He held the door as he escorted us out of the dark theater and into the waiting carriage. I looked up at the brass-studded roof and the velvet-lined interior of the vehicle taking us to the port of New Orleans, but as I stepped inside and settled into my seat, I heard a shuffle of footsteps approaching fast in the alley. I turned just in time to see Beau running up the walk.
“Oh!” Teeny gasped, but I touched her arm in warning.
A painful knot clenched in my chest as he stopped, his blue eyes holding mine through the glass in the carriage door. His look was defiant as he took a step toward us, but I broke our gaze and stepped inside. Freddie took the seat across from me and the door was closed.
The carriage rocked as it started moving forward, and Teeny jumped and turned to look out the back window. My eyes were fixed on the man sitting in front of me as the staccato
clip-clop!
of the horses’ feet echoed on the stone pavement outside.
Freddie smiled and reached for my hand. “It won’t hurt my feelings, darling, if you shed a few tears. I know it’s hard to say goodbye to the people you know and love.”
“You’re always so kind to me,” I said, ignoring Teeny’s continued staring through the back window and what I knew she was looking at.
“Only because I adore you.” Freddie gave my hand a squeeze. “And I really do think you’re going to adore Paris as well. Perhaps I can make you happy there the way you’ve made me happy here.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Annemarie’s already planning to take you shopping,” he continued. “And she asked how you feel about fur. Apparently there’s some movement to ban the practice. Cruelty or something. I hope you don’t mind my sister’s modern views on things.”
I shook my head, not understanding, but Teeny finally turned around and slipped her small hand into mine. She placed her head on my shoulder and spoke up.
“Hale loves furs. And she wants a little dog.”
Freddie laughed. “I can’t wait to get to know you better,” he said, tapping the end of her nose lightly. His gesture filled me with an emo
tion I didn’t recognize. I’d heard it described before as hope.
The carriage hastened our departure, and my eyes looked down at the small hand holding mine. She was safe now, and soon I would be too.
This book has had an interes
ting life, starting with the fall day in 2010 when the idea floated to me on a cool breeze as I walked in my south
Alabama
neighborhood.
I have to thank my early readers, Kim, Jenni, Melissa, Rebecca, Sharon, Sara, and Apryle, who loved it then and gave me so much encouragement. Also my
Baldwin
County
book club, who cheered me on as I decided how to publish it, Kit,
Shannon
, Jennifer, and Nichole. I can never thank you ladies enough.
My constant critique partners and friends, Carolyn, Hart, Anne, Jessica, and Kitty kept me going, along with my good friend Matt, with whom I commiserated as I struggled in the early stages, wondering if this idea even had merit.
In my life, I’ve been enormously blessed with
parents,
family
,
and friends who have never once acted surprised by anything I’ve done
, only proud
. You guys are
so
precious
to me, irreplaceable, and I hope you love this book as much as the others you’ve eagerly bought and read and loved and shared. My heart is so full with feelings of gratitude
to and for you,
I can’t even express
them
.
Thanks to God for giving me this gift, and thank Him for surrounding me with people who provide the help and encouragement I need to see it through.
Thanks to
my wonderful husband and my girls, who keep me excited and
motivated and
who only complain a little that I’m terribly distracted half the time.
Thanks to my dear friend Jolene, who encourages me and makes my books beautiful.
A h
uge
thanks to
Nereyda and all
the book reviewers, bloggers, and friends, who took the time to read my book and help me spread the word about it.
Finally, t
o my readers, I hope I’ve made you happy for a little while. If you like my book, I’d love to hear from you! Visit
www.leightmoore.com
or email
[email protected]
. Please consider posting a review.
And
thank you
for reading!
Leigh Talbert Moore is a wife and mom by day, a writer by day, a reader by day, a
freelance
editor when time permits, a chocoholic, a
caffeine addict, a
lover of
YA and new adult
romance
(really any great love story)
, a beach bum, and occasionally she sleeps.
Also
by Leigh Talbert Moore:
The Truth About Faking
(Sept. 2012)
Available for
Kindle
,
Nook
, and all devices at
Smashwords
!
And watch for the sequel to
ROUGE
, coming 2013!
Connect with Leigh online:
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ROUGE
Copyright © Leigh Talbert Moore, 2012
www.leightmoore.com
Printed in the
United States of America
.
Cover design by Jolene B. Perry
All right r
eserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, photocopying, mechanical, or otherwise—without prior permission of the publisher and author.