#ThursdayThoughts Fall #RomanticTravel with Katherine Bone

Good Morning Friends!

Time for another Fall Romantic Travel idea this time with a new-to-me/the blog author, Katherine Bone.

Enjoy!

Thank you for welcoming me aboard, Lady Pamela! There’s nothing I’d rather do than share the one place I’d like to plan a romantic getaway, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Built between 1889 and 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt II, and still owned by his descendants, the Biltmore is a 12,000 square foot, luxurious mansion-like castle situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The sprawling grounds cover 8,000 acres, sure to rival any working European estate. Built in the Châteauesque style, the Biltmore is one of the most sought after romantic getaways in the southern US and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. What could be more romantic than a stroll through the Biltmore’s gardens and grounds? How about sampling vintage wines at the Biltmore Winery while observing spectacular autumn foliage? For more information or to arrange your romantic tour, click here.

Can’t travel to the Biltmore? Books are the most affordable way to travel to luxurious getaways like the one in Asheville, NC. I’m happy to share my next book, The Pirate's Debt, Regent’s Revenge book 2, released September 13^th and takes place along the Cornwall coast! If you like second chances, pirates, and romance, this is a great escape for you!

Lady Chloe Walsingham is an enthusiastic gothic romance reader and hopeless romantic focused solely on finding her perfect hero. She also happens to have a penchant for getting into trouble. So when the man she loves disappears after a scandalous duel, she decides to follow him to the ends of the Earth. To do so, however, Chloe must evade her brother, an infamous revenue man, and board a ship bound for Penzance. And nothing in her beloved books can prepare her for the harsh realities of wreckers who ply the coast.

After his father destroyed the lives of countless innocent people, Basil Halford, Earl of Markwick is willing to do anything to earn back his honor. Betrayed by his blood and his reputation ruined, Markwick answers the request of a well-heeled duke and dons the Black Regent’s mask to repay the debt. His task? Rescuing a young woman who is chasing down a ghost of a man.

But a pirate has plenty of enemies, and Markwick isn’t any different. No matter how diligent a captain he may be, sailing to Lady Chloe’s rescue involves risking not only the Regent’s legacy but the last thing he can afford to lose…his heart.

  

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~ Excerpt ~

Markwick stiffened. Blackmoor’s reasons for enlisting Markwick’s help were triggered by love for his wife. Markwick’s sense of responsibility went deeper, to a place he’d never allowed himself to go out of respect for Walsingham. While it was true that Chloe had exceeded many levels of Markwick’s patience when she was younger, since his engagement to Prudence, she’d shown herself to be intelligent, talented, loyal, and a most beloved sister and friend. She was also enamored by the Black Regent, which put his identity at even greater risk.

What could he do? How far was he willing to go to bring Chloe home safe and sound?

“For the duchess’s sake,” he began, “I will do my best to find Chloe. You have my word.”

“Remember, her willful head is in the clouds. That, dear friend, makes her dangerous. If she spies her brother, she will most likely flee to avoid facing his ire. But if you find her . . . well, that is a trap well laid.”

“Surely you place too much—”

“I’ve promised my wife that you will find her before Walsingham does.”

Markwick bowed. “I shall strive to earn your confidence.”

He gazed at the missive in Blackmoor’s hand once more, suspecting something else was responsible for the duke’s persistence that Markwick should be the one to locate Chloe. “What’s in the letter?”

Blackmoor handed him the missive, then strode to the door. “Have a care for your soul, Markwick. While the Fury demands forte, females rein a tempest of emotions sure to drown better men.”

Markwick straightened. “Aye, sir,” he said, gazing down at the note.

The screen door slammed. When he looked up again, Blackmoor was gone.

Markwick opened the note, then leaned back on the desk. His jaw slackened at the words on the page.

My dearest friend,

I ask you one question: is a body unhappy about another unless she is in love? I fear we both know the answer to that now, and a gentle violence thrills my soul as I share with you that I intend to sail with the tide. I cannot face the snares and wiles of this world without love to recommend me. Therefore, I beseech you to keep my secret, for you are the only one I trust.

Markwick has disappeared. As you are no longer betrothed, I am finally at liberty to confess to you that I love him. I have always loved him, and I cannot bear for him to suffer alone. Sources close to my brother inform me that a man fitting Markwick’s description has been seen in Torquay. Therefore, I’ve attained passage for myself and my maid aboard the Valerian.

Do not be alarmed for my person or harden your heart against me. Dry your earnest tears. My virtuous intentions steer me toward a higher destiny.

Resourcefully yours,

Chloe Walsingham

Markwick shut his gaping mouth, then crumpled the letter in his hand.

It couldn’t be true. Blackmoor was right? Chloe loved him? How was that possible? Why? Until now, he had always perceived her attention as infatuation because he’d been the only man her brother allowed around her.

He dropped the foolscap and swiped his fingers through his hair. If he failed to rescue Chloe from another one of her outlandish adventures, Prudence would blame him. Which meant Blackmoor would blame him. Not to mention Chloe’s brother. If Walsingham found out Markwick had known where Chloe was bound and hadn’t alerted him, the bond between friends would be severed for good, making his stint as the Black Regent even more perilous. If anything happened to her, Walsingham would not rest until Markwick was hunted down. That endangered the Regent’s whole design. And a dead Regent could not help the people of Cornwall and Devon.

Markwick hopped forward and yanked open the cabin’s screen door.

Pye stood there, just outside the door, waiting. “What be your orders, Cap’n?”

Had Blackmoor ordered the one-legged pirate to stand there? “Notify the crew that we have a target in our sights. We make way with the tide.”

“Aye, sir.” The salty pirate grinned. “As soon as I’d seen the ol’ cap’n, I knew we’d have us an adventure ahead.”

“Spare me your excitement,” Markwick grumbled. “This adventure may very well lead to my bloody end.”

National best-selling historical romance author Katherine Bone has been passionate about history since she had the opportunity to travel to various Army bases, castles, battlegrounds, and cathedrals as an Army brat turned officer’s wife. Who knew that an Army wife’s passion for romance novels would lead to pirates? Certainly not her rogue, whose Alma Mater’s adage is “Go Army. Beat Navy!” Now enjoying the best of both worlds, Katherine lives with her rogue in the south where she writes about rogues, rebels, and rakes—aka pirates, lords, captains, duty, honor, and country—and the happily-ever-afters that every alpha male and damsel deserve.

Ports of Call:

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Wow...I passed through Ashevill, NC last week but didn't get a chance to visit the Biltmore Estate. It is definitely on my 'to do' list though!

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back regularly for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless!
PamT