Excerpts from New Ickford Manor

~ NOTE: New Ickford Manor is not available at this time. ~

When you visit New Ickford Manor, you will come to know an orphaned young woman, trained as a healer, who is rescued by a minor lord. This man is accustomed to the privileges of nobility and accepts her as his slave. New-found respect and love will blur the roles of both slave and master.

A spoiled goth-child and her parents have to make a new life in a brutal land. How can she possibly find love with a dirty, semi-literate poacher?

A skilled smith and his son are doomed to a homeless death as poachers when they meet an ex-cop from the future. The challenges of building a new life while sharing knowledge and friendship, bring them together in a Dog’s Nest.

Honor and pride won’t let the smith’s son proclaim his love for the beautiful young woman from the future. That is, not until he can offer a home of their own.

Ripped from the present by nature’s fury and hurled into a world of brutal conflict, only  knowledge, friendship and love will keep them alive.

CAVEAT: This novel contains references to extreme violence, bondage, attempted rape, explicit sex and graphic language.

Excerpt One: Rated ‘G’

It was well after ten when they left the campgrounds. The narrow, two-lane blacktop wound through a Florida scrub pine forest with only an occasional modular home or four-house community between them and the interstate.
They rounded a blind curve and started to cross an old and very narrow iron-beam bridge that used to serve the railroad eighty years ago. It had been converted to car traffic when the scouts had purchased the camp.
Evan slammed on the brakes as a brilliant lightning strike to the frame of the bridge blinded everyone in the car for a moment. The glare from that strike hadn’t even faded from their eyes when it was followed by a string of continuous bolts, surrounding the hapless trio.
Between her fingers, Sarah saw Evan’s hair standing on end as arcs of blue fire outlined everything.
They later remembered that everyone had been screaming as the arcs coursed through their bodies. A perfect sphere of impossibly white light floated down in front of the car, expanded and then rushed over them.
The blue arcs went away. So did feelings… sensations… and even consciousness.

Excerpt Two: Rated ‘G’

The lone wolf below was aged, too feeble to run with the pack, but a deadly threat nonetheless. She was dressed poorly and her perch in the small tree offered little defense. She would surely become the wolf’s next meal when she grew too tired to cling. Age and injury made the animal patient. He growled softly as her screams echoed and became lost in the dense forest.
She knew nothing of the range of the hunter’s bow. He merely watched and waited for a good, clear shot as the wolf paced about the base of the tree.
She saw her pale hands glistening in the soft autumn sun as she rubbed tears from her cheeks. An iron-tinged tang of blood trickled across her tongue as she gnawed at her lip and she fought to suppress a further involuntary scream.
The hungry beast continued to pace beneath her leather-clad feet, low guttural growls rumbling from its throat. She clung to the tree, her slender frame pressed tightly against the reassuring strength of the trunk, unaware of the pain as fingers desperately gripped the rough bark.
A small silver knife, crafted in the image of a crescent moon, symbol of her faith, hung from the waist belt. It had been used merely for the cutting of herbs, and was no defense at all against the feral creature below. Despair washed over her in nauseating waves as she realized she would soon collapse and be eaten.
Then despair gave way to sudden panic as a new horror gripped her thoughts. She pressed her forehead against the bark, screwed her eyes tight and battled to keep from releasing the sobs building deep within as she asked herself, “Who would notice I was gone?”
Both parents were dead from consumption, and the church had driven her from the village to live alone on the edge of the woods. It could be days or moons, even, before anyone noticed she was missing.
A soft whimper escaped trembling lips as the realization struck home.
Again, she asked herself, “Even when they did notice, who would care?”
She heard father’s soft, soothing voice in her mind and fought to control the rapid breathing. It came now in shallow, gasping half sobs. He had taught her as a young child, to never to let an animal sense her fear.
But that was then, when she’d had him by her side, his bow slung over his strong shoulders. Now she was alone, and frightened…

Excerpt Three: Rated ‘R’

He glared at the stable boy who stood gawking when he should have been tending to the horses. But Master’s expression turned to a smirk as he moved to stand behind, pulling her back to rest against his hard body. Bound hands tried to be pleasing as they nestled at his crotch and she hoped the soft, almost unconscious strokes of nimble fingers might be setting his desire aflame.
His eyes were still focused upon the boy when he slipped his hands gently around her waist and let them slide up to the full breasts. He cupped each in his hands before mercilessly pinching and twisting the tender nipples. She gasped and writhed shamelessly in his embrace, soft moans and whimpers of pleasure escaped parted lips as the neck bells tinkled loudly, lest anyone should be unsure the lass was owned. As the familiar fire began to burn deep within her, he stopped abruptly. Regardless of how embarrassing, she didn’t want him to stop. He lowered his hands to sit on her waist once more while he addressed the boy in a voice loud enough for all.
“This slave of mine… She is beautiful, is she not?”
The boy nodded eagerly, his voice filled with awe. “Yes, m’lord, she is. Very beaut—”
Before he could finish, her Master spoke once more. “I have taken her as my slave, and she is bound by my bidding. But I see you desire to touch her, boy? As, I am sure, will many. Very well, boy. You may touch my slave if you so desire.”
She whimpered in protest, tears stinging at reddened eyes. The thought of another’s touch made her sick to the core.
The boy took a cautious step forward. But Master continued speaking, his voice stern and harsh.
“The price, boy, will be your head.” His grip at his slave’s waist tightened as he turned to face the crowd, voice booming across the courtyard. “That is the price any who dare to touch my property will pay. I trust I make myself clear?”
She felt her heart leap with joy as she realized Master was reserving her for his own use.
The crowd nodded and murmured their understanding. The stable boy backed nervously away, bowed with a tug at his forelock and kept his voice low and anxious. “Yes, m’lord.”

Excerpt Four: 270  Rated ‘G’
As she entered the small home, the brute was behind the door. She had thought something smelled wrong but was too happy at being in familiar surroundings to pay much attention.
A sharp blade pressed tight to her throat, and a rough hand came over her mouth before she could react.
“Quiet now, lass, or you’re dead. Understood?” He whispered roughly into her ear.
She only nodded, terrified.
“There, there, lass. Be still and Ol’ Ruff will be nice to yer.” He pulled her farther into the room and quickly roped her into a very tight hog-tie. She was helpless once more, with a mouthful of cloth wrapped tightly into a gag. Her assailant stepped over to the window and peeked between the half-open shutter.
With Ruff looking outside, she thought hard on what she could do. There wasn’t much, except to scream a warning as soon as Master approached close enough to hear. He was much bigger and stronger than the brigand at the door, and forewarned, he would save them both.
She didn’t want to attract Ruff’s attention any more than needed. Perhaps he would just forget she was there when Master approached. A few long, quiet minutes passed and then there were heavy footsteps at the door. When it started to open, the young slave squealed as long and hard as the simple gag would permit.
Ol’ Ruff turned and smiled at her. She didn’t understand why until she realized the footsteps weren’t Master’s. Tears of horror and frustration clouded her vision when she saw another stranger enter with Master’s limp form over his shoulder.

Excerpt Five: Rated ‘G’

I stepped from behind a tree and stood with my hand on sword, outwardly calm and ready to confront the brigands. “Hold! This is my land. If you would live, turn and go in peace.”
“Aye! And what is this puny fellow who blocks our path? We are following a pair of murderers, friend. They killed two of my men yesterday, and I’ll have their heads this day. If it is you who wishes to live, then stand aside.”
“How did they die? Was there a battle, or just a drunken brawl?”
They all drew their weapons. The leader spurred the horse forward and swung his sword in a deadly arc while screaming, “Enough!”
I stepped aside at the last moment and the blade missed by inches. My own blade whispered free of its sheath and rang as it blocked the blow of the second man. Heart pounding, my eyes focused on how he had over-extended his arm, and a quick twist of my wrist buried my blade in his armpit. He screamed in mortal agony and fell away.
Charles jumped from a tree and cut the throat of a second horseman, a gurgled cry signaling his demise. The two remaining men wheeled their mounts and charged back at us.
Charles was on the ground as the horse had thrown him from its flank.
Ruff stepped from behind another bush and swiped his dagger over the thigh of the leader bearing down upon me. Screaming in fury and pain, the man swung hard with the advantage of height and the momentum of his horse, and struck my sword from my hand.
My arm all but numb from the shock of the blow, I threw myself to the roadside to avoid his back swing. My attacker rolled from the saddle, landing just out of my reach, and brought his blade high, ready for the deathblow.
A shrill, ragged scream came from up the trail. “No!”
I rolled to one side just as his blade crashed to ground. There was no way to avoid his back stroke…

Excerpt Six: Rated ‘G’

Ivy cracked the zipper to peek at a sparkling icy wonderland. The snow had turned to freezing rain, then stopped during the night. Stiff gusts of wind knocked dangerous shards of ice and blobs of snow from the trees. The women could see the van, white with a good inch of frozen snow on top.
Ivy heard the zipper open on the men’s side of the tent.
“Good morning, m’lords. It looks like the storm is finally passing. Did you sleep well?”
“G’mornin’, Lady Ivy. An’ thanks to you an Lady Beth, we slept safe and well.”
She stepped aside so Roger and his son could take their peek at what mother nature had wrought overnight.
They were all standing in the tent’s center section and looking through the screen front when they were assaulted by another flash of lightning and a thundering blast that hit close enough to knock everyone from their feet. They were still rolling about and their ears hadn’t yet stopped ringing when they heard tree limbs break and the sound of something metallic crashing nearby.
Thomas was first to speak. “What the bloody hell was that?”
“I haven’t the foggiest,” his father said. “But as soon as it gets a bit lighter out, I think we should—”
A woman’s chilling scream cut him off.

Excerpt Seven: 313  Rated ‘R’
Once inside the camper, Mark took her in his arms and held his wife wonderfully close. She could feel him trembling. After a few moments, he whispered. “I keep thinking this is some really weird trip… that someone dropped some super acid in our drinks and any minute now, we’ll wake up in some hospital mental ward.”
“I know, hon. I’ve felt the same way. But it’s real, and so far, I think we’re doing okay. We’ve got food for at least a week and your EMT case for emergencies. We’re pretty creative and I think everything is going to look better after a good night’s sleep.” She pushed him back, towards the bed. “Get undressed. We’ve still got a full propane tank and we deserve to treat ourselves tonight. I fired up the water heater when Tina was hurt and had her take a nice, hot bath. Now it’s your turn.”
“Too bad there’s only room for one in the shower.”
“I’ve already taken mine, right before dinner. I want you in there now, sir.”
“Yes, ma’am!
She watched him strip, then took his clothes and stuffed them into the closet. As soon as the water started to flow, she got undressed and put on a simple, sheer negligee. When he came out, she was kneeling on the back side of the bed with a small bottle of massage oil. “Lay down on your stomach.”
“You’re the one who did a whole helluva lot of work today. I’ve only been playing king o’ th’ castle with Sylvanus and the rest of that lot. I should be doing your back.”
“Pay attention, my darling husband. The way I see it, you’re going to be lord of this household in public from now on. Therefore, I reserve the right to rule our bedroom. So, face down. Now!”
He smiled, nodded and whispered, “Yes, Mistress.”