Touch of night

The Seymour family is one of the oldest and most respected families in England. However, what no one knows is that this family is also magically inclined and it's a secret they intend to keep. Niclas Seymour can sense the thoughts and emotions of others. It was only years ago that he became indirectly responsible for his best friend's death when he told him that his wife was cheating on him and he killed himself. And the law of the magical families is that if blood is shed by magic done then the offender is placed under a blood curse. Niclas has not known true sleep in three years and it is slowly driving him mad. He will do anything to lift the curse and finally be free of it. The only way that can happen is if he does a great deed for a member of his best friend's family. Such an opportunity has eluded him thus far. Then a Miss Julia Linley, also from one of the most respected families--and a distant relative of his friend---needs aide in rescuing her aunt from Niclas' uncle. It seems the man is set on marrying her aunt against her wishes. Not a great deed, but Niclas will take up this challenge on her behalf. What he does not expect when he meets Julia is that just her touch alone has the ability to drown out the voices. He craves her soothing touch, not only for the relief it brings, but for the passion she arouses in him. However, as they travel, an old nemesis appears threatening to expose Niclas and the whole magical society throughout England. And if Julia discovers his dark secrets will he lose her forever?

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction, Romance, Fantasy. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.