House Of Shadows

House Of Shadows
Jen Christie

Torn between two centuries…and two menThe Great Charleston Earthquake catapults Penrose Heatherton from the 1880s into the present day. Though she’s still residing in Arundell Manor, it’s a very different world…with a different man inhabiting the ancestral estate. And this Carrick Arundell is every bit as brooding and intriguing as his ancestor.Terrified by her new reality, Penrose hides in the mansion’s secret tunnels. Until Carrick finds her, and they discover an immense passion. But their days are numbered. When strange things start happening, Penrose realises she must go back to her own era – or the man she’s come to love will never exist…

“If this is our nirvana, then I’ve died happy, Penrose.”

The world had turned inside out. She was staring at candles that burned under the water. They were a different kind of fire.

She looked up at Keat. He was a different kind of man. Not a dark twin to Carrick. And what if this really was her brief nirvana? What if this was the only happiness she could grasp? Wouldn’t Carrick want it for her? Of course he would. Carrick himself said, “Fire has no choice but grab its moment, whatever moment it’s given, and burn.”

A different century. A different kind of fire. A different man, one she couldn’t help but to burn for. Was this the moment she’d been given? It was. She turned to Keat and said, “Take me to bed now.”

“My pleasure,” he replied and reached down for her.

JEN CHRISTIE is a writer who has a passion for reading and writing Gothic romances. Jen lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband and three daughters. She has a love of history and her secret desire is to stop and read every roadside historical marker she drives by.

House of Shadows

Jen Christie

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

I dedicate this book to my sister Penny, who taught me that life is full of second chances, and they are always worth taking.

Contents

Cover (#ubae5e62b-84b9-50bc-ac04-4e6bd7678d59)

Introduction (#ua7382585-7128-525f-9375-80dc23a70d8a)

About the Author (#u0ada95eb-2905-535d-8da1-082858decbba)

Title Page (#u2e3e9124-1527-5418-826f-142565a6bb65)

Dedication (#ucbcc8050-ae77-5594-a858-09dfb8f3d4c1)

Prologue (#ua589f34c-dc80-5407-8b87-ac6eee794b84)

Part One (#u72d6ddf0-d54f-5ffa-9856-80c23a7a5cfd)

Chapter 1 (#u4ca49af4-24a2-5b70-822c-0f513523445f)

Chapter 2 (#u0adfafab-553c-5b06-a940-70b819438137)

Chapter 3 (#u42153070-09ce-5da8-9c10-be1ad9ba27ac)

Chapter 4 (#u67c6b93f-e225-5a33-91f1-f1d653b892e9)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Part Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue (#ulink_367cf2c2-a6e6-5ab4-9389-d898b13f3785)

The grandfather clock tolled, echoing on and on. The sound reverberated in the tunnel until Penrose fell to the floor, covered her ears and buried her head in her skirts. The chimes came from everywhere at once, from all around her and even from within her own mind.

She couldn’t think, couldn’t move. She could only endure. Dust and plaster rained down and pelted her body. Please, she wished, let it be a dream. But she knew it wasn’t. A dream doesn’t hit you with plaster hard enough to hurt. Long, agonizing moments passed. It was as if time ceased.