The Earl’s Lady Geologist by Alissa Baxter – Spotlight with Excerpt & Giveaway

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Earl’s Lady Geologist
Series: The Linfield Ladies Series
Author: Alissa Baxter
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing
Release Date: February 28, 2021
Genre: Clean Regency Romance

Cassandra Linfield is a lady fossil collector who declares she will never marry as no man will ever take her studies seriously. When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.

Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment, he vows never to fall in love again and makes the decision, instead, to seek out a convenient wife when he returns to England from his geological travels abroad.

Brought together by their close family ties, Cassy and Rothbury collaborate on a geological paper and discover a powerful attraction. Marriage, however, is the one subject they cannot agree upon. But when Cassy’s life is threatened, the two realize that love matters more than their objections.

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EXCERPT

Rothbury frowned. “Miss Linfield is sincere in her wish to remain unmarried?”

“She has no desire to go to London for the Season, even though I have told her it will be quite delightful. As it is, she will be all but on-the-shelf when she makes her come-out. She is already twenty years of age.”

At that moment, the subject of their discussion entered the room. Rothbury studied her without being obvious. Miss Linfield had transformed from an untidy schoolroom miss into quite a presentable young lady. Her light brown hair, no longer tangled, had been tamed into submission, and a grey ribbon threaded through her curls. She wore a muslin morning gown with long, full sleeves, and her face, streaked with mud earlier, was now spotlessly clean. Betty had wrought a miracle in a short space of time.

Miss Linfield’s eyes shone with defiance as she sat on the sofa opposite her cousin. Rothbury took his seat in an occasional chair upholstered in striped silk.

The butler followed the young woman into the room. He left a tea tray on the coffee table, and Mrs. Linfield poured the hot beverage and handed Rothbury a cup.

“Thank you.” He sipped his tea and glanced at Miss Linfield again. The flush in her cheeks and the way she nibbled at her bottom lip made her seem very young.

The girl’s slightly tip-tilted nose and too-wide mouth rendered her far from the ideal of classical beauty. However, her thickly fringed sapphire-blue eyes were lovely, redeeming a face he had initially dismissed as plain.

He finished the tea and placed his cup and saucer on a side table. “My mother sends you her warmest greetings, Miss Linfield. She wishes you to come to London next month.”

The young woman’s teacup clattered onto her saucer, and brown liquid splashed on her gown. She gazed at him in horror. “But I am still in mourning for Papa. I cannot travel to London.”

“Mama has informed me that you will live quietly while you are in half-mourning. You will not be required to attend any social events until the end of February, when your period of mourning ends.”

“But…but I do not wish to leave Lyme.”

He tapped a couple of fingers on the wooden arm of his chair. “Why is that, Miss Linfield? Most young ladies are eager to have a London Season.”

“I am not like most ladies. I shall not go.”

“Your uncle is your guardian and, until you come of age, it is he who decrees where you will live. This house will be closed up, and I shall send my coach to convey you to London.”

She raised her chin. “When I come of age I shall return to Lyme.”

“I trust you will listen to the wise counsel of your relatives before making any imprudent decisions once you reach your majority,” he stated calmly.

“I have an interest in both fossils and geology, my lord. I enjoy my work in these fields, and I can continue it only if I return to Lyme.”

“Your work? A woman’s place is in the home.”

Her eyes kindled. “I am pleased we are in agreement, Lord Rothbury. This is my home, and my place is indeed here.”

“Don’t fence with me, my dear.”

She straightened her back. “Very well. Let me speak plainly. What you really meant to say is that a woman’s place is in her husband’s home. That, my lord, is quite a different matter.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR