Part 2, "Love Adrift," available now! Lord Abercrombie is a busy man, with little time for the pleasures of life in 19th century England. His hard work over the years has led to much success and wealth in the legal field, but made it difficult to manage affairs of the heart.When he's surprised in his study one night by a sharp rap on the door, Abercrombie comes face to face with a problem of a new kind - a beautiful young lady, Priscilla Stone, who claims to have just escaped from kidnappers!As Abercrombie nurses Priscilla back to health while trying to avoid his increasing attraction to her, he must confront a terrible possibility - that her father, Lord Stone, is responsible for kidnapping his own daughter!EXCERPT:The first order of business, of course, was to get Priscilla a bath.Abercrombie didn't know what was going on for certain, but a woman in obvious distress had shown up on his doorstep begging for his help, and damn him for a fool but his chivalrous side would not stand for it. So for now, he was decided to help her. Hang the consequences for tomorrow.He had dismissed his two house servants as soon as he had gotten home this evening, so with no one else to do it, drawing a bath became his own responsibility. He heated water in the metal cauldron and brought it steaming to the cast iron tub a bit at a time until it was full enough for her to bathe in. She watched him as he did all this, her eyes following his every move. After he had dumped the last of the water into the tub he turned to tell her it was ready. "I shall get you some soap as well."Her gaze dropped to the floor. "Thank you, my Lord. For the bath, and for the safety you offer me. Um. Would it be too much to ask you for some privacy now?"He smiled. Of course. She wanted to undress. "Not at all. I'll be in the next room."He had started to walk away when she said, "No, wait."Turning back, he saw her biting her lower lip and wringing her hands. "Could you, perhaps, just turn your back. I believe I'm afraid to be alone right now."His heart pounded a bit faster. The thought of her, naked, in the same room as he was, came very vividly to his mind. And he found it was not unpleasant at all. He nodded, and turned his back to her."I know it is unseemly for a woman you don't know to be undressing in a room with you, my Lord. I can not express to you my gratitude.""There is no need," he said to her while staring at the bathroom wall. He could hear her clothes being dropped to the floor, and then her footsteps padding on the tiles.And then he felt her touch against the side of his neck.WARNING: This 8000+ word historical erotic short story contains graphic sex and romance between an English lord and a just-escaped young English lady in Regency England. There may or may not be murder and/or blackmail as well!