Time to Fall in Love Party - Final Day!!

Welcome to the FINAL DAY of our “IT’S TIME TO FALL IN LOVE” treasure hunt where Julie  Lessman, Debbie Lynne Costello and I are celebrating the release of our latest books with some fabulous prizes, including a Kindle Fire, Amazon gift cards, gift baskets, and books galore!  


New to the hunt? No worries! Details on what you can win and how can be found HERE.

(If you'd like to chat with me or Debbie Lynne on Facebook today, we will be at this Party at 7:00 pm EST for an hour. We are giving away prizes too! ) 

Ready for today’s treasure hunt? Good! Just read the blog below and answer the question in the Rafflecopter box at the end of this post. 

Now, for my final post on Charity's Cross!  Check out this awesome trailer and enjoy a brief interview with the heroine!

Interview with the infamous murderer, Charity Westcott, Lady Villemont

By Franklin Morris of the Caribbean Chronicle

“Thank you for meeting with me today, Lady Villemont.” Mr. Morris takes a seat in the tiny cabin on board the Vintage.

Charity lifts her hands and jangles the irons binding her wrists together. “I don’t believe I had a choice, Sir.”

Franklin shifts uncomfortably in his chair and pulls out a pen, ink, and parchment. “Yes…well…Let me start with a simple question. You are…were married to Herbert Gregson, Lord Villemont?”

“I was, yes.”

“And his lordship was found shot to death in the parlor of his house nearly three months ago.”

Charity lowers her gaze and swallows a lump of emotion. “Is that a question or a statement?”

“A statement, I suppose.”

“’Tis why I am here as well you know, Sir.”

“Indeed.”  He nods and jots down something on his paper. “Then do enlighten us, Lady Villemont. Why did you kill your husband?”

Charity gazes out the porthole of the tiny cabin. “Whether I killed him or not is for the court to decide. But his death was an accident, if you must know.”

Mr. Morris snorts. “I suppose a pistol simply appeared in your hand?”

She faces him, annoyed at his impertinence. “In truth, I grabbed it to protect myself.”

“From what, pray tell?”

“From my husband, Sir.”

Mr. Morris’s eyes light up as he dips his pen in ink and scribbles across his parchment.  “Are you saying that Lord Villemont, the pillar of Portsmouth society, intended to harm his own wife?”

She raises her chin. “I am saying exactly that, Sir. He was a different man at home.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Morris gives a disbelieving smile. “Yet, I hear from his brother that you were not only a bad wife but unfaithful as well.”

Charity’s face heats as her breath comes hard and fast. “My husband was also a good liar.”

Mr. Morris studies her. “Yet you left your dead husband on the parlor floor and fled England to embark on some grand adventure in the Caribbean with your lover…what was his name?” He flips through his parchment. ”Ah, yes, Elias Dutton.” He chuckles. “Claims he’s a preacher!”

“He is a preacher and he is not my lover.” She places her hands in her lap, the clank of iron ringing through the room. ”In truth, Elias is the kindest most honorable man I know. He helped me to see that God is not to blame for my misfortune.”

“He did, did he? Was this while you shared a cabin together on more than one ship?” He gives a cynical chuckle.

The ship rolls over a wavelet as Charity narrows her eyes. “’Twas necessary for our survival. And he never touched me.”

Shaking his head, Mr. Morris writes furiously on his paper. “What exactly did you blame God for, Lady Villemont?”

“For my marriage, my husband’s abuse…” She presses a hand on her stomach. “Other misfortunes.”

Mr. Morris frowns. “Since God is supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing, why shouldn’t we blame Him when troubles arise?”

Charity eyes him, sensing a sorrow hovering about him. “Because ofttimes our struggles are merely a result of our own actions. God warned me not to marry Lord Villemont and then once I had, God gave me opportunities to leave. I did nothing.” 

“Humph. I never caused the problems which came my way.” Mr. Morris’s tone bore anger.

A spark of excitement rises within Charity at the opportunity before her. “Even if we didn’t bring on our misfortune, there could be a thousand reasons for it. The actions of others, a test, a chastisement, a device through which God changes our course or brings us closer to Him. Or the devil himself.”

He stops writing and gazes up at her, searching her face.  

She lays a hand on his arm. “One thing I have learned, Mr. Morris, is that God loves us, and if we allow Him, He will work everything out for our good, even those problems of our own making.”

His lips twist as doubt clouds his eyes. “And yet here you are in chains on a ship bound for trial in England.”

Charity sits back in her chair. “I am willing to face trial. Whatever comes of it, I have learned one thing. I will trust God.”

“Even if you hang?”

“Especially if I hang.”

Mr. Morris lays down his pen and gazes at Charity with a look quite different than the incriminating look of disgust he gave her upon entering the cabin. “I must admit, this interview didn’t go as I expected.  You, milady, are not what I expected.”

Charity smiles as Mr. Morris stands and gathers his things. “You have given me much to think about, Lady Villemont. I wish you the best.”

“As I do you, Sir. God speed to you.”

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY ON THIS, OUR LAST TREASURE HUNT DAY!
BUT … before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THIS CLUE — daily — which is the #15 CLUE in our 15-word sentence you’ll need to enter the Kindle giveaway on February 29th - March 3rd.

BE SURE TO ENTER THE KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY BY WRITING IN THE 15-WORD SENTENCE IN THE KINDLE RAFFLECOPTER BOX BELOW.

DON’T FORGET TO HEAD ON OVER TO DEBBIE LYNNE’S AND JULIE'S BLOGS FOR MORE CLUES AND PRIZES.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON EACH OF OUR BLOGS ON FRIDAY, MARCH 4, SO GOOD LUCK!

To see the list of prizes I'm giving away, click HERE to go back to the first post.

The Rafflecopter Question of the day 
What was the one thing Charity learned?

If you are new to Rafflecopter, it will ask you to do certain things in order to gain points toward winning the prize. When Rafflecopter chooses a winner, the more points you have, the better chance you have at winning.  All of the tasks are optional, but to better your chances, I encourage you to do them. None of them take much time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



This is where you will enter the final 15 Word sentence you collect on all our blogs for the next 2 weeks to enter to win the Kindle Fire!  You can't enter yet, but be sure and collect your secret word for today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway