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    Tea with the Courtesan
    Tea with the Courtesan
    Tea with the Courtesan
    Ebook58 pages47 minutes

    Tea with the Courtesan

    By Meyari McFarland

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    About this ebook

    The room smelled of salt and dust. Fusty. Old, bedraggled with lace stained dark by grime. Courtesans were not messy. Grimy. The First Courtesan of the Holy City, Tatenda Accorsi, most certainly was nothing of the sort. And yet the smell filled Purdie's nose as she waited for Tatenda to serve tea.

    From a skull teapot. While Purdie searched for a missing, murdered noblewoman. Solving the mystery of Lady Alemagna drew Purdie into Tatenda's lair. Escaping might take more than either of them expected.

    Tea with the Courtesan is a tense fantasy mystery that will haunt your dreams long after you close the book.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMeyari McFarland
    Release dateApr 12, 2019
    ISBN9781386159322
    Tea with the Courtesan
    Author

    Meyari McFarland

    Meyari McFarland has been telling stories since she was a small child. Her stories range from SF and Fantasy adventures to Romances but they always feature strong characters who do what they think is right no matter what gets in their way. Her series range from Space Opera Romance in the Drath series to Epic Fantasy in the Mages of Tindiere world. Other series include Matriarchies of Muirin, the Clockwork Rift Steampunk mysteries, and the Tales of Unification urban fantasy stories, plus many more. You can find all of her work on MDR Publishing's website at www.MDR-Publishing.com.

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      Book preview

      Tea with the Courtesan - Meyari McFarland

      Tea with the Courtesan

      Tea with the Courtesan

      Meyari McFarland

      MDR Publishing

      Special Offer

      The rainbow has infinite shades, just as this collection covers the spectrum of fictional possibilities.

      From contemporary romances like The Shores of Twilight Bay to dark fantasy like A Lone Red Tree and out to SF futures in Child of Spring, Iridescent covers the gamut of time, space and genre.

      Meyari McFarland shows her mastery in this first omnibus collection of her short fiction. Twenty-five amazing stories, all with queer characters going on adventures, solving mysteries, and falling in love are here in the first Rainbow Collection.

      And now you can get this massive collection of short queer fiction, all of it with the happy endings you love, for free!

      Sign up here for your free copy of Iridescent now!

      Contents

      Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

      Tea with the Courtesan

      Author's Note: Crumbling of the Soul

      I. Bringing Joy into the World

      2. Foundations in Antiquity

      3. Nightmares of Time

      Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

      Afterword

      Author Bio

      Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

      Day Hunt on the Final Oblivion

      Day of Joy

      Immortal Sky

      A New Path

      Following the Trail

      Crafting Home

      Finding a Way

      Go Between

      Like Arrows of Fate

      Out of Disaster

      The Shores of Twilight Bay

      Coming Together

      Following the Beacon

      The Solace of Her Clan

      You can find these and many other books at www.MDR-Publishing.com. We are a small independent publisher focusing on LGBT content. Please sign up for our mailing list to get regular updates on the latest preorders and new releases and a free ebook!

      Copyright ©2019 by Mary Raichle

      Print ISBN: 978-1-64309-049-8

      Cover image

      ID 22582138 © Aleksandar Mijatovic | Dreamstime.com

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be emailed to publisher@mdr-publishing.com.

      This book is also available in TPB format from all major retailers.

      Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

      This story is dedicated to Leah Cutter—Thank you for the feedback and love for this story. The book is yet to come but here's a better version of the story to enjoy for now.

      Tea with the Courtesan

      The room smelled of salt and dust. Purdie licked her lips as she covertly studied the room. It shouldn’t smell this way. Courtesans weren't messy. Fusty. Old, bedraggled with lace stained dark by grime. That was what the smell forced into her head.

      And really, the room was nothing like that. Broad windows with palm-sized panes of colored glass connected by heavy leading covered the far wall. The rug was rich purple and royal blue, so lush that her slippers had sunk into it practically to her ankles. Sitting on the little couch was a joy, perfectly stuffed and covered in splendid green velvet. Even the oil lamp burned bright and steady, the wick trimmed low enough that there was no smoke staining the chimney.

      Purdie smoothed her hands over her skirt, shifted a little and winced for the sound of Tatenda Accorsi, First Courtesan of the Holy City, humming in the back room.

      There we go, Tatenda murmured as they emerged with a tea tray that rocked Purdie right back into the sofa. I am sorry for the delay, my dear. I was stunningly low on hot water. Had to brew a new pot before I could come serve you.

      Tatenda was tall where Purdie was short, willowy where Purdie was stocky and stunningly elegant. Their hair had been braided in the complicated loops and swirls of a courtesan, interspersed with ribbons and tiny bells that didn't chime until Tatenda sat next to Purdie, such was their training. Just the

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