Leaving his astonished tenants spewing questions, Gerard swept his giggling wife from the hall and back to the privacy of his suite—and that immense bath designed for two.
“Let’s shed a little travel dust, shall we?” he whispered as she hurried beside him.
“Together?” Her tone was decidedly wicked.
“I don’t think I’ve told you enough—I love the way your mind works.” Reaching the back hall, Gerard lifted her in his arms and carried her over the threshold to his tower.
Her laughter christened the old walls with hope.
And he still had a map to a possible Roman fortress. Who knew, maybe his talent would find more treasure to keep Wystan in good repair for his children and his children’s children.
They’d have a jolly good time finding out.
Characters
Gerard Ives, Earl of Ives and Wystan, heir to Duncan, Marquess of Ashford
Lady Iona (Nan) Malcolm Ross, heir to Countess of Craigmore
Lady Isobel (Belle) Malcolm Ross, Iona’s twin
Jasper Winchester, Marquess of Rainford, heir to Duke of Sommersville
Avery, Gerard’s steward at Wystan
Great-Aunt Winifred, Gerard’s relation, writes articles
Grace, weaver at Wystan
Simone, spiritualist at Wystan
Ceridwen, ghost/banshee
Mrs. Faith Merriweather, Wystan librarian
Mary Michaela Wilson (Mary Mike), lives at Wystan
Ralph Mortimer, Iona and Isobel’s stepfather
Arthur Winter, Iona’s suitor
Lydia Wystan Ives, librarian of Calder Castle
Maxwell Ives, Lydia’s husband
Lady Alice, duplicitous widow
Lowell, Gerard’s valet
Zane, Lord Dare—doctor, professor, viscount
Azmin, Lady Dare—photographer
Lady Phoebe Blair and Andrew Blair—friends of the School of Malcolms
School of Magic Series
Lessons in Enchantment
Book 1 of School of Magic
Can a straitlaced engineer, three psychic children, and a lonely witch find love?
The daughter of an earl, Lady Phoebe Malcolm Duncan has the ability to talk to animals. She longs to be a veterinarian, but education requires more coin than she possesses. When the walls of her home come tumbling down, she has to take two steps back—to servitude.
Inventor Andrew Blair keeps his nose to the grindstone, knowing his friends and family depend on his talent for turning machines into money. He is about to embark on his biggest investment yet—rebuilding crumbling tenements in Old Town Edinburgh— until his beleaguered cousin begs him to hide his precocious children from a killer.
When the School of Malcolms sends Lady Phoebe as governess for his wards, Drew’s well-ordered beliefs are upended. Ladies don’t live in slum housing like the one he’s about to tear down, nor do they command ravens or encourage children to talk to dead mothers. It might take a vengeful ghost to show the disparate pair how to join forces, fight their fears and their enemies, and reveal a path to love.
Buy Lessons in Enchantment
A Bewitching Governess
Book 2 of School of Magic
She’s the mistress of illusion; How can he trust her lessons on love?
Lady Olivia Malcolm Hargreaves is a viscountess, a widow, a governess, the adopted mother of a disabled toddler—but above all else, she is a survivor. When the father of the young children she’s been caring for arrives on Christmas Eve, drunk and ranting, his aura and her own sad experience tell her he’s dangerous.
Heart hardened after the murder of his beloved wife, Simon Blair is an industrialist who has no use for another psychic Malcolm. His late wife’s weird family is more than enough interference. But his twin daughters are talking to their mother’s ghost, his son and heir is floating objects that shouldn’t float, and he’s beleaguered by aristocrats who refuse to acknowledge his plebeian existence.
When Simon learns that Lady Olivia is in a position to help him obtain the land he needs for his business, and she recognizes that by helping him, she might regain the home she’s lost, they must fight their respective prejudices and forge an uneasy alliance. It might take a ghost, an army of children, and a criminal gang to force them to recognize that they want far more than real estate.
Buy A Bewitching Governess
An Illusion of Love
Book 3 of School of Magic
Victorian Edinburgh belongs to staid professors, not the daughter of a Hindu princess.
Apparently lacking the psychic ability of her Malcolm father’s gifted British family, Azmin Dougall feels like a pigeon in a family of peacocks. Returning to her ancestral home of India, she finds solace in photography—until her film mysteriously reveals that a woman is being abused by her powerful husband. Helping the wife escape, Azmin flees for the safety of Scotland.
Dr. Zane Dare is done with risk. Because his work introduced disease to his family home, his sister is dead and his niece suffers from the results of the same infection. Louisa has been left in his care, but the bachelor physician has no time to educate an adolescent while he researches a cure. In desperation, he asks the School of Malcolms to provide a governess. The school sends Azmin—the defiant sprite who enchanted him a decade ago.
That long-ago summer crushed both their dreams, leaving them unwilling to open their hearts again. Zane’s position at the university is already precarious—introducing a rebellious Hindu princess to his household will only jeopardize his research. Azmin cannot trust a man who scoffs at the psychic abilities she’s just discovered, except his frail niece wins her love.
But when Azmin’s photography reveals an abusive man may be courting Louisa, Zane and Azmin must set aside their differences to protect the girl who could teach their hearts to love again . . .
Buy An Illusion of Love
The Librarian’s Spell
Book 4 of School of Magic
Can a timid librarian and a bold engineer save a castle's toppling tower of books?
The stereotypical reserved librarian, Lydia Wystan has only one true love, the books that whisper to her. But unless she can understand the whispers, she cannot become what she wants to be more than anything—the Malcolm Librarian.
Maxwell Ives has a disastrous gift for attracting women, a trait that has resulted in three sons
