Heart Of Courage

by Kat Martin

• ISBN13: 9780778326090
• ISBN10: 0778326098
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Mira

Summary

While writing for a ladies' gazette, opinionated Lindsey Graham crusades for social change among London's elite. After her brother is accused of murder, Lindsey launches her own investigation--a risky pursuit that earns her a rugged Norseman as an unwelcome bodyguard. Original.

Excerpts

London, England September, 1844COVENT GARDEN KILLER STRIKES AGAIN.Londoners grow nervous.Thor scanned the front page article in theLondon Times-- details of the second brutal murder in the Covent Garden district in the last six months.Unlike his older brother, Leif, Thor wasn't much of a reader. He figured the best use for a newspaper was to wrap up dead fish. He admitted it was probably important to keep up with what was happening around him, so he struggled through the English words, a language he had only started learning a little over two years ago. Before that, he had lived on an island far to the north, an isolated world only a handful of people knew existed.With the help of his teacher, Professor Paxton Hart, he had learned to read and write, how to dress and move about in English society. Leif and his wife helped as well, and life here grew easier all the time. Still, Thor liked being out of doors, not inside reading a book."So you're the one who stole my paper!" An indignant female voice snagged his attention. "I've been looking all over." Hands on hips, Lindsey Graham marched across the office like a raven swooping down on its prey.Holding the evidence of his guilt in one big hand, Thor stood in the doorway of the back room ofHeart to Heart,the ladies' magazine owned by his brother's wife, Krista Hart Draugr, and her father, his teacher, Sir Paxton Hart. It was Thursday, the day before the paper came out, and the office hummed with activity."I did not steal it," he said to the avenging angel bearing down on him. "I borrowed it. I wanted to know about the murder."Her eyes shot to his, a tawny golden color like the she-cat she was. "There was a second murder?"He nodded, held the paper so she could read the headline. "Down in Covent Garden," he said. "Same as before."Lindsey took the newspaper and scanned the article. She was taller than the average woman, yet far shorter than his six-foot-five-inch frame. She was slender, her hair a light golden brown. With her fine-boned, delicate features, she was pretty, but not in the way he preferred.Like his brother, he wanted his women lusty, buxom and full-breasted, the kind built to satisfy a man. Leif had found Krista, the mate of his heart. Thor was still looking for the female who would be his."Another woman killed," Lindsey said, her tawny gaze glued to the page, "strangled just like the last time. The police believe the same man is likely responsible."Lindsey was editor of the women's section of the paper and also wrote a gossip column calledHeartbeat.She was a hard worker, he knew, a quality he admired since he worked so hard himself. Whenever he wasn't down at the docks, bossing the stevedores who loaded and unloaded the cargo carried by his brother's company, Valhalla Shipping, he worked forHeart to Heart.He was saving his money to buy a place in the country, far away from the choking air of London."Here's something new," Lindsey went on, her fine, straight nose immersed in the printed lines. "It says the women who were killed were 'ladies of the evening.'""Whores," Thor said simply.Lindsey blushed. "That does not mean it is all right for someone to kill them.""I did not say that."She sighed. "I feel sorry for the people who live in the neighborhood. Two murders in the last six months. They must be terrified. I certainly hope the police apprehend him this time.""The paper says they have found clues. They believe they will soon have a suspect. Mayhap this time they will catch him.""I wonder what they have discovered."Thor made no reply, since neither of them knew the answer. Engrossed in the paper, Lindsey wandered over to her desk, sat down and continued to read. In the middle of the room, the big Stanhope press sat silent, but soon the next edition would be rumbling off for sale on the streets.Thor liked to watch the press at work. In truth, he