Glittering Promises (The Grand Tour Series Book #3)

T. Bergren Lisa

Description

For Cora Kensington, the Grand Tour was to be the trip of a lifetime. She discovered the family she never knew she had and may have even found the love she longs for in Will. Yet her life has just become infinitely more challenging . . . Hounded by the stubborn pursuit of Pierre de Richelieu and journalists chasing the beguiling story of the newest American heiress, Cora fights to remain true to her past, reconcile her present, and still embrace her future. But as Will struggles with her newfound wealth, Cora begins to wonder if their love is strong enough to withstand all that threatens to pull them apart.As she glimpses the end of the tour, Cora knows it's time to decide who and what defines her . . . and who and what does not.

Sujets

• Historical romance

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493420650
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

What people are saying about …

Grand Tour Series
“Bergren, award-winning author of nearly 40 books with two million–plus sold, launches readers into a sumptuous world of wealth and world travel with the first in the Grand Tour Series featuring Cora Diehl Kensington. Cora learns she is the illegitimate daughter of Montana copper baron Wallace Kensington, which sets her on a journey of discovery and healing when she joins her half siblings and their wealthy friends on a Grand Tour of Europe. Will McCabe, their guide, worries over the precarious family dynamics and his own developing feelings for Cora, who must face her own demons when her siblings sabotage her every move. The family must come together, however, when danger threatens all of them. Readers will come to love Cora as she struggles over her feelings for Will and the dashing Frenchman Pierre de Richelieu, and they’ll delight in the scenes of England and France in pre-WWI Europe. This is a worthy beginning to the series.”
Publishers Weekly
“A fascinating mix of travel and intrigue, heartache and romance, Glamorous Illusions sweeps you away on the Grand Tour, exploring London and Paris through the eyes of a young woman who longs to find her place in the world. The title captures the story perfectly, as Cora delves beneath all that glitters to discover what is real and true, while not just one man but two vie for her affections ... ooh, la la! A grand start to a new series from a seasoned author who writes from the heart.”
Liz Curtis Higgs, New York Times bestselling author of Mine Is the Night
“Who am I and where do I fit in this world? These are just two of the important questions addressed in this poignant story that takes the reader from an impoverished farm in Montana onto an opulent cruise across the Atlantic to stately England and finally to the city of love, Paris. With fresh characters, a touching story, and plenty of adventure and romance, you’ll get swept away in this lavish world of the young and wealthy.”
MaryLu Tyndall, author of Surrender the Dawn and Veil of Pearls
“From a bankrupt farm in 1913 Montana to the glitter and glamour of a European Grand Tour, Glamorous Illusions is the trip—and the read—of a lifetime. Absolutely one of my favorites ever, this book is a stunning adventure from first page to last. A truly masterful storyteller, Lisa Bergren has penned a magical journey of the heart and soul that will leave you breathless and longing for more.”
Julie Lessman, award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston series and Winds of Change series
“A Cinderella story lingers in the pages of Glamorous Illusions. Open the book and be swept into a story of heartache, strength, and romance. Add in the sweeping beginnings to a Grand Tour of Europe, and I found all the ingredients for a story I couldn’t put down.”
Cara C. Putman, author of Stars in the Night and A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island
“Here’s a new historical series with something for everyone: romance, mystery, and family issues. Bergren brings the Grand Tour season of the wealthy of the early 1900s to life, and her characters jump off the pages. This series is sure to land on readers’ keeper shelves.”
Romantic Times

© 2013 Lisa T. Bergren
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Previously published by David C Cook
Ebook edition originally created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2065-0
This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover Design: JwH Design, James Hall
Cover Photographer: Steve Gardner, Pixelworks Studios
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
A Chat with the Author
Historical Notes
Discussion Questions
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ad
Back Cover
CHAPTER 1
~Cora~
“If you spot him again, shoot him on sight,” my father said. “I shall deal with the repercussions myself.”
I gently pulled off my gloves and felt Will’s grip on my elbow tighten. I looked about the room—at my younger sister, Lil; my brother, Felix; and one of our guards, Pascal, standing with Antonio and my father.
“What’s this?” Will asked, leading me closer to the others, deeper into the Venetian palazzo’s grand salon. I was thankful that the long windows were wide open, allowing the brine-laced breeze to waft through. “What’s happened?”
“Oh, Cora!” Lillian cried, rising and entering my arms. She clung to me a second and then pulled back to look at me. “It was Nathan Hawke! I’m certain I saw him across the piazza today!”
“Truly?” I asked. “Nathan? If you’re right, he’s far less clever than I thought.” I looked to my father, his words about shooting him on sight making far more sense now. Nathan Hawke was dangerous, instrumental in our kidnapping a week past, thwarted only because Will and Art had used other nefarious men to double-cross him. I lifted a hand to my temple and shook my head. “It makes no sense. He should be on a steamer to Greece by now. Not lollygagging about where one of us might spy him, report him. He risks imprisonment!”
“Unless he wants to be seen,” Antonio grumbled, thick chin in hand.
“For what purpose?” Felix asked.
“To make certain that we know who is behind the next kidnapping,” bit out my father, throwing up a hand in frustration. “So that we might pay the ransom without hesitation.”
“His partners are in jail,” I said. “What true threat is one man when we are so many?”
“It took only one to take our Lillian,” my father said, his blue eyes steel cold as he leveled them at me. “And another to nab you as well.”
“We are far less naive than we were when we began this journey. We never go out alone—”
“Not that that resolves our concerns,” my father said. “What would you do if he leveled a gun at you? Or your sister? Or young William here?”
“Presumably our armed guard would protect us.”
He paced back and forth, flicking one hand in the air. “So he draws his pistol, Antonio draws another, and you are caught in the cross fire?”
I bit my lip, stymied by both his logic and the sudden reminder that he might care for me and my future, regardless of the bad blood that had passed between us. I pinched my temples between thumb and ring finger. “We’ve been through this, Father. We cannot live in fear the rest of our lives. Like it or not, after that Life article, we’ll be recognized wherever we go. Even more so once the next issue is off the presses and reaches Europe.”
“Which will be soon,” said Hugh Morgan, one of our traveling companions, his tone uncommonly gentle. “It’ll be any day now.”
I looked back at my father. Here, at last, was the gauntlet he’d warned me of—the trials of leading, of making choices. I had to show him I was up to the task. “If it’s not Nathan Hawke, there will be others, yes? You have enemies. I, apparently, have enemies. This is our present reality. And we all must deal with that threat, here, now, so that we can be done with it forevermore.”
“It would be easier at home in Montana,” my father said. “We wouldn’t be so exposed.”
I held a breath, defeated by the idea of turning tail and running after all we’d endured. We’d fought to be here, earned the right to finish our trip, even if it was against Father’s wishes. Hadn’t we? But I recognized his fear, his concern for the others—my siblings, Felix, Vivian, and Lil, as well as the Morgans—even if I couldn’t trust what he felt for me. I sighed and looked to Will.
“When is the earliest we could leave, if we wished to?” Father said.
“The Charleston ships out in a couple of weeks from Pisa. We might secure passage on her. But given that it’s high season, she’s likely sold every stateroom, and getting us all aboard, even if you all agreed to travel second class…” Will shook his head. “No, it’s highly unlikely we’d find anything above steerage. There’s a slim chance we could find accommodations on the Charlemagne , the following week out of Naples.”
“Oh, but the Charlemagne ’s a miserable ship,” Pierre de Richelieu said, entering the room, his keen eyes covering each of us but resting on me. “Trust me. You’d never wish to board her wretched gangplank.” His eyes narrowed as he took in the dour mood of the room. “What’s happened?” he asked, his French accent growing thicker. “What is it?”
Antonio bent to whisper in his ear, and Pierre’s handsome green eyes shifted to me, his brows furrowed in alarm—and then his gaze traveled down to Will’s hand on my elbow. I knew he’d remained, even once Will and I began openly courting, hoping I might change my mind. He pinched his lower lip, then turned to a chair and sat down, heavily, as if beaten. He was due to leave for Paris within hours. I knew that this was perhaps the last time I’d ever see him, which made me alternately relieved and sad.
My father strode to the wind