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    Dancing in Red
    Dancing in Red
    Dancing in Red
    Ebook68 pages1 hour

    Dancing in Red

    By Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The prequel to Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand's Wear Black, "Dancing in Red" looks at how assassin Nellie Clifton started life:
    She has bigger dreams than the Curragh - Nellie Clifton isn't going to spend her life as a “wren,” one of the prostitutes serving the soldiers on the desolate plains of the Curragh outside Kildare, Ireland.
    The Prince of Wales is her escape plan - Nellie is going to make something of herself, and to do so, she has a plan: she is going to be the mistress of Queen Victoria's son, Prince Albert—but if he is a mistake, she needs another escape plan.
    Her life is going to change in ways she could never have expected - Nellie Clifton: Well on her way to becoming a legend, instead of just a footnote in history!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEilis Flynn
    Release dateSep 24, 2014
    ISBN9781310325069
    Dancing in Red
    Author

    Eilis Flynn

    Elizabeth M.S. (Eilis to her friends) Flynn has spent a large share of her life working on Wall Street or in a Wall Street-related firm, so why should she write fiction that’s any more based in our world? She spends her days aware that there is a reality beyond what we can see and tells stories about it. She lives in verdant Washington state with her equally fantastical husband. Her books can be found here, and check out emsflynn.com, at Flynn Books Words & Ideas .

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      Book preview

      Dancing in Red - Eilis Flynn

      SHE HAS BIGGER DREAMS THAN THE CURRAGH

      Nellie Clifton wasn’t going to spend her life as a wren, one of the prostitutes serving the soldiers on the desolate plains of the Curragh outside Kildare, Ireland.

      THE PRINCE IS HER ESCAPE PLAN

      Nellie is going to make something of herself, and to do so, she has a plan: she is going to be the mistress of Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Albert—but if he turns out to be a mistake, she’s going to need another escape plan.

      HER LIFE IS GOING TO CHANGE IN WAYS SHE COULD NEVER HAVE EXPECTED

      Nellie Clifton: Well on her way to becoming a legend, instead of just a footnote in history.

      DANCING IN RED

      By Eilis Flynn

      and

      Heather Hiestand

      DANCING IN RED

      By Eilis Flynn & Heather Hiestand

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2013 Eilis Flynn & Heather Hiestand

      ISBN: 9781310325069

      Cover art by Dreamstime; type design by Dar Albert, wickedsmartdesigns.com

      No portion of this book may be used without the author’s written permission, except for excerpts used in reviews of this story.

      Acknowledgments

      Thanks to our long-suffering families

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook may not be re-sold or given away. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Chapter One: The Prettiest Wren

      Chapter Two: The Perfect Mistress

      Chapter Three: Riches to Rags

      About The Authors

      More Stories

      Coming Up Next

      Chapter One: The Prettiest Wren

      July 27, 1861 Kildare, Ireland

      It is rather ironic. He has all the money in the world. Everyone wants to meet him, yet for all the charm, he’s the most inexperienced lad you’ll ever meet. The next sentence out of the soldier’s mouth disappeared as he pulled his stool closer to the table.

      Look at me! Nellie Clifton wanted to shout to the subaltern. If there was a new soldier with wealth and charm, she wanted to meet him. She hadn’t come to the Curragh intending to settle in there for the rest of her life. Most of the girls there lasted less than a decade. The smarter ones came just for the summer, leaving before the snows covered the plain. That way, the experience felt like more of a lark and less like work.

      I can’t imagine how Her Majesty thinks he’s going to be able to command a battalion by August. Why, I couldn’t do it, said another subaltern, who looked a couple of years younger than the first one who’d spoken. This lad hadn’t even tried to grow a mustache. Could you, Mills?

      At the lad’s words, Nellie gave up her intention of displaying herself to the rest of the room. Higher-ranking officers were dotted around the tables near the empty fireplace in the pub’s main room, but these youngling’s aristocratic drawls had her attention piqued.

      He’s the Prince of Wales, not an ordinary man, said Mills. He lifted his arm and waved a hand at the barmaid, demanding another round.

      It seemed all the action in the room slowed as Nellie heard that comment. Sure, she’d heard rumors that the prince had been at the Curragh since last month, but no one had seen him. They said he was kept busy with dinners and study. He never came out to the pubs, shops, or the wrens’ nests bordering the camp. She made her move as the barmaid arrived with a fresh pitcher, swinging her hips under her thin cotton gown. If she could land a prince as her protector, perhaps she could earn enough to keep her young sister Dulsine from this life. Her parents, back in Dublin, had been making noises that they couldn’t afford to keep the girl in school anymore.

      Mairead the barmaid, one front tooth missing and with a slight limp, gave Nellie a dirty look and grabbed the empty pitcher before walking toward her next patron who’d just spilled her ale. The girl was too religious to offer her favors to soldiers, but wasn’t Christian enough to wish well to the girls who made different decisions.

      Nellie pulled a vial of Irish Patent Cleaner from her apron pocket and let one drop fall on the next table, then gave it a swipe with her rag. The substance dissolved the ale, leaving a vaguely lemonish scent in the air for a moment before it vanished as quickly as the puddle. The influenza that was running through other parts of Britain had supposedly started in Ireland, and she wasn’t going to let any of these young soldiers get sick. She had a living to earn, and using the various concoctions and gadgets that were getting so much notoriety for their effectiveness would make sure that the pub kept its reputation for

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