina. Between the blacksmith shop and the Highland cow pasture is a garden. I delighted in photographing the flowers and the hand-crafted fence that kept out the cows and wild rabbits.

I could picture a Scottish child hoeing the ground, planting seeds, and watering the plants. I instead have written about several twelve-year-old boys doing chores that would make today’s youth cringe, Difficult jobs such as grooming horses that bite and kick, sweeping up ale-splattered tavern floors, and watching out for kidnappers were tough lives for twelve-year-olds. Remember, they are also living in the harsh climate of a Scottish winter. I set my story during the first week of January. 

Historic Scotland, in the early 19th century was an unforgiving existence. Besides nasty weather and nuisance creatures, raiders were a part of life. Pirates roamed the coastline. I allow my characters to experience the underbelly of Scottish life as they fight to survive. A kidnapping and a mysterious diamond fuel the fires that keep danger around the corner. Remember that my book is a romance, and a happy-ever-after ending means a satisfying read.

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire while she dreamed of being a writer. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling snow became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved to North Carolina, where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places.

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