Mingling of Characters

ANOTHER NIGHT FALLS

Another Night Falls,  Part III of the Tides of Charleston

Ya'll know that I love a good family saga and I'm kinda partial to American History. Another Night Falls is the end of the Tides of Charleston Series, but it isn't my only American Revolution saga.

RUSE OF LOVE

Winds of Betrayal series is set during the turmoil of the American Revolution exploding around two siblings, Hannah and Jonathan Corbett. When Jonathan is assigned to the Southern Continental Army down in Charleston in the second book of the Winds of Betrayal Series- Ruse of Love, Jonathan crosses paths with Sumner Meador. Sumner Meador- the hero in Another Night Falls! I admit I enjoyed having characters from different books and series interacting and mingling together.

In the first two books of the Tides of Charleston Series, Sumner is an interesting secondary character. Sumner is the half-brother of Catherine Blankenship and bastard son of a British Governor. Sumner shocks his sister by taking up arms against the British. Sumner has grown up in the wealth that his father's position and status allowed. So how could Sumner side with the Patriot cause?

THE PROMISE

Taking a small excerpt from The Promise when Catherine finds out that Sumner is a Patriot...

     “Why would William lie? He knows we are loyal subjects to the crown!” Cathryn declared in fury.

     “Calm yourself, Cathryn. Much has changed since you left. Your father, himself, was sympathetic to some of the unjust laws fostered upon the colonist,” Juriah said firmly. “Sumner said nothing because he knew you would react in the manner you have done. He didn’t want you upset with all you have gone through. In essence, it has no effect upon you as of yet.”

     “He couldn’t betray Father!”

     “No, Cathryn, he would never betray your father. But he is young and brash and dreams the world as he wants to see it, fired by idealism to create a new world,” she said simply. “He loved the Colonel and admired him greatly. Did you know that the man that killed your father was from a leading Loyalist family? I believe there were many factors. You will need to talk with him when you get control of your feelings. Ask yourself if it’s so important at the moment?"

So from that excerpt, one can assume that Sumner is his own man set to make his way in the world.
The next excerpt comes from Ruse of Love...different series, but set in the same time and place...here Jonathan is riding along side Sumner.

Within the hour, Jonathan found himself mounted next to Major Sumner Meador. Meador himself headed out to his home, Elm Bluffs, with family issues of his own, but neither man exchanged specifics of their issues.

Riding in silence for a time, Meador said directly, “Something bothering you, Doc?”

Glancing over at Sumner, Jonathan shrugged. “Just wondering about how the whole of the army is handled here in Charles Town. Doesn’t it bother you? Men coming in and out. Running in battle. No one listens to the commander of the army…”

“Hold on, Doc,” Meador cautioned. “You don’t know these men, lived with them. I don’t know how it’s been where you’ve been, but down here, we’ve always looked after our own. These men have their families to look after. Leaving them alone means they’re unprotected from a lot more than ’em Brits. You haven’t seen a farm after an Indian attack and you don’t want to. Or try picking up the pieces after a raid. These men take a stand and it leaves their families vulnerable and they ain’t at home to protect ’em. So don’t sit in judgment of people you don’t know anything about.”

“I think it is an excuse, Meador. We all have our issues and losses. No, here everyone wants to be in command. Seems to take offense when given an order. If you ask me, men are looking for a reason to justify a grudge. We fight more with ourselves than the British…”

“Suppose you may be right,” Meador interrupted. “I’ve been around it too long to notice.”

Just didn't feel right, Jonathan thought, but he didn’t have time to contemplate more. Sumner eyed him.

"Now, I'm just wondering, Doc. Do you do that often?"

"Do what?"

"Make friends like you did. You know what I mean. Rile up the troops like you did yesterday."

"Said what needed to be said."

"If you think so," Sumner said plainly. "But I'll give you fair warning. You won't do that often around here and live."

A great start to a friendship...

Sumner Meadow's character screamed to me that he needed his own book. So here it is...

Another Night Falls...

A short excerpt....

Sumner settled the girl in the front bedroom of the house. He laid the mystery lady down on the bed. What the bloody hell had happened here? Who was this woman? She hadn’t the look of a homeless wanderer. Moreover what was she doing in his house?

The room looked as though she lived within it, littered with female garments. A dress hung over the back of a hardback chair. Slippers sat on the underside of the bed. Running his hand through his hair, his gaze fell back upon her. He studied her while he felt the bump on her head, a large bump.

With his touch, she began to mutter unintelligible words. At least he hadn't killed the poor thing. He hadn't known what to expect when he entered the stable and saw the horse. The house in the darkness had given no indication of someone lived in his house, no light, no noise. Seeing the horse put him on immediate alert.

He heard crackling of leaves and trigs when he dismounted. He eased off and waited. He attacked with the same force he would have a man. He hadn’t intended to harm a young woman, especially one as beautiful as she. Or was it the moonlight that had shone down upon her?

He watched her breathing. His eyes inspected her from her lovely face sweeping down her body to her bare feet. He hadn't looked upon a woman in this manner for a long time. The fabric of the white nightgown hung from her shoulders, leaving her arms bare and revealed the swell of her breasts, falling loose around her petite body. Her hair as dark as midnight hung, unbound, over her shoulders and down her back. He wondered what color her eyes were, but her features were fine. 

Uncomfortable, she squirmed. One of her dainty hands folded into a fist and hit against the mattress, twisting and turning. Of course she was! He had knocked her out, but Lord, he must be in a bad state, for he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Questions raked his mind. Who was she? Why became clear as he thought. She was running, hiding. She had to be or she wouldn't be in such an isolated homestead. Was she running from her father, an abusive husband? In that he didn't know.

A few things he could discern about her while he watched her. She didn't frighten easily. She knew how to fight. And by God, she was beautiful.

Another Night Falls has it all...literally. Action, romance, adventure, intrigue...
Sumner Meador is one of my all time favorite characters. I look at him as the prototype for the American Cowboy. Read it and let me know what your think!

ROMANTIC PICKS BLOG

Also, Octoberfest With Books continues. I'm welcoming a great group of authors this week...a group of Indie Finalists from The New Kindle Book Review. I'm so excited about this group...such great books. I'm so happy for this group to be included in Octoberfest With Books.

Love the Fall. Have a good one! Keep reading!