CRYSTAL GARDENS
Novelist and professional companion Evangeline Ames has rented a cottage
in the outskirts of Little Dixby, far from the London streets where she
was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby
Crystal Gardens, she finds some pleasurable diversion in sneaking past
the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again,
she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety.
Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if
she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be
assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There is plenty of
whispering about him already, with rumors of treasure buried under his
garden, and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle--who
died of mysterious causes.
Immediately sensing each other's psychic talents, as well as their
mutual desire, Lucas and Evangeline find themselves with an even more
pressing concern. Whoever tried to have her killed will try again. But
who would want her dead?
With Evangeline's skill for detection, and Lucas's sense of the criminal
mind, they soon discover that they share a common enemy. And as the
dangerous energy emanating from Crystal Gardens grows stronger, they
realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too
long.
THE MYSTERY WOMAN
Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood's gown, a pistol
waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission
-- and with a secret past -- and she must be prepared to fight for her
life at any moment.
Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins
her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball -- and then disappears into
the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage, and he
claims to know Beatrice's employers. Beyond that, he is an enigma with a
hypnotically calm voice and an ebony-and-steel cane...
Joshua, who carries out clandestine investigations for the Crown, is
equally intrigued. He has a personal interest in Miss Lockwood, a
suspected thief and murderer, not to mention a fraudster who claims to
have psychic powers. The quest to discover her whereabouts has pulled
him away from his mournful impulses to hurl himself into the sea -- and
engaged his curiosity about the real Beatrice Lockwood, whose spirit, he
suspects, is not as delicate as her face and figure.
He does know one thing, though: This flame-haired beauty was present the
night Roland Fleming died at the Academy of the Occult. Guilty or not,
she is his guide to a trail of blood and blackmail, mesmerism and
madness -- a path that will lead both of them into the clutches of a
killer who calls himself the Bone Man...
