About The Keeper
Written by Kalita Kasar
100 pages / 38000 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-436-6, 1-60370-436-1
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Cobbler's apprentice Thomas Williams is on his way out for the night when he's stuffed into a carriage and whisked away from the staid life he's always known. Stolen away from his Quaker master, Thomas is sold into the household of Leon Chambellan, a Frenchman also known as the Keeper.
Caught up in the latent sensuality of the keeper's home, Thomas finds his resistance slowly crumbling, and he submits to Chambellan's charm. Pursued by his new master, jealously hated by this rival, Alex, Thomas must learn survive in a world completely alien to anything he has known before. A world of beauty, brutality, rivalry and intrigue that threatens to destroy him before he can win his rightful place at Chambellan's side.
Review
Stevie Woods, author of Cane and Tactics, writes:
The Keeper is the story of an innocent 19 year old, Thomas, raised in a Quaker household, who suddenly finds himself kidnapped off the streets and sold into the strange world of The Keeper, Leon Chambellan. The Keeper trains handsome young men in the arts of pleasure and throws parties for specifically chosen guests. Thomas is horrified by the prospect, such behavior is against everything he has been taught, but almost against his will he finds himself drawn to his new master. As his training progresses it’s hard to see who learns more about pleasure – and love, Thomas or The Keeper.
This delightful historical romance is filled with interesting characters, not least Thomas and Chambellan, whose affect on each other is immediate and surprising to both men, even if they are both in denial.
The supporting cast is also well drawn, particularly Lucien and Alex, two of Chambellan’s ‘grooms’ who have opposing attitudes to their charges. Oh, and not forgetting a certain dashing ship’s captain.
The adversaries in this tale are deliciously evil and after Thomas catches the eye of one of the more unsavory of Chambellan's guests, poor Thomas is put through the wringer and only his strength of character and growing trust in The Keeper help him persevere. The ending is very satisfying – though a certain two characters deserve the telling of their own story I think – I had a wide smile on my face as I read ‘the end’. Decidedly recommended!
Sample
The clamor and bustle of the busy street filled Thomas' ears as he stepped from the cobbler's shop. He glanced around, taking in the sights and sounds and breathed the air which teemed with a hundred smells, some pleasant, but many others not. Thomas pushed a hand into his pocket, drawing out the few shillings hoarded there. He admired their gleam in the twilight for a moment and then put them away again.
He was at liberty for the evening. Master Sheridan, the cobbler, had discharged him with dire warnings to stay away from Lombard Street, or any of "those haunts of detestable men," and to be back at the shop 'ere ten o'clock.
Thomas had been an apprentice cobbler for ten years and was now approaching his nineteenth birthday. It was a good start for a boy, to be so well placed. Elias Sheridan, a member of the Religious Society of Friends, also called Quakers, paid him well and treated him with dignity.
Thomas wore sturdy shoes, which he had crafted with his own hands, and a plain but well tailored suit of clothes. His apprenticeship included lodging and good, wholesome food, all of which he had the added pleasure of earning for himself with honest labor.
Once his apprenticeship was done, he would have a shop and a 'prentice of his own. Thomas dreamed of the fine shoes he would make and the grand customers who would come to buy his wares. Perhaps even the king himself would someday wear shoes crafted in the shop of Master Shoemaker Thomas Williams.
Pushing his hands into the pockets of his breeches, he quickened his steps. His fingers brushed against the coins and he smiled as he turned a corner. He would go to a coffeehouse and buy a cup of the rich, dark beverage. It was a rare treat. Master Sheridan did not like coffee and would not permit it in his house. At home, Thomas was allowed tea or milk and the occasional mug of cider with his dinner.
A group of boys ran out of a side street, one of them almost colliding with Thomas.
"Ho!" Thomas cried. "Have a care for where you run!" He scowled at the boy before continuing on his way. A moment later, he was almost knocked sprawling into the road. He turned with a cry of indignation and found himself face to face with the lad he had spoken to. "What do you think you're about?" Thomas frowned. "I have no quarrel with you."
"I have one with you." The boy sneered, his dark eyes raking Thomas from head to foot. "You think you're better'n me."
Thomas took a backward step as the boy's companions moved to form a circle around them. "I only said you should watch where you're going." His fingers closed around the coins in his pocket as he glanced from one to another of them. "Let me be on my way."
"I don't think so." The boy who had shoved him stepped forward and laid a hand on Thomas' arm. "You're comin' with us."
"Let me go!"