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Indulgence & Temperance
by Faye Hall
Would you abandon the woman you love for your own indulgence?
Beth Meridian has returned home, hoping to leave her sordid past behind her and settle into a quiet life. When her childhood friend, Hannah Raeburn, offers her a place to stay, Beth knows it won't be long until she runs into Hannah's brother, Daniel. What she doesn't expect is for him to reignite feelings deep in her heart, reminding her of the kiss they shared before she left town.
Daniel Raeburn's past is scandalous, his sinful indulgences allowing him more wealth than he could ever need. Still, he wants more, and his gluttonous appetite for wealth and women leads him to buy into a partnership at the local hellfire club.
When Hannah goes missing, Beth and Daniel follow her trail through the Australian outback. Witnessing the womanizer Daniel is, Beth flees on a cattle train headed north. Desperate to explain his actions, Daniel follows her.
Arriving in the small town of Jarvisfield, Daniel is shocked to learn that Beth is now the owner of the largest cattle company in the area. He's even more shocked to discover that the preacher controlling the town, and stealing from the townspeople, is his once business partner William Maxon. He's convinced this man is also responsible for his sister's disappearance. When he learns William has Beth picked out as his next victim, Daniel knows he must do whatever it takes to make her listen to the truth. But she has no interest in hearing anything he has to say.
Faced with losing the two women he loves, Daniel is forced to choose between their freedom and the possessions and wealth he has hoarded over the years. But even if he gives it all up, he still might lose everything.
Content Warning: contains sex, strong language, and some violence
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Tell us about Indulgence & Temperance.
This is Book 2 in the Sins of the Virtuous series and discovers the sin of gluttony and the virtue of temperance. It takes the reader on a journey of Hellfire clubs, kidnapping, laudanum addiction and a passionate love affair. Here is the blurb:-
Would you abandon the woman you love for your own indulgence?
Beth Meridian has returned home, hoping to leave her sordid past behind her and settle into a quiet life. When her childhood friend, Hannah Raeburn, offers her a place to stay, Beth knows it won't be long until she runs into Hannah's brother, Daniel. What she doesn't expect is for him to reignite feelings deep in her heart, reminding her of the kiss they shared before she left town.
Daniel Raeburn's past is scandalous, his sinful indulgences allowing him more wealth than he could ever need. Still, he wants more, and his gluttonous appetite for wealth and women leads him to buy into a partnership at the local hellfire club.
When Hannah goes missing, Beth and Daniel follow her trail through the Australian outback. Witnessing the womanizer Daniel is, Beth flees on a cattle train headed north. Desperate to explain his actions, Daniel follows her.
Arriving in the small town of Jarvisfield, Daniel is shocked to learn that Beth is now the owner of the largest cattle company in the area. He's even more shocked to discover that the preacher controlling the town, and stealing from the townspeople, is his once business partner William Maxon. He's convinced this man is also responsible for his sister's disappearance. When he learns William has Beth picked out as his next victim, Daniel knows he must do whatever it takes to make her listen to the truth. But she has no interest in hearing anything he has to say.
Faced with losing the two women he loves, Daniel is forced to choose between their freedom and the possessions and wealth he has hoarded over the years. But even if he gives it all up, he still might lose everything.
What initially inspired you to write Indulgence & Temperance?
My idea for this book was always going to involve the sin of gluttony, but in today’s world we often think of over eating or something similar. After some research into the origins of what the church declared as gluttony I discovered it actually meant indulging in anything to the point of waist be it food, drink, drugs or any other such possession. I wanted to show my hero, Daniel, as a man tempted by such indulgences and then lured to a better way of life by the heroine. Also I like linking old world drug use into this series – there was cannabis in the first book. As for the setting, my inspiration of using the old trade route that takes the main characters from Rockhampton to Jarvisfield came from a local history book. So the trail mentioned, including the town and hotel name is actually historically correct.
Tell us little about the characters in Indulgence & Temperance.
Daniel Raeburn comes from a very wealthy family and has lived the life of indulgence. He buys whatever he wants and owns so many businesses he will never want for anything. He never thought though that his chosen lifestyle would ultimately risk the lives of both his sister and the woman he loved.
Beth Meridian on the other hand comes from a very moderate lifestyle and does not see the need to own or control everything. She returns to Rockhampton wanting nothing more than a simple life and to hide her involvement in a Hellfire club down south. Her attraction to Daniel is reignited near immediately though. She finds herself willing to do anything for just a moment of his time. When she discovers the kind of lifestyle he’s involved in though, she can’t handle it and runs away.
Daniel realizes what he’s done wrong and how he pushed her away and he follows her desperate to prove to her that he truly does care for her.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The hardest part of this book was defining the characters behavior of gluttony (indulging in anything to the point of waste) and ensuring it was not instead greed (possessing something because you can and usually to stop someone else from having it) – which is book 3. Unfortunately the sins are very similar so it was a challenge to make sure my description was as accurate as possible.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
I really enjoyed writing the scene where Daniel confronts William Maxon at the rear of the hotel along the trade route. It is a very defining part of the book for me because the hero is face to face with the man he thinks has taken his sister, but he is also trying to get his way back to Beth, who has only moments before run away from him to hide on a nearby cattle train. Daniel is, at this single moment, put in a position to choose what is most important to him.
What are your future project(s)?
I am in the process of finishing up book 3 in the series and getting it off to the publisher. Then it is onto the rest of the books in the series. There should hopefully be 7 all up – one for each sin and virtue.
Is there anything else you would like to tell the readers about this book/series?
Each book in the Sins of the Virtuous series end up in the town of Jarvisfield in North Queensland, where I lived for several years. Most of the street/road names and hotels all once existed in what is now a small cane farming and cattle farming community.
“What would you have me do? Pretend that this man chasing my sister is genuine and not some money-grabbing monster?”
“You don’t know him,” she tried again.
“Neither does she,” he said, his voice raised. “And neither do you.”
She went to walk past him, following Hannah’s direction out the back of the house. He reached out, his hand on her forearm stopping her.
“I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, Beth,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded as if understanding. “I understand that you love your sister. So do I. I shan’t just sit back and watch her walk into a trap. Nor shall I stand by and watch as her brother robs her of a chance of what may be happiness.”
“How dare you presume to know what I want for my sister.”
She pulled away from him. “I dare because I grew up with you. Every time your sister wanted to do something you always had to interfere.”
“She is naïve,” he told her. “Had I not taken control of her life, heaven knows what would have happened to her.”
She raised her brow. “I understand you need to protect Hannah against lecherous men. That doesn’t explain why you had to be her constant chaperone when she was meeting up with me.”
He lowered his gaze. “I needed to go with her.”
“Do you think that I would also take advantage of your sister?” she asked. “That I have prolonged our friendship only so I might get my claws into her fortune?”
He shook his head, his gaze cautiously rising back to hers. “I know you would do anything for my sister, Beth.”
“Then why did you need to follow Hannah everywhere we went?”
“I did it for you,” he whispered, the words being dragged from him.
“What?” she asked.
He smiled softly. “I played chaperone for my sister so I might be able to see you,” he repeated. “In the hope that you would notice me.”
“All you ever had to do was ask,” she whispered. Approaching him, her lips gently fused to his.
His hands went to her upper arms, pushing her away. “What are you doing?” he asked. Trying desperately to grip onto what remained of his control, he reminded himself that being here with this woman so intimately was far from appropriate. No matter how much he desired her, he couldn’t afford to succumb to such passion. Not there, and certainly not now.
She shook off his hold, her fingers hesitantly going to the buttons of his shirt. Slowly, she began undoing them one by one. “Do you remember the last time we saw each other before I left town?” she asked.
His hands went to hers, stilling her movements. “The image of you that day…” His words drifted off. He didn’t understand why she was acting this way with him, but he couldn’t deny that her movements were ripping at his restraint. He had always hungered for this woman, but now that she was there with him like this, he couldn’t help but wonder why. “Why did you send for me that day?” he asked, his words strained.
“I wanted to see you before I left town,” she muttered. Shaking off his hands, she continued unbuttoning his shirt. “Do you ever wonder what would have happened had your sister not arrived?”
Come on a journey with me through 19th century North Queensland, Australia and explore the passions and hardships of unique characters.
There is corruption, deceit and murder, as well as cattle rustlers, slave traders and hell fire clubs. Explore townships of Jarvisfield and Inkerman, as well as Ravenswood and Bowen. One book even incorporates my great grandmothers cattle station 'Inkerman Downs Station'.
As well as an author, I am also the most spoilt wife in the world, and a very contented mother.
Come and discover all the passion and drama of North Queensland history with me.
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