Rivals - blog tour

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Sam Michaels - Rivals

About the book

Georgina Garrett is back and more daring than ever!

Follow Georgina as she builds up her own empire in the second thrilling installment of the Georgina Garrett series.

Extract

Battersea, London, 1934

‘Come off it, what the bleedin’ hell do I know about running a brothel?’ Fanny Mipple said and rolled her eyes.

‘How difficult can it be? You see the punters in, send them to a woman and collect the money,’ Georgina answered abruptly.

‘It ain’t as straightforward as that, love,’ Georgina’s gran, Dulcie, interrupted. ‘What if a bloke won’t cough up or roughs up one of the women? You can’t expect Fanny to deal with that sort of thing.’

Georgina Garrett drew in a long breath and, feeling exasperated, momentarily closed her eyes before opening them again to glance around at the four women sat in her gran’s front room. These women, The Maids of Battersea, were supposed to be strong, warrior women. They were meant to aspire to Joan of Arc, the inspiration behind their club name. Yet all Georgina could hear from them were protests, and it seemed to her they were putting obstacles in the way of her plans.

Georgina’s eyes set on Fanny. She wasn’t surprised by the woman’s objections about running the brothels. Georgina thought Fanny had always been feeble. She’d allowed her husband to abuse her and because of his tyrannical ways, Fanny had raised her children in dire poverty.

Dulcie, her beloved gran, slowly pushed herself up from her armchair. The way she hobbled towards the fire showed how much pain her hips were causing. Georgina had noticed they seemed to be getting worse lately, though her gran tried not to show her discomfort. Bending awkwardly, Dulcie stoked the burning coals. The room felt warm and cosy, safe too, but outside a fierce February gale blew and a thin layer of snow made the dirty, tatty street of terraced houses look fresh and white.

As Dulcie settled back in her chair, she broke the tense silence and said, ‘I can understand where you’re coming from, Georgina, but it’s a big ask.’

‘It’s no more than we deserve,’ she replied, her violet eyes steely cold. ‘I’m fed up with thieving to put food in the cupboards. We should all be benefitting from the Wilcox business, but instead we’re scrimping and scraping to get by.’

She looked at Jane Wilcox, who stared into space with a pained expression. After Jane had put a bullet in her son’s head, the poor woman had become a shadow of her former self. Ridding the world of Billy Wilcox had been the most courageous thing Jane had ever done, but it’d affected her badly. She functioned and cared for her two daughters, but it was clear her mind was tormented. Georgina didn’t expect any input from her, which she thought was a shame as Jane probably understood better than anyone about how the Wilcox business functioned. After all, it had been Jane’s husband who’d been the proprietor of the small empire and been the most feared man in Battersea. That was until the day their son had cruelly killed him. Jane had exacted her own justice on Billy but she hadn’t been the same since his death.

About the author

Sam Michaels lives in Spain with her family and plethora of animals. Having been writing for years Trickster is her debut novel.

Follow Sam:

Facebook: @SamMichaelsAuthor

Twitter: @SamMichaelsGG

Buy links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2w0sZKr

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2Q5U7ku

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2W66O4g

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