The Potential for Love
by Catherine Kullmann
“There is an essential something that calls us to
another, something that we recognise or that resounds within us on the most intimate
level.”
“Love, you mean?”
“Rather the possibility or potential for love.” Her
father shook his head. “It’s impossible to describe, Arabella, and it may take
us some time to recognise it, but we do know when it is not there.”
When Arabella
Malvin sees the figure of an officer silhouetted against the sun, for one
interminable moment, she thinks he is her brother, against all odds safely
returned from Waterloo. But it is Major Thomas Ferraunt, the rector’s son,
newly returned from occupied Paris who stands in front of her.
For over six
years, Thomas’s thoughts have been of war. Now he must ask himself what his
place is in this new world and what he wants from it. More and more, his
thoughts turn to Miss Malvin, but would Lord Malvin agree to such a mismatch
for his daughter, especially when she is being courted by Lord Henry Danlow?
As Arabella
embarks on her fourth season, she finds herself more in demand than ever
before. But she is tired of the life of a debutante, waiting in the wings for
her real life to begin. She is ready to marry. But which of her suitors has the
potential for love and who will agree to the type of marriage she wants?
As she struggles
to make her choice, she is faced with danger from an unexpected quarter while
Thomas is stunned by a new challenge. Will these events bring them together or
drive them apart?
Excerpt
Arabella
and Thomas have met in Rotten Row.
When they came abreast of the gentlemen,
Thomas wheeled his horse to fall in beside her.
“Good morning, Thomas. He is a handsome
fellow. What have you called him?”
“Samson.”
“Why?”
He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. He
looks like a Samson, I suppose. Why do you smile?”
“I was wondering would you name your
children the same way. I could see you cradling a new-born infant, muttering
names to yourself—Gideon, no; Gerard, no; Jeremiah—not Jeremiah.”
“I have never thought of it,” he said with
his lop-sided smile. “But I imagine the child’s mother would have something to
say too, don’t you?”
“I’m sure she would,” she answered
hastily, dazzled by a new image of herself propped up against her pillows,
laughing and shaking her head at his suggestions. That was what she wanted in
marriage, she realised suddenly, love and laughter and a bond that was much
more than two signatures on the marriage register.
Pick
up your copy of
The Potential for Love
Catherine Kullmann
Catherine Kullmann was born and educated
in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she
moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to
Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the
private sector. Widowed, she has three adult sons and two grandchildren.
Catherine has always been interested in
the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world
were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens
after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes
catches up with them. Her books are set against a background of the offstage,
Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a
patriarchal society. She is the author of The
Murmur of Masks, Perception &
Illusion, A Suggestion of Scandal, The
Duke’s Regret, and The Potential for
Love.
Catherine also blogs about historical
facts and trivia related to this era. You can find out more about her books and
read her blog (My Scrap Album).Or
connect with Catherine on Facebook. page is
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx