Butterfly Palace
ACCLAIM FOR COLLEEN COBLE
Rosemary Cottage
“Coble’s fast-paced, atmospheric, and suspenseful second entry in her new romantic suspense series (after
Tidewater Inn
) is a sure bet . . .”
—
Library Journal
“Coble’s second Hope Beach book returns to the stunningly described Outer Banks locale. The suspenseful mystery, coupled with developing romance, creates a lively, page turning novel.”
—
Romantic Times
, 4-star review
“Coble provides plenty of excitement for readers who enjoy her unique combination of cozy setting and action-packed mystery.”
—
Publishers Weekly
Tidewater Inn
“Coble’s atmospheric and suspenseful series launch should appeal to fans of Tracie Peterson and other authors of Christian romantic suspense.”
—
Library Journal
“Coble’s mystery is intriguing and an ideal backdrop for the development of a romance. The plot moves briskly forward, providing an action-packed story along with wonderful development of the characters.”
—
Romantic Times
Safe in His Arms
“A fiery redhead, a mystery man, and plot twists galore. What’s not to love? Colleen has done it again . . . created a page-turner. Don’t miss it!”
—
Stephanie Grace Whitson, author of The Quilt Chronicles series
“I so enjoyed the strong heroine and enigmatic hero in Colleen Coble’s
Safe in His Arms.
What a fun story of learning to love, to trust, and to be safe in the arms of God, no matter the circumstances. You’ll want to keep turning the pages on this one to discover what happens next!”
—Marlo Schalesky, author of the Christy Award-winning
Beyond the Night
“Colleen combines a rich, historical setting with real characters who reach out and grab ahold of you from page one. You won’t want to put
Safe in His Arms
down until you turn the last page. Then you’ll be sad the story ended so fast! I love Colleen’s books and look forward to the next one!”
—Lynette Eason, award-winning, best-selling author of The Women of Justice series
“Colleen Coble is an amazing storyteller who weaves stories I can’t put down. In
Safe in His Arms
she combines a heroine I wanted to take to tea with a misunderstood hero and placed them in a historical setting I thoroughly enjoyed. Mix in romance and a touch of suspense and it is the perfect book.”
—Cara Putman, award-winning author of
Stars in the Night
and
A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island
ALSO BY COLLEEN COBLE
Novellas included in
Smitten
,
Secretly Smitten
, and
Smitten Book Club
UNDER TEXAS STARS NOVELS
Blue Moon Promise
Safe in His Arms
THE HOPE BEACH NOVELS
Tidewater Inn
Rosemary Cottage
THE LONESTAR NOVELS
Lonestar Sanctuary
Lonestar Secrets
Lonestar Homecoming
Lonestar Angel
THE MERCY FALLS SERIES
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter
The Lightkeeper’s Bride
The Lightkeeper’s Ball
THE ROCK HARBOR SERIES
Without a Trace
Beyond a Doubt
Into the Deep
Cry in the Night
Silent Night
(e-book only)
THE ALOHA REEF SERIES
Distant Echoes
Black Sands
Dangerous Depths
Midnight Sea
Holy Night
(e-book only)
Alaska Twilight
Fire Dancer
Abomination
Anathema
© 2014 by Colleen Coble
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coble, Colleen.
Butterfly palace / Colleen Coble.
pages cm.
Summary: “Lily secures a job as maid in a grand manor in Austin, Texas. But even far from home, her past lurks around every corner. When Lily Donnelly arrives at the Cutlers’ famed Butterfly Mansion in 1899, the massive house and unfamiliar duties threaten to overwhelm her. Victorian Austin is lavish, highly political, and intimidating, but with the help of the other servants, Lily resolves to prove herself to her new employers. Then, while serving at an elegant dinner party, Lily recognizes one distinguished guest as Andrew, the love of her life who abandoned her without a word back home. He seems to have assumed a new identity and refuses to acknowledge her, leaving her confused and reeling. Before Lily can absorb this unwelcome news, she’s attacked. Could it be the sinister Servant Girl Killer who has been terrorizing Austin? Or is it someone after something more personal, someone from her past? Does she dare trust Andrew to help, or is he part of the danger threatening to draw Lily into its vortex?”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-59554-783-5 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-40169-007-6 (eBook)
1. Housekeepers—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.O2285B88 2014
813'.54—dc23 2013029518
Printed in the United States of America
14 15 16 17 18 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my sister of the heart Diann Hunt, who has grown more beautiful as she’s lived out the meaning of this novel—that struggle makes us stronger and more fit for heaven.
Love you, Di! I’m in awe of your strength and the way you shine Jesus every day.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
READING GROUP GUIDE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AN EXCERPT FROM SAFE IN HIS ARMS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Larson, Texas, 1900
L
ily Donaldson tiptoed to the front door and winced when it opened with a creak. The last thing she wanted was to awaken her mother who was sleeping down the hall. Even though Lily was over twenty years old, her mother would take a switch to her if she knew she was sneaking out like this. The lights still shone from the livery attached to their house.
She peeked in the window as she passed. Her father sat at the desk with his partner as they pored over figures for the new expansion. There was a stack of money on the desk beside them. She stared for a moment at the stack of cash. It must have been a good day for the livery. It would be hours before their meeting came to an end. The talk of a new livery in the next town over had been going on for several weeks, and both men never seemed to tire of the topic.
The night air touched her heated skin, and she shivered as she hurried along the path to the barn. Crickets chirped as if to keep time to the ragtime tune tinkling from the tavern’s piano down the street. The threat of discovery added another thump to her pulse.
The familiar scent of hay and horse greeted her when she stepped into the darkened building. “Andy?” She twisted the unfamiliar weight of the engagement ring on her finger. Her lips curved when Andy Hawkins stepped from the shadows. “I thought maybe you hadn’t been able to slip away.” She kept her voice barely above a whisper while she drank in his appearance.
He was a good head taller than most men, and his bulk made her feel tiny—and protected. His dark hair curled at the nape of his neck, and his eyes were the color of a buckeye nut.
His white teeth flashed below his perfect Roman nose. “I told Pa I wasn’t feeling well. I’d much rather be with you.” His warm hands came down on her shoulders, and he pulled her close for a kiss. “That meeting will go on for hours.”
Heat ran through her at his words. She’d tried to resist the pull of their passion—they both had—but they’d been weak, so weak. The firm press of his fingers closed around her hand, and he pulled her to a comfortable stack of hay. She fell into his arms without a protest. His lips came down on hers, and she forgot everything but his touch.
He lifted his head and sniffed. “Do you smell smoke?”
Cries of alarm began to filter into her consciousness, muddied by the feel and scent of Andy. He helped her to her feet, and they both rushed to the door to view a scene that made her shudder.
Fire shot through the roof of the livery. “Pa!” Andy restrained her when she would have rushed forward.
More shouts came from town, and a line of men burst from the saloon and ran toward the burning building. The windows of the livery exploded, spewing broken glass onto the ground, then smoke poured from open frames.