Welcome to Friday Reads!
There’s a giveaway for a print copy of The Lawyer and the Laundress by Christine Hill Suntz, courtesy of the publisher. (US ONLY!) Enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the bottom of the post. (Contest ends June 13, 2025.) If you’re the chosen winner, I’ll contact you for your information to pass along to the publisher.
About the book…
Lawyer James Kinney isn’t looking for love, and laundress Sara O’Connor doesn’t want to be found. When their paths cross in a British colony on the brink of rebellion, a marriage of convenience may be their best hope of survival.
Canada, 1837. Widower James Kinney knows his precocious daughter, Evie, needs more than his lessons on law and logic, but Toronto offers few options. Classes with the neighbor children seem ideal until James discovers Evie is secretly spending her time with Sara O’Connor, a kind and mysteriously educated servant. For propriety’s sake, James forbids their friendship. But then Evie falls victim to the illness ravaging the city, and James must call upon Sara’s medical knowledge and her special bond with Evie to save his daughter’s life.
When Sara’s presence in his household threatens scandal, however, James offers an unexpected solution: become his wife, in name only, and help him raise Evie to be a proper young lady.
If Sara can ignore the sparks she feels when they’re together, his logical proposal could keep her secret secure forever. But soon, the forces of rebellion unravel their tidy arrangement. When James is accused of treason, Sara must find the courage to face a past that could save her husband’s life.
Excerpt…
Chapter 1
TORONTO, 1837
She hadn’t thought a person could be so hungry that just the sound of cooking could make a mouth water. Thump. Flip. The cook was kneading bread. Sara O’Connor took a tentative step across the courtyard toward the broad clapboard building in front of her.
She closed her eyes, picturing the soft dough stretching and rising to fill the bread box. For a moment, she forgot about the uneven cobblestones poking through the worn soles of her shoes and the earthy smell of the stables behind her. If Mrs. Cooper took her on, she’d have fresh bread to eat.
At the sound of footsteps, Sara’s eyes flew open. A woman, tall and raw-boned, emerged from the back of Cooper’s Inn. She marched in Sara’s direction, her full skirts a garish slash of color amid the drab gray and brown of the courtyard.
Mrs. Cooper herself. The woman’s eyes swept over Sara, lingering on the frayed hem of her gown. She frowned.
There’d been a day when this would have bothered Sara. When she would have straightened her shoulders and put the woman in her place with a cool look and a few well-placed words. But not anymore.
Sara lowered her eyes and reminded herself to start with a curtsy. Above all, keep her words to a minimum. “Good morning, ma’am.”
The woman ignored her greeting. “Awful young to be a washerwoman, aren’t you?” She reached out and circled Sara’s forearm with two meaty fingers. “Awful scrawny, too.”
Forgetting her resolutions, Sara twisted her arm and shook off the older woman’s touch. “I’m twenty-nine. I’ve taken in laundry for years.”
Mrs. Cooper’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you put on airs with me.”
Sara bit her lip and dropped her gaze. Her voice always gave her away. “No, ma’am.”
“Hmmm. What’s your name?” “Sara O’Connor.” She willed herself to stay still under the woman’s scrutiny.
“Well, beggars can’t be choosers.”
Their eyes met. Did this mean—?
“Start on that.” Mrs. Cooper gestured to a heaping basket of linens next to a shed in the back of the courtyard. “You get all that hung out by the time dinner is over, and I’ll consider taking you on.”
Even the mountain of soiled laundry couldn’t stem the rush of relief. Maybe tonight she’d have food to fill her stomach, and some left over to bring home for Granny. She wouldn’t have to avoid Granny’s questions or see the worried frown the old woman tried to hide.
The thought gave her strength, and she strode to a wash kettle tipped on its side next to the remnants of a fire. A search of the shed yielded a tub of soap and a washboard, but not the chains that would hang her kettle from the tripod.
She glanced at the kitchen. The noon meal was well underway. Delicious wafts of something savory—beef stew, she was sure of it—drifted across the courtyard. What would Mrs. Cooper say if she returned, and Sara hadn’t even started?
Returning to the shed, she scanned the barrels that lined the wall. She tugged at one, but it didn’t budge. Maybe if she tilted it up and rolled it to the side—
“Reckon you won’t find the chains there.”
Sara jumped, her face heating. The voice belonged to a boy, perhaps ten or eleven years old. He leaned in the doorway, a long stalk of hay between his teeth, dressed in a ragged shirt and a pair of trousers held up with rope. Sara winced at the hollow look on his face that spoke of hunger and wondered if she looked the same. She focused on his eyes, clear and sharp.
Knowing.
“Where are the chains then?” she asked with studied disinterest. He nodded toward the stable, adjusting the stalk of hay between his teeth. Sara considered marching into the stable herself, but this boy could save precious minutes. If he told the truth. “Would you fetch them for me?”
“I might.”
Sara shrugged and looked around the courtyard as though his answer didn’t matter to her. “I suppose I can ask the groom—”
“I’ll get ’em. If . . .” The boy took in her clothing, almost as worn as his own, and sent an uncertain glance to her pockets.
“If?”
“You make it worth my while.”
About Christine…
Christine Hill Suntz knew she wanted to write novels the day she finished Anne of Green Gables, and she’s been lost in her imagination ever since. Her love of language led her to study French and German and pursue a graduate degree in Comparative Literature before finding a home teaching high school French. Her work has won numerous prizes, including the 2022 ACFW Genesis competition.
Christine lives in Ontario on a hobby farm with her family, a flock of chickens, one attack rooster, and a herd of entitled goats. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys trying out historical recipes on her (mostly) willing family.
Rules for the giveaway can be found here.
characters
Good luck!
I find it interesting that James Kinney comes up with a marriage proposal for Sarah as a way for society to accept her presence in his home. I can’t wait to read about how their relationship develops and how Sarah manages to save him from charges of treason. Sounds like a great story!
I agree! Good luck, Shelley.
What is Sara’s secret? That is what I am wondering.
Good question! Good luck, Roxanne.
This sounds so interesting!
I agree. Good luck, Trudy!