The China Bride

Chapter One

Shropshire, England December 1832

She hadn’t expected it to be so cold. Troth Montgomery shivered as she stepped from the shabby hired carriage, pulling her cloak more closely against the bitter December wind. She’d known that Britain lay far to the north, but a life spent in the tropics had left her ill-prepared for this bone-chilling climate.

Though she had yearned to reach the end of her long journey, now she was frightened at the prospect of meeting these strangers. Delaying, she asked the driver, “This is really Warfield Park? It is not what I expected.”

He hacked a cough into his gloved hand. “Aye, it’s Warfield, right enough.” He hauled out her single carpetbag, dropped it onto the driveway beside her, then wheeled his horses to make a fast return to his home in Shrewsbury.

As the carriage rumbled past her, she caught a glimpse ... read full excerpt from The China Bride ebook