Grave Consequences (The Grand Tour Series Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - T. Bergren Lisa

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209 pages

English

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For Cora Kensington, the journey of a lifetime has taken unexpected turns. And her future--her very life--depends on the decisions she'll make at each crossroad. As the Grand Tour with her newfound family winds through France, Austria, and Italy, an unseen enemy trails close behind. And a forbidden love continues to put everyone's plans at risk.Cora must escape the bonds of the past and discover the faith to make the right choices . . . because each one has grave consequences

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Historical romance

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 mars 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493420643
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Praise for the …
Grand Tour Series
“Bergren, award-winning author of nearly 40 books with two million–plus sold, launches readers into a sumptuous world of wealth and world travel with the first in the Grand Tour Series featuring Cora Diehl Kensington. Cora learns she is the illegitimate daughter of Montana copper baron Wallace Kensington, which sets her on a journey of discovery and healing when she joins her half siblings and their wealthy friends on a Grand Tour of Europe. Will McCabe, their guide, worries over the precarious family dynamics and his own developing feelings for Cora, who must face her own demons when her siblings sabotage her every move. The family must come together, however, when danger threatens all of them. Readers will come to love Cora as she struggles over her feelings for Will and the dashing Frenchman Pierre de Richelieu, and they’ll delight in the scenes of England and France in pre-WWI Europe. This is a worthy beginning to the series.”
Publishers Weekly
“A fascinating mix of travel and intrigue, heartache and romance, Glamorous Illusions sweeps you away on the Grand Tour, exploring London and Paris through the eyes of a young woman who longs to find her place in the world. The title captures the story perfectly, as Cora delves beneath all that glitters to discover what is real and true, while not just one man but two vie for her affections ... ooh, la la! A grand start to a new series from a seasoned author who writes from the heart.”
Liz Curtis Higgs, New York Times bestselling author of Mine Is the Night
“Who am I and where do I fit in this world? These are just two of the important questions addressed in this poignant story that takes the reader from an impoverished farm in Montana onto an opulent cruise across the Atlantic to stately England and finally to the city of love, Paris. With fresh characters, a touching story, and plenty of adventure and romance, you’ll get swept away in this lavish world of the young and wealthy.”
MaryLu Tyndall, author of Surrender the Dawn and Veil of Pearls
“From a bankrupt farm in 1913 Montana to the glitter and glamour of a European Grand Tour, Glamorous Illusions is the trip—and the read—of a lifetime. Absolutely one of my favorites ever, this book is a stunning adventure from first page to last. A truly masterful storyteller, Lisa Bergren has penned a magical journey of the heart and soul that will leave you breathless and longing for more.”
Julie Lessman, award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston series and Winds of Change series
“A Cinderella story lingers in the pages of Glamorous Illusions. Open the book and be swept into a story of heartache, strength, and romance. Add in the sweeping beginnings to a Grand Tour of Europe, and I found all the ingredients for a story I couldn’t put down.”
Cara C. Putman, author of Stars in the Night and A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island
“Here’s a new historical series with something for everyone: romance, mystery, and family issues. Bergren brings the Grand Tour season of the wealthy of the early 1900s to life, and her characters jump off the pages. This series is sure to land on readers’ keeper shelves.”
Romantic Times

© 2013 Lisa T. Bergren
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Previously published by David C Cook
Ebook edition originally created 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2064-3
This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover Design: JWH Design, James Hall
Cover Photographer: Steve Gardner, Pixelworks Studios
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Title Page
Copyright Page
Epigraph
Part I: PROVENCE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Part II: GENEVA
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
Part III: VIENNA
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Part IV: VENEZIA
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Discussion Questions
Chat with the Author
Historical Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ad
Back Cover
We are ever striving after what is forbidden, and coveting what is denied to us.
—Ovid
Part I
~P ROVENCE ~
CHAPTER ONE
~Cora~
A shiver of fear ran down my back as I looked to the busy train platform outside my window. It’s only your imagination, Cora. Silently, I counted to thirty, watching businessmen shake hands before parting. A young husband tenderly bussed his wife on the cheek as she anxiously wound a handkerchief in her hands. A man caught my eye in passing. He smiled and tipped his hat in my direction and I hurriedly glanced back to my lap. But when I lifted my eyes, the blue eyes of the dapper blond gent inside the train car with me were locked on me again. He was clearly watching me over the top edge of his newspaper.
I sighed and glanced at Nell, beside me.
“Cora?” she asked, studying my face. “What is it?”
“That man three rows up,” I whispered, careful not to look his way. “Don’t look right away. Wait until I look back to the window. Then see if he isn’t studying us.”
“All right,” she said, a bit wan. Our near escape from kidnappers in Paris had left us all on edge. Even now, on this train bound for Provence, we had no idea if a telegram from our fathers, demanding we purchase passage on a steamship bound for home, would soon turn us right back around.
I looked back to the platform. The train whistle blew, and those few remaining boarded or departed. Our car lurched and then slowly began rolling forward. A man came up outside my window, keeping pace with us. It took me a moment to realize who it was.
“Pierre!” I whispered in sweet surprise, knowing he couldn’t hear me. He smiled and tucked a red rose in the crevice just outside the window, then kissed his fingers and placed them against the glass.
I smiled as Nell and Lil both giggled in excitement beside me and Vivian shushed them. I put my fingers to the glass and stared into his green eyes, mouthing the word good-bye . He was practically running now, and neared the end of the train platform. He mouthed the word adieu and stopped, lifting a hand. A wave of sorrow washed through me, surprising me as I craned my neck to see him as long as I could. I wouldn’t see him for a while, and this was the first time we’d been apart since I met him. His gesture had been undeniably moving. I knew for a fact he’d had several appointments this morning. Whom had he ignored in order to see me off?
“That might have been the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” Lil said with a dreamy sigh, settling back in her seat once all we could see were city buildings and streets with countless people going about their days.
“I would quite agree,” said a man, suddenly at the edge of our row. All four of us looked up at him—the blond man I thought had been watching me earlier. Will and Antonio rose behind him, concerned since he’d approached us without introduction. “That was Lord de Richelieu, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” I said before I’d thought it through. “Do you know Pierre?”
He gave me an odd smile. “Indeed. We have spoken on a number of occasions.”
Will and Antonio eased back a half step with this revelation. But they did not leave. The man glanced over either shoulder at them, smiled again, and resettled his hat in the crook of his arm. “Gentlemen, ladies,” he said to us all with a smart nod, and with that, he made his way down the aisle of the car, presumably heading toward the water closet.
“I told you we should have arranged for a private car,” Vivian grumbled toward Will.
“And as I said,” he returned benignly, “there were none to be had.” His eyes followed the man. “Did you catch his name?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t introduce himself. But if he knows Pierre, he can’t be all bad, right?”
Will’s eyes narrowed and flicked toward the window, where the petals of my rose were fluttering in the gathering breeze. “I would imagine Lord de Richelieu knows a great number of people,” he said, almost to himself, then looked down the empty aisle.
“If we’re to continue this journey,” I said lowly, “we can’t be looking over our shoulders the entire time, worried the kidnappers have returned.”
“And he hardly seems the type,” Viv added, equally as quiet. She lifted a hand and waved toward the end of the train. “So boldly approaching us.”
“Quite,” Will said, turning away then. But I could tell by the gingerly way he took his seat—as if poised to spring back up—that he didn’t entirely agree.
I watched Will out of the corner of my eye as he leaned forward, arms on knees, to speak with his uncle, our tour guide, or “bear,” who sat beside Antonio Lombardi, his fellow guide and guardian for our group. They had risked much, taking us to our next destination before we received the blessing of our fathers to do so after the attack at Pierre’s chateau. As if he sensed that my gaze was still on him, Will glanced my way. I hurriedly turned my