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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for A Troubled Heart organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

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A Troubled Heart

by Tricia McGill

Genre: Historical Romance

Synopsis

Unsure of his real past or name, Finn O’Connor thinks he was born in Ireland and taken from his mother as a baby by a gypsy woman. As a toddler, an English woman then took him to London. About ten he fled to join a gang of boys who survived by their wits on the streets. Five years later, he was arrested for a minor crime and transported to The Colony of New South Wales for a 10-year term. In 1846 as transporting of criminals neared an end in NSW, he was moved to the infamous penitentiary at Port Arthur in Van Diemen’s Land.

On the day Finn received his papers of freedom an accidental meeting brought him into contact with 20-year-old Esther Blythe. Born in Surrey, England, genteel Esther is kind and caring. As a 4-year-old her parents brought her to Van Diemen’s Land where her Papa, a doctor, took on the task of providing medical aid to the prisoners at the Port Arthur penitentiary and its surrounding area. Sadly, both parents were killed in an accident, leaving Esther with no option but to work as a governess/nursemaid.

For reasons that even she did not comprehend, Esther took ex-convict Finn under her wing when they met outside the penitentiary hospital. Could be she saw a fellow lonely soul who simply wanted someone to have faith in him. Life seems to take a turn for perhaps the better from then on, but will these two lonely people overcome many obstacles to find the happiness they seek together as they face an uncertain future.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Esther sat with her head on her bent knees, staring at the flames before her. Luckily the rain had stopped as dawn crept nearer. One of the troopers had managed to get the small fire going using the flint he carried. After the two men had rummaged about in the ruins of the kitchen they returned with the blackened kettle and a couple of tin mugs. Pike, who was the youngest and had the very small makings of a moustache, said, “We carry tea and usually have our billycan with us, but as we were only on a short survey looking for any runaways, we carried just the bare supplies.”

He now handed her a mug of the brew, which was at least hot. “Thank you, this is lovely.” Esther hoped that when someone returned with supplies, they at least carried milk and porridge and perhaps some bread and cheese.

As he walked away to join his mate who was again sorting through the rubble that had stopped smouldering, Finn sat beside her and sipped on his drink. “How do you feel?” Giving her a thoughtful glance, he rubbed at his chin. “What a mess. Can you believe the woman would do such a thing?”

“Never in my life. I knew she was desperately unhappy of course, but how she could take a blade to her husband and then take her own life is a tragedy far beyond my understanding. You have probably seen more insane people than I have.”

“A few in my time.” With a shrug, he stared into his mug. “Most go crazy after spending a time in solitary with little food and no light.”

A thought occurred to Esther as her tummy roiled at the thought of the suffering of those folk, plus what she guessed might be hunger pangs. “I guess if they do not return later with supplies, we can always go over to the farm.” She nodded in the general direction of where she knew Nellie often went to collect milk, butter, and cheese. “I expect the farmer and his wife will be wondering at the flames they must have seen rising.”

As the words left her mouth, a wagon came trundling towards them. As it neared, the driver, a man that Esther had seen a few times, waved his hat as he stared at the ruins of the cottage. “What in the Lord’s name happened?” he asked as he pulled the horse up and jumped down. “The master sent me across to see what was amiss.”

Pike came over and put a hand up before asking the man’s name and what farm he had come from. Without too many details he then explained some of the happenings of the night, leaving out the murder and suicide. “Go back and tell your master that we would be grateful if he could supply us with a few necessities like milk and bread and perhaps he might have some fresh meat. When our Lieutenant returns, he will arrange payment.”

Nodding enthusiastically the man gave the ruins another quick glance, and then shook his head in Esther and Finn’s direction before climbing aboard and urging his horse into a near gallop.

“Would you like me to heat some water for you, Miss? Perhaps you might like to wash the grime off you,” Pike said as he sent Esther a smile. “It’s good luck that the well is still in working order.”

Esther returned his smile. “That would be lovely. How very thoughtful of you. I suppose I am looking as grimy as all you men are.”

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About Author Tricia McGill:

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Award winning author Tricia McGill was born in London, England, and moved to Australia many years ago, settling near

Melbourne. Horses and dogs feature largely in her books. She’s had a succession of dogs in her lifetime and a few horses along the way.

The youngest in a large, loving family she was never lonely or alone. Surrounded by avid readers, who encouraged her to read from an early age, is it any wonder she became a writer? The local library was a treasure trove and magical world of discovery through her childhood and growing years. Tricia is a dreamerwho still dreams every night; snippets from those dreams have translated into ideas for her books.

Although her published works cross sub-genres, romance is always at their heart. Tricia finds the research entailed in writing historicals and her other great passion, time-travels, fascinating.

Author Link: Website

Purchase Link: Amazon

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