Melissa: Before Vic arrives for her
interview, I should tell all my blog followers that Vic Hamilton is actually a
young woman, not a young man. Although I must say, she makes a good-looking
young man. However, why she wishes to live life as a man is something of a
mystery.
One theory is that she’s afraid of
skirts, since her mother drowned in the ocean due to her heavy skirts pulling
her under. But I don’t think that’s true since Vic wears a dress in this story
and survives her disguise just fine.
Another theory, which I lean towards, is
Vic knows men have more interesting lives and thus she pretended to be a young
man so she could be properly educated at Oxford and is now learning the
exciting profession of investigating, taught by the greatest sleuth in all of
England, Xavier Thorn.
Whichever the reason, Vic is always to
be referred to as a ‘him’. If Xavier catches you referring to his ‘pup’ as a
female, he will scold you severely. So you have been warned.
Here’s Vic now!
The
attached picture of Vic shows her dressed as a female and has an inset of her
normal appearance.
She
insisted this note be placed so you would not believe she had a head growing
out her side.
She’s
got enough troubles already!
Now
get to the interview, because she’s getting hungry.
Melissa: How are things going?
Vic: *grimaces* I wish I could say
wonderful, but L’il Pete’s mother, Maggie, was killed.
Melissa: That’s terrible. How is he
taking matters?
Vic: To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve
been disguised as a woman, living in Maggie’s old tenement and working her job,
trying to get proof as to who murdered her.
Melissa: Any clues?
Vic: My boss came very close to
admitting he had Maggie killed, and I’m pretty sure he had a bizzie kill her.
Melissa: What’s a bizzy?
Vic: It’s the sorry excuse of coppers
who ‘protect’ the lower docks. As far as I can tell, they are worse than the
sailors. They got the name bizzy for always sticking their nose where it
doesn’t belong or possibly because whenever you need help, they are too ‘busy’
doing something else. Not sure which explanation is the true one, but trust, if
you are in need of help, they won’t be anywhere around and if you don’t want
anything to do with them, they’ll be in your business, giving you grief.
Melissa: Sounds like trouble. If you
already know who did it, why don’t you return to wearing pants and report it to
Scotland Yard…perhaps in the opposite order..
Vic: *sighs and hangs her head* I’m working on intuition right now. The only
proof I have that something is off is that the apothecary I’m tending uses
enough laudanum and chloroform to sedate all the ladies in London. And so far
there have only been 2 customers, one wanting morphine for what I suspect was
appendicitis, and the other was my landlady who just wanted me to give her an
all alcohol tonic drink for free.
Melissa: Sounds like you’re having a
rough time.
Vic: I am. I’m off my game, overly
emotional, and I’m constantly hungry—and I’m putting on weight.
Melissa: Oh dear, that sounds like a
baby might be on the way.
Vic: What? Don’t be ridiculous! Has
Claire been dragging out her picture of me dressed like a girl again? That
doesn’t mean anything! I can’t have a baby. It would destroy my life. I’m just
getting fat, nothing more. Now I need to return to work so I can discover
evidence that will move Scotland Yard to arrest someone. *Vic storms off*
Melissa: Well, that was interesting. I
wonder if she really is having a baby? That would definitely create some
obstacles for Vic.
The great Victorian sleuth Xavier Thorn
and his partner Vic Hamilton take a case close to home. Their youngest staff
member, L’il Pete, discovers his mother murdered in the alley. Jacko is called
up from the country to assist in solving the crime. The good woman’s murder
proves to be tangled up with a much larger and shocking list of crimes
perpetrated by a powerful man who may truly be above the law. Making matters more
complex: Vic discovers her recent weight gain may be the result of a condition
that could destroy her life and everything she loves.
Vic stormed towards him in fury. He held
his ground, which meant she was soon inches away from his face, her feminine
scent tantalizing his nose.
“Xavier told you to kiss me?”
He breathed in and he was once again
overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her. She smelled just like Alice. Finally,
he knew what caused the attraction. “You’re pregnant.”
She stepped back as if slapped. “What?
No! And stop changing the topic.”
“I’m not. I just realized why the kiss
was so…”
“So what?” she growled.
“More than it should have been.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because pregnant women give off a smell
men find tantalizing.”
Vic stamped her foot. “I’m not having a
baby!”
He eyed her ample breasts. Those had to
be new. No way in hell she’d been hiding mountains under her young man’s
clothes all these years.
“You’re definitely pregnant.”
Panic entered her eyes. “Why are you certain
I’m pregnant and not just getting fat?”
“You smell like Alice does. That’s why I
kissed you when you opened your mouth to me.”
“I did not—” She stopped and bit her
bottom lip. After a deep breath in, she asked, “What other evidence do you
have?”
He placed a hand softly on her belly,
which she instantly pushed away. “Swollen belly, plump breasts. Bet they’re
sore too.”
“That’s where people put on weight
first,” she grumbled.
“When was the last time you had your
curse?”
She looked away.
“Can’t remember?”
“It’s not a sure sign.”
He rolled his eyes. “How can a clever
sleuth like you be so damn clueless about your own body?”
Book 4
Well Kept Secrets
Free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited
Need to catch up?
Book 1
Book 2
Book 2.5
Book 3
All Xavier books Free with Amazon
Unlimited
Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats,
left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast.
There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic
husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then
one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell
in love with her new life where people behaved normally. But all those bad
behaviors have given her lots of fodder for her humorous romances. Please buy
these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels
instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.
Mostly
humorous books by Liza:
Ghost Lover—Two
British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is
called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the
book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)
Untamed & Unabashed—The
youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful spinoff from
Pride & Prejudice.
A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic
proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s
impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint
comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a
great one.
The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late
Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England
hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian
England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100
servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to
see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from
Bedlam?
The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and
make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — L’il
Pete’s mum is murdered, and discovering who & why reveals a great many
secrets.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
Investigate
these sites:
