Remote Cedarton Castle is haunted. That’s what Eliza Wakefield's sisters say before she sets off to visit her recently married friend. The crumbling ruin is even more isolated and foreboding than expected. Its inhabitants, a small cluster of Lord Linfield’s closest allies. Moreover, all is not well with the Linfield’s marriage, leading Eliza to fear for her friend’s safety and her mind.
Mathematician Jem Whistler is a man caught in a trap. He’s in love with a woman he can’t have and owned by a lord who demands things he’d rather not give. Unexpectedly reunited with the woman who owns his heart, he struggles to keep his attachment hidden. When the threat from Cedarton’s white lady increases, Jem and Eliza must work together to uncover the true nature of the spectre haunting Cedarton’s shadowy halls. That’s if they can keep their hands off one another long enough to investigate.
Can a bluestocking and mathematician admit the truth of their feelings, or will a certain devilish element end a love that’s just begun?
Dive into this tale of gothic mischief, medicine, and murder, and discover the Wakefields, four spinster sisters and the brother who’s determined to see them matched. A DEVILISH ELEMENT by Madelynne Ellis is the first book in the Wooing the Wakefield’s series. Readers of a delicate disposition beware, spicy shenanigans, chemistry, and corpses abound in this tale of gothic Regency romance.
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Excerpt
Copyright 2024 Madelynne Ellis
“This is you.” Jane announced at the end of a corridor thick with shadows. She turned the handle of a near invisible door, only for a shadow to bolt across the runner. She shrieked, as if something mightier than a mouse had startled her. One pale hand clutched to her chest. “Jane, are you—” “Darned vermin. I’m sorry, Eliza. I’ll have Mrs Honeyfield set more traps and see if we can’t acquire a decent mouser. If you wish to leave in the morning, I’ll completely understand.” Leave? “Don’t be absurd.” It would take more than a single mouse to scare her away, especially one so eager to make itself scarce. Though perhaps Cedarton would yield more terrifying visitations, given time. “I’m not going anywhere. But tell me, Jane, what necessitates that?” Her attention, initially drawn by the mouse, had travelled along the runner and discovered a door hidden amidst the gloom, and not just any door, but an iron-pinned monster, secured with a wooden bar and a series of heavy bolts. “Are we expecting invaders?” “Of course not.” Jane clasped Eliza’s elbow and began to steer her into the Grey room, but Eliza turned away from the unlatched door in favour of the bolted one. LONG EXCERPT #1 “Another wing?” She claimed the candlestick from Jane’s hand and raised it to make a closer inspection of the iron-pinned monster. It was the strangest of doors to find at the end of an upper wing corridor, its strength more suited to an entrance one wished to defend. The wainscoting ended short of its position, and the grey stone wall amidst which it sat was unadorned by painting or tapestry, but streaked with light-stealing stripes, leading to the impression that a squid-like entity was attempting to squeeze its bulk around the frame. “Don’t you wish to change out of those travel clothes?” “Momentarily. Whatever is beyond here?” Jane stayed by the door to the Grey Room as Eliza inched forwards. Now level with the strange door, its proportions were more clearly defined. Eight feet tall at least, and almost the same across. She touched the brickwork, and her fingers came away stained. “Soot?” “There was a fire in the past. There’s nothing beyond now.” “So many bolts, there is something.” “Ruins. That is all. It was the Lady Tower, but now it’s only a shell. Throw back the bolts if you must. They’re a safety measure, as the key is lost, and there’s a sheer drop on the other side.” Far too intrigued to pass up the invitation, Eliza drew back the bolts, even though it was clear the door predated any fire, and thus its purpose remained obscured. The ancient hinges protested with a whine as she drew the door open, revealing a vast abyss that snuffed the candlelight. Her breath caught, and Jane hurried to her side. “See, there’s nothing of interest here. Please come away.” Nothing of interest, and yet Jane’s fear was palpable. Also, not strictly true. As Eliza’s eyes adjusted to the murk, the shadows yielded the shell of what must once have been the grandest and tallest of Cedarton’s towers. Further sooty tendrils reached towards the absent roof, while several storeys below, weeds poked up in inky thickets, and between her and them, the remains of floorboards and charred furniture hung suspended like the tiers of an off-centre wedding cake. “What happened?” Having drunk her fill of the view, Eliza took a step back from the edge. “A fire, some fifty years back. You’ll have to ask Linfield if you desire the full particulars. I don’t know them and don’t care too. I believe the last Lady to live here died in the inferno.” She shivered and drew her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. So, Caroline’s tales of Cedarton’s terrible past weren’t entirely unfounded. “It must have been an inferno indeed. It’s a wonder the rest of the castle was spared.” Jane shrugged, as if she’d given it no thought, which was practically confirmation that it had weighed on her mind, but Eliza saw no sense in pressing her. Jane would reveal her thoughts in her own time, at her own pace, as had always been her way. She’d never been one to bleat about a matter until it suited her to do so. “It won’t give you sleepless nights, will it? I would spare you that at least, given Cedarton’s lack of comforts.” “Jane, you are being too hard on the place. It’s a little gloomy, but far less bleak than you’re making out. In any case, I’m not given to frivolous flights of fantasy. A dark history will not disturb my rest. Come now, show me my room.” She refastened the bolts, then let Jane lead her into the bedchamber. “See, this is quite delightful.”
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About Madelynne Ellis
Madelynne Ellis is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author. She wrote her first novel after discovering Black Lace Books in the 1990s. After escaping the Hotel California, she dived into storytelling full time. Her books are filled with bisexual bad boys who like to get down and dirty, and stories so angst-filled you know they’re going to hurt. She lives in the UK near the Welsh border, where you can find her surrounded by books, drinking rapidly cooling decaf coffee, and listening to loud music.
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