A Spell In Provence By Marie Laval

 A SPELL IN PROVENCE

Blurb

With few roots in England and having just lost her job, Amy Carter decides to give up on home and start a new life in France, spending her redundancy package turning an overgrown Provençal farmhouse, Bellefontaine, into a successful hotel. Though she has big plans for her new home, none of them involves falling in love – least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of a nearby château.  As romance blossoms, eerie and strange happenings in Bellefontaine hint at a dark mystery of the Provençal countryside which dates back many centuries and holds an entanglement between the ladies of Bellefontaine and the ducs de Coste at its centre. As Amy works to unravel the mystery, she begins to wonder if it may not just be her heart at risk, but her life too.

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Excerpt

Shivering in the cold breeze despite her shawl, Amy joined the guests lining up to be greeted by Fabien, who in true lord of the manor style, stood tall and imposing at the top of the steps, with torches burning on either side of him.

            He might wear a black dining suit and a crisp white shirt instead of a suit of armour, but there was something untamed, fundamentally uncivilized and proprietary about the way he surveyed the crowd – as if he truly owned everything and everyone, like Frédéric had said, and Amy was seized by an irresistible, irrational and overwhelming urge to flee. She didn’t want to speak to Fabien Coste, didn’t want to put up with his arrogant ways. He could keep his fancy chateau, his contacts and glamorous guests, she didn’t need him. She would walk home. It wasn’t that far.

            She was about to step aside when he looked down and their gaze met. Shadows danced on his face. The torches hissed in the breeze, their flames shooting high in the air and reflecting in his green eyes, giving them a deep, dangerous glow. For the space of a heartbeat, the noise of conversations around her became distant and fuzzy, and all she could see was him.

            He walked down, took her hand and lifted it to his lips. Even though his mouth barely touched her skin, a flash of heat reverberated through her body.

            ‘Mademoiselle Carter – Amy, you’re here at last.’

            It was the first time he’d spoken her first name. He made it sound French, sensual and incredibly romantic. Aimée. Beloved.

            ‘Shall I escort you inside and introduce you to a few people?’

            Panic made her heart flutter and turned her brain to mush.

            ‘Well, it’s just that …’

            He arched a dark eyebrow, looked down, and smiled as if he knew exactly what she was feeling.

            ‘You’re here now. You might as well make the most of it.’

Marie Laval

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie Laval studied History and Law at university there before moving to Lancashire in England where she worked in a variety of jobs, from PA in a busy university department to teacher in adult education and secondary schools. Writing, however, was always her passion, and she spends most of her free time dreaming up stories. A vivid imagination, an intimate knowledge of her native France as well as her love of historical research help her create compelling historical and contemporary romance novels. She has published two historical romances with MuseitUp Publishing, ANGEL HEART and THE LION'S EMBRACE.