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By Any Other Name
Loretta learns that one harmless white lie can lead down strange paths. Little by little, her heedless statement draws her into a dead woman's identity. Will her deception bring her true love or death? She struggles with her growing attraction to Greg, the rugged attorney, who accepts her as his dead friend's daughter. As she is drawn deeper into the web of deceit, it becomes increasingly clear that someone wants to kill her. The motive, her share of a vast English estate.
Is it Richard, her supposed half brother who has
the best motive, or Polly, his doting aunt, with her knowledge of herbs and poison? Could
it be Nat, the seductive outsider, who offers friendship? Perhaps it's Morgan, Nat's
handsome twin, who romances Loretta. Is it her person or her fortune he desires? Perhaps
even sickly Arabella, the twins mother,could be driven to murder to help her children.
Worst of all could it be Greg, who has captured her unwilling heart?
Does he return her love or is there someone else he wants? In the entire family, only
little Drew and his two beloved dogs appear trustworthy. But even he has his secrets.
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Excerpt
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"Local gossip says she’s a witch and if you anger her, she’ll put a curse on you. Not too long ago, they would have burned her at the stake.""My God, she sounds terrifying!" She wanted to turn and run.
"She’s not really so bad. Just an elderly maiden lady who has a knack with herbs and a sharp tongue. Actually, Bella is probably worse if someone crosses her."
He couldn’t have done a better job if he had deliberately set out to terrify her. "Who is Bella".
He chuckled "Bella is Arabella Standhope, widowed wife of Sir Malcolm’s younger brother, Ralph. If you think of Polly Standhope as a hen with one chick, you would have to think of Bella as a brooding hen with two chicks, Natalie and Morgan."
"I suppose they are my cousins?" The word came easier. Deception probable got easier as you went along, she thought.
Not exactly" They are the children from her first marriage. Bella married when she was very, very young, to hear her version. Her first husband died shortly after, but not before leaving her pregnant with the twins. She married Ralph when they were two. She and Ralph had no children, so naturally, he felt as if Nat and Morgan were his children. However, since he was a second son the bulk of the inheritance went to Malcolm. Ralph worked here on the estate, so the twins were raised here. After Ralph’s death, it was just natural for them all to remain here."
Loretta was still trying to process all the information about her new ‘relatives’, when they turned into the drive of Standhope Manor.
