Paper Valentine
5/5
()
About this ebook
London, 1840. At the height of Victorian hypocrisy, two men meet and fall in love. Their romance is forbidden, punishable even by death, but their passion blossoms thanks to a paper Valentine.
Saint Valentine's Day has become a new and very popular day for lovers. Thousands of Londonites are clamouring for the ideal romantic gift. While men buy chocolate and posies, they yearn for something more unusual, more personal. Enterprising brothers Aldon and Samuel Barnaby hit upon the idea of paper Valentines, creating lavish presentations decorated with silk, lace, and paper flowers.
Aldon is fortunate to have his perfect valentine going to his expectant wife, Geneve, but Samuel still longs for his own true love, pouring his heart and soul into his beautiful creations. Samuel's romantic verses inside his paper Valentines are in huge demand, yet not a single local girl can lay claim to his heart...because his passion lies not in a woman, but another man—Jude, a handsome but shy widower.
Jude's heart, haunted by grief, hasn't been ready to consider marriage again. But slowly, through his inclusion in the Barnaby family's lives...and his frequent excursions to stop and stare at the Barnabys' shop window...he begins to wonder in what direction his future lies.
Can Samuel possibly allow his heart to explore love with another man? Could Jude ever love him in return? He sends Jude an exquisite, anonymous paper Valentine, not suspecting that his entire world is about to be turned upside down...
A.J. Llewellyn
A.J. Llewellyn lives in California, but dreams of living in Hawaii. Frequent trips to all the islands, bags of Kona coffee in the fridge and a healthy collection of Hawaiian records keep this writer refueled. A.J. never lacks inspiration for male/male erotic romances and on the rare occasions this happens, pursues other passions such as collecting books on Hawaiiana, surfing and spending time with friends and animal companions. A.J. Llewellyn believes that love is a song best sung out loud.
Read more from A.J. Llewellyn
Nibiru Vampire Warriors: Chapter Seven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStranger Rice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTall With Room Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bouncer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStavros Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nibiru Vampire Warriors: Chapter Eleven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoley's Wood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Camino Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond the Reef Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Paper Valentine
Related ebooks
Back to the Start Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmish Evenings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Winds of Morning: Donovan Family Saga, #0.5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInto the Light Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSilver: Fairy Tale Mates, #5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanishing Falls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bargain to Keep: Home To Osceola, #0.5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFiery Rivers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJane's Harmony: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Belle and Jaeger: The Belle Series, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Silent Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Naked Laird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your heart in mine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Different Kind of Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHis Country Cinderella: Now a Harlequin Movie, A Very Country Christmas! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5His Country Cinderella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Granddad's House: On Geneva Shores, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYours to Keep Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaken For Granted Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Through Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecond Chances Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHome Invasion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Saints of Belvedere Road Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sweet Blessings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHope for the Holidays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christmas with the Firefighter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHer Christmas Protector Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sprouted Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEntry Visa: The Department of Homeworld Security, #5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Best Friends Forever: An absolutely gripping and unputdownable crime thriller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Historical Romance For You
Pride and Prejudice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lover Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: A powerful, important historical novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Wonderful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Years to Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bred By The King In Public: Dominant King Erotic History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonwyck: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slave Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bastard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Versions of Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Kingdom of Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whitney, My Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold-Hearted Rake: The Ravenels, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady's Tutor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Empress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Alien Seduction: Outing the Flames of Passion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Garden in England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barbarian's Concubine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bound To Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Tudor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once Upon A Time: A Collection of Folktales, Fairytales and Legends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Highlander's Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Dweller on Two Planets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Forgotten Home Child Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Devil’s Submission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Companion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Paper Valentine
4 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Paper Valentine - A.J. Llewellyn
A Total-E-Bound Publication
www.total-e-bound.com
Paper Valentine
ISBN # 978-0-85715-464-4
©Copyright A.J. Llewellyn 2011
Cover Art by April Martinez ©Copyright February 2011
Edited by Stacey Birkel
Total-E-Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2011 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.
PAPER VALENTINE
A.J. Llewellyn
Dedication
For D.J. Manly, my favourite Valentine
Chapter One
London
February 2, 1840
Samuel hurried through the streets of Chelsea as soon as the little boy brought him the note. He clutched the scrap of parchment in his fingers.
Please come, hurry. Do not tell Aldon.
He tried to calm his nerves. What problem could Geneve have that required such secrecy? Perhaps she was having a problem with the servants again. It couldn’t be the baby. She’d want Aldon to know if she was in physical distress. She was seven months pregnant and, according to his brother, increasingly anxious. Aldon said she feared being in their terraced house without him.
Samuel had thrown on his frock coat and left his print shop right away. The grip of a vicious winter still held London with no immediate end in sight. It was just after four o’clock in the afternoon, but soon it would be dark and Geneve would be cooking dinner. The very thought of her fragrant offerings sent soothing messages to Samuel’s rumbling belly as he raced through the slop-filled streets. The aroma of the herb-infused saloop and hot coffee available at the street cart beside him enticed him but couldn’t block the putrid stench of garbage.
Saloop!
the barrowman called. "Fresh and hot! Coffee! Get it now! No carrots or chicory filler. This is real coffee, folks!"
The stink and the desperation got worse each day. There was a new coarseness in people he saw on the street, a greater division between rich and poor he attributed to the loss of the great hat. Since women stopped wearing these in favour of closer-fitting bonnets, he fancied that society’s gentility had also shrunk as a whole.
Although Chelsea was considered the Bohemian quarter of the city, this term covered, as far as he was concerned, a multitude of lifestyles. You could find artists, writers, poets, musicians, intellectual radicals and…the just plain poor.
A group of small boys ran from a house on his right, dashing past him to the Hokey-Pokey man’s cart on the other side of the street, holding their halfpennies high. Samuel stopped short. The children clamoured for their afternoon milk ice treats. They looked filthy. As the children received their ices, they ran past Samuel again and he almost gagged. They smelt like rotten onions.
A crudely-dressed housewife stepped out of the house and slopped a pail, aiming for the centre gutter in the middle of the street, just missing Samuel’s new shoes. Hand embroidered by Geneve, they were his most cherished possessions. They were not perhaps the most practical shoes in mid-winter, but they were new slippers Geneve had made for him and he liked to wear them around the shop. He’d left in such a hurry he’d forgotten to change into his leather shoes.
He cringed as the woman with the bucket turned and berated the children now huddled around the kitchen table inside their dingy home. He noticed a blackened pot atop a blazing fire on the hearth. His gaze strayed to the sconces on the kitchen wall and he wondered how she could afford gaslight. He felt warm liquid seep into the soles of his slippers and moved forwards.
At Aldon’s front door two blocks away on Kings Road, he knocked. Samuel detected the odour of rancid animal fat and realised too late that it emanated from his slippers. Geneve opened the door, her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears.
Thank you,
she said. Oh, thank you, Samuel!
The fact that she let him into the house herself told him everything, but he was too struck by his sister-in-law’s loveliness to think beyond it.
She took his breath away. Each time he saw her blonde curls, delicate, porcelain-like skin and small, even, white teeth, she seduced him anew. However, it was not in a romantic sense. She was a pre-Raphaelite beauty. He didn’t harbour secret fantasies about Geneve, lovely as she was, especially now she was with child. He felt a chill squeeze his heart. Nobody knew his true desire…he hoped they never would.
Geneve seized his hand and led him through the long, narrow house. He cringed at the odour on his shoes, still very strong in his mind, but she seemed not to notice. Her ringlet curls bobbed above the lace collar of her dress. She was an exquisite woman and his brother was lucky to have her.
It wasn’t that Aldon was ugly. Far from it, but the two Barnaby brothers owned a printing shop and worked hard for their money. At twenty-five Aldon had begun to lose his hair a little as had Samuel, who was now twenty-eight. Their dark, brooding looks were in contrast with Geneve’s light. Everything about her shone. She could have had any man she wanted and she’d chosen Aldon.
Inside the warm, spice-scented kitchen, he realised her dress and covering smock, not to mention her sleeves and pale, slim hands, were covered in flour. The kitchen was a mess. He’d never seen Geneve cooking in a kitchen in such disarray.
Where are the servants?
he asked.
She shook her head, her lips quivering.
"Gone. They are gone."
She thrust a note into his hands and he read the contents quickly.
All right.
He hoped his