Friday, July 16, 2021

Patriotic Parfaits by Nancy Lee Badger


I have been terribly busy this month: three days of Jury Duty, several doctor appointments, one surgery, exercising and swimming... but I made these parfaits for our recent get-together of the family. I cheated a bit (busy, right?) and used a yellow cake mix that my sister found. 

It is SUGAR FREE and smells and tastes exactly like a cake should. This made the creation easy, so I thought someone out there might enjoy making it, too.

Nancy's Red-White-&=Blue Parfaits

Pillsbury SUGAR FREE Yellow Cake mix (or Regular cake mix)

*cook as directed using 1 cup water, 1/3 cup oil, and 3 eggs)

Strawberries, hulled and sliced

Blueberries

Sugar Free Cool Whip or Whipped Cream

Clear Glasses

Bake cake as directed. Cool, then cut into small hunks. Place some in bottom of a glass. Top with some berries. Add some whipped cream. Add more cake, berries, and cream. Place two blueberries and a slice of strawberry on top for color. Yum!

I assembled them after our dinner, and served them to my family right away. Fresh and cool and sugar-free. My Christmas in July theme this month is to help celebrate the release of my new book.

You can find all buy links for 

this book and others HERE

Happy summer!

Nancy Lee Badger




Friday, July 9, 2021

Christmas in July Release Day - TheDuke'sDiamond

 


Enjoy Christmas in July by two of your favorite authors...

DONNA STEELE  and her new book COUNTRY DOCTOR

and

Me (NANCY LEE BADGER) with THE DUKE'S DIAMOND

These ebooks are surrounded by the authors' other 

Holiday-themed ebooks such as...

Find all Donna Steele's Books HERE

Check out all my books HERE



Keeping busy in the heat
and under threats by Hurricane Elsa

Nancy Lee Badger

Friday, July 2, 2021

1st Chapter Peek: The Duke's Diamond by Nancy Lee Badger

 


THE DUKE’S DIAMOND

  A Treasure Tale

 by Nancy Lee Badger

 

Chapter One

 

North of London

December 27, 1816

Bryce Ketteridge and Archie Kent climbed inside the coach, while Payton, the 6th Duke of Bellmeer, stamped his boots on the cold walkway. He should leave the gaming house with his travel companions, but the crisp air and fresh fallen snow invigorated him. After hours amid the stink of smoke and perfume, the night promised all he required, mainly solitude.

The last few weeks had given him more to think about than he cared to admit. Several deaths, a mysterious treasure, and his friend’s sudden marriage made his head spin, but he relished the adventure. He enjoyed how they’d traveled from the snowy north of England to a frigid castle in Scotland, then home to his country estate in Longtown.

When all was said and done, how could he forget the happiness of his friend, Stone, better known as the eighth Earl of Larchmont? For a man verbally against matrimony, he had fallen for his childhood neighbor, although the path to their recent wedded bliss had proved more of a trial by fire.

Marriage was not in the cards for Payton, even though he’d succeeded quite well at cards tonight. As his ducal coach disappeared down the lane then turned down another road toward their temporary abode, a slight noise beside him made his hackles rise. He reached for his sword, but he had left it at their leased lodgings, because the Bellingham gaming hell did not allow weapons.

Turning, he recognized the profile of Viscount Phillip Manning, the card player he had recently separated from a vast amount of his dwindling assets. He and his friends had done their investigation before tracking down the viscount. Surprisingly, the man wasn’t scowling, nor acting vengeful.

“May I offer you a ride, Your Grace?” The jingle of tackle, the creak of a carriage’s axles, and the muffled pounding of hooves over a snow-covered street grew louder. “Here is my coach.”

Payton looked up at the viscount who stood about two inches taller than his own six-foot height and sported broader shoulders. Did the viscount box or fence to stay so fit? Or, did the man more likely wear a great coat lined with thick wool against the winter winds? Thinning brown hair beneath his beaver top hat contradicted what Payton knew was the lord’s rather young thirty years. The viscount’s pale gray eyes opened wider, as if expecting Payton to say yes.

“I appreciate the offer, but I wish to walk,” he said. Payton lifted his feet, right then left, to keep warm. “Fresh air and new snow are inviting.”

“Then I shall join you.” He motioned for his driver to follow and the two men began their journey.

Despite the man’s smile, Payton grew wary. As they walked, they left the smells of the gaming hell behind, replaced by the fresh scent of newly falling snow and the slight spice of whatever the viscount had splashed on his face.

Facing away from Manning, he took slow, deep breaths of clean, crisp air that managed to soothe his sudden nervousness. His companion was not someone he would like to meet in a dark alley, but he had to remind himself that Manning was a gentleman.

A poorer one, tonight, but still.

Tiny flakes settled on Payton’s nose and eyebrows. Lights from closely built town homes lit their way through the night and reminded him of the late hour. Where his beaver top hat and evening cloak could not reach, the back of his neck grew chilled.

A hot bath will do me good.

“This is invigorating,” the viscount said.

Payton’s suspicions increased. Did Manning want him relaxed for some nefarious reason, such as to demand the return of his signet ring and the money he lost at cards?

I am glad I had the forethought to place them in Archie’s care.

Even though he had recently met Archie Kent, the former soldier came well-recommended by his good friend, Stone. Archie saved Stone’s life and now worked as the earl’s valet.

Payton’s rented townhome stood a few blocks farther. He had no idea where Manning lived. Archie knew the man’s address, as he had spoken with a few of the servants in the viscount’s employ. That Manning could afford even the few he housed was another mystery. Why didn’t he stay in rooms meant for bachelors, where servants were not needed? How could he afford a coach, a driver, and the four tired beasts pulling the creaking vehicle?

The coach in question pulled up beside them, which is when Payton realized they had paused. Many questions lingered on the tip of his tongue. As the coach door swung open, Payton said, “Manning, I should like to know—”

Slam!

Payton’s hat went flying to the curb while he fell backward through the open coach door. He tried to roll to his side, but the small dark space prevented it. Someone tossed a sack over his head. While stunned and in shock at such manhandling of a peer of the realm, he was yanked up onto his knees. Shoved sideways, he landed in an awkward angle with his head resting on the thinly cushioned bench. The sack’s rough fabric scratched his cheek and stank of wet horsehair and whiskey.

As he lay disoriented, his leather gloves were torn from his hands and his wrists bound behind his back. He assumed Manning or the viscount’s driver treated him with contempt, yet he sensed someone else’s presence. In an attempt to turn toward his assailant, something hard and metallic slammed his skull. Beneath the blackness of the foul-smelling sack, he saw stars.

Trying not to breathe too deeply, he swayed beside the bench. With escape on his mind, he turned his head toward what he assumed was the nearest exit. Before he could move an inch, the door slammed shut and the coach took off at an unsafe speed.

Striving to remain conscious, his other senses came alive. He managed to turn and sit on the floor of the coach. Luckily, they hadn’t tied his ankles. He thought to rise, find the door, and somehow jump from the coach, but the flowery fragrance of a lady’s perfume penetrated the sack. The rustle of silk was similar to the burn of the rope around his wrists…barely perceptible. The side of his head throbbed and his back ached from his fall, but he worked to sit a little straighter. His reward? A soft sigh that filled the dark void. 




The second book in my 
Treasure Tales series 
will be released on 

July 9th

Find all Buy Links HERE


p.s. Happy Birthday America July 4 1776