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Today, I\u2019m delighted to be celebrating the upcoming release of\u00a0A Governess To Redeem Him <\/strong>by Lotte R. James by sharing an extract from the novel with you. I am a huge fan of Lotte\u2019s writing and I am sure you will be too after you\u2019ve read the following extract. Enjoy!<\/p>\n Having had a disastrous first encounter with Artemis, who she\u2019d hoped would be her theatre\u2019s saviour, Ruth despairs of her situation to her best friend Thomas\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re dead,\u2019 Juliana declared, those dark brown eyes of hers which had once hypnotised him, now as cold as he needed them to be, still focusing as she chased away the remnants of unconsciousness.<\/p>\n The placidity, the certainty, the regret contained in that comment, might\u2019ve injured him, had they not bolstered him, reminding him of who<\/em> he faced now.<\/p>\n Not the girl you loved; if indeed she ever was.<\/em><\/p>\n She may be the reason you\u2019re here, but she isn\u2019t the reason for your return.<\/em><\/p>\n With those reminders, the memories shut themselves away into nothingness, and he smiled most wickedly. Juliana studied him questioningly, slowly forcing herself back into the now as she pulled herself to sitting weakly.<\/p>\n He and his heart almost went out to her.<\/p>\n Almost.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re dead,\u2019 she repeated, her voice a scratchy whisper, laced with less conviction. \u2018I watched you die.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I wasn\u2019t the first to survive too short a drop, and I shan\u2019t be the last. Though it was mercy which spared me any further attempts.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018How\u2026?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018That isn\u2019t a story to concern yourself with, nor which has any bearing on the matter at hand.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Which is?\u2019 Juliana asked flatly, that great, steely strength and mind he recalled in full view. There you are, my darling.<\/em> \u2018If it is my torturous punishment, rest assured there is nothing you could dream up which would rival what I\u2019ve done to myself, though I\u2019ll admit your recent hauntings were rather effective. Whyever it is you are here, tell me, and be done with it, for the house will be awake in a few hours, and I am tired.\u2019<\/p>\n Sebastian sneered, shaking his head.<\/p>\n He\u2019d never felt Juliana\u2019s famed coldness, he\u2019d always seen through it, to the strength, rationality, warmth, and vulnerability beneath it. Not even in those fateful days during his own trial when he\u2019d felt her distance, her betrayal, her silence, had he felt it, but now\u2026<\/p>\n All these years, he\u2019d made excuses, telling himself so many things which now were moot, for he saw plainly how right they\u2019d all been; whatever he\u2019d thought he\u2019d seen in her had either never existed, or was long gone.<\/p>\n She is the unfeeling wretch they said her to be, and that will make this all much easier<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u2018You cannot think of another reason I might come after you?\u2019 he taunted, determined to elicit some reaction, because\u2026<\/p>\n Well, there was no because<\/em>; there couldn\u2019t be, as all he wanted\u2014needed<\/em>\u2014was her cooperation.<\/p>\n Nothing else, including an emotional reaction<\/em>, he reminded himself.<\/p>\n \u2018I may not know the man you are, but the man you were would never\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n Juliana trailed off, stopping herself from speaking a lie.<\/p>\n \u2018Hurt you? Kill?\u2019 he finished mockingly, grinning. Juliana clenched her jaw, and looked away, staring unseeing at the perfect stripes of the wall-hangings. There was something about the gesture, what he\u2019d glimpsed in her gaze before she turned away\u2026 Do not start imagining things.<\/em> \u2018Eighteen years\u2026it\u2019s been long enough. I thought I could live without the truth, live my second chance through, only as it happens, I cannot. So here I am, come to take you home, Juliana.\u2019<\/p>\n Now, that<\/em> elicited a reaction; Juliana\u2019s wide eyes found him, fear and refusal painted within them.<\/p>\n \u2018No.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018No?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Is that monosyllabic word somehow unclear, Sebastian?\u2019<\/p>\n On a growl, Sebastian stepped forth, his arms uncrossing as his fists clenched, intent on\u2026well, he wasn\u2019t entirely sure, which was entirely distressing.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t as if he would <\/em>ever harm Juliana, yet as she was now, calm, biting, and unmoving, still tucked beneath those covers as though nothing extraordinary or in any way worthy of some<\/em> interest was coming to pass, was unnerving, and infuriating. How dare she, how could<\/em> she be so calm, so placid, when he\u2014<\/p>\n Ah, now that<\/em> was the problem. He<\/em> wasn\u2019t in control and for this, for all that would come to pass for he would make it so, he needed to be. Taking a deep breath, he settled, stalking forth until he was at the foot of her bed.<\/p>\n If he wasn\u2019t approaching any further, it was because he didn\u2019t need to, certainly not because he feared closer proximity with every ounce of his being.<\/p>\n \u2018My sincerest apologies if I in any manner implied you had a choice, Juliana.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018How precisely do you intend to bend me to your will? Will you kidnap me, shackle me, and drag me with you? Or perhaps will you threaten me with bodily harm or the reve\u00adlation of secrets? I have no secrets great enough to compel me to do your bidding, and I know you would never hurt me, nor anyone I hold dear enough to place myself in jeopardy for,\u2019 Juliana taunted, her temper flaring, taking Sebastian\u2019s own with it, for it was naught but the truth.<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t compel her; he\u2019d counted on surprise, and guilt being powerful enough allies, he\u2019d counted on\u2014<\/p>\n Nonsense. Fix it; there are other ways.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018You would go to your grave, meet your maker, with this travesty of justice on your conscience?\u2019 he asked, attempting to appeal to her rational mind, since her heart seemed now entirely frozen over. Ah yes, using theology to underline rationality; very effective on such a person as her.<\/em> \u2018You would live your life, content in having enabled lies to breathe and breed?\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Justice was served. You were tried, convicted, and sentenced, though you apparently survived that meted out to you, so call it a miracle from that God you always believed in, be grateful, and go live this new life of yours. You can die satisfied that in the next life, His judgement will prevail.\u2019<\/p>\n