To Hunt the Hunter (Girls Who Dare Book 11)
Page 29
“There’s something I must tell you about Phoebe. I meant to before, only….” He laughed. “Only there never seems to be a moment for anything serious. Every day has been too full, too extraordinary to speak of such things, but I need you to know.”
Matilda held his hand tightly, sensing his tension.
“She’s illegitimate.”
Matilda nodded, not entirely surprised. Once, the notion of the Marquess of Montagu bringing a bastard child into his home would have been extraordinary, but she knew him now. She knew his revulsion at the idea was not for the babe itself, but for those who would be so thoughtless as to create a child who must bear the burden of such a cross, in a world that could be cruel.
“Does she know?”
He nodded. “Though she knows too that I have done everything I can to bury the truth. She knows she must never speak of it.”
“She’s strong and brave and she knows she is loved, Lucian. Whatever the future holds, she will face it head on.”
“She will,” he agreed. “When I received my brother’s letter, the one he wrote before he died, he said he’d not known about her. He had lost himself to the darkness by then, and was rarely in one place for long. The child’s mother had been too ashamed to contact me, a fact for which I hold myself entirely responsible. If I had been more approachable—”
Matilda kissed his cheek. “You were not to know, Lucian, and you had your own troubles to bear.”
He smiled and hugged her close to him. “By the time Thomas discovered he had a child, the mother had died. She had never recovered fully from the birth and she contracted influenza. Thomas left Phoebe in the care of the girl’s grandparents. Good people, but too old to cope with a lively little girl. He begged me to see to her future, to see she had everything she needed.”
He took a breath and Matilda waited, knowing he would tell her the rest.
“I went to see her, believing I would find a good family to raise her, and settle enough money upon her that she should want for nothing.”
“But it didn’t work out that way did it?” she asked gently.
Lucian shook his head. “I walked into the room to see my niece for the first time. She was just a baby, toddling about, all blond curls and pink cheeks. The moment she saw me, she ran to me and raised her arms. Up, she said.” And he laughed at the memory, his voice thick as he spoke again. “There she was, this tiny girl with this imperious little voice, and my brother’s eyes gazing up at me. I was done for. I could deny her nothing. She’s had me wrapped about her thumb ever since.”
“And so you took her home.”
He nodded. “This is her home, and now I am her father, and between us we will see she is safe and happy and wants for nothing. Any man that wishes to marry her, when she is of age, must be worthy of her, must prove he deserves her.”
Matilda laughed and put her arm through his as they made their way back to the house for Phoebe’s birthday and the delicious cake Pippin had made for her.
“We will do all of that, my love,” she agreed. “But I cannot help but feel that Phoebe will the one to judge his worth. In truth, I pity the man that falls in love with her. He will have quite a battle on his hands to prove himself. After all,” she said, looking up at him with adoration. “He has a very high standard to live up to.”
The End.
Almost…
If you would like to see just who is worthy of Phoebe’s hand, and just how hard the poor devil must prove himself, don’t miss the last exciting instalment of Girls Who Dare – To Dance until Dawn
And if you are as sad as I am to say goodbye to the Peculiar Ladies, who have become my dearest friends as I hope they are yours too, don’t despair. For all our happy couples have been prolific in producing a wonderful cast of offspring, so don’t miss my new series, and a whole new set of Daring Daughters, as well as a chance to catch up with old friends.
Look out for “Dare to be Wicked” and pre-order your copy soon!
Girls who dare– Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen.
Twelve girls. Twelve dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?
Next and final in the series
To Dance Until Dawn
Girls Who Dare, Book 12
Pre Order your copy here: To
To Dance until Dawn
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About Me!
I started this incredible journey way back in 2010 with The Key to Erebus but didn’t summon the courage to hit publish until October 2012. For anyone who’s done it, you’ll know publishing your first title is a terribly scary thing! I still get butterflies on the morning a new title releases but the terror has subsided at least. Now I just live in dread of the day my daughters are old enough to read them.
The horror! (On both sides I suspect.)
2017 marked the year that I made my first foray into Historical Romance and the world of the Regency Romance, and my word what a year! I was delighted by the response to this series and can’t wait to add more titles. Paranormal Romance readers need not despair however as there is much more to come there too. Writing has become an addiction and as soon as one book is over I’m hugely excited to start the next so you can expect plenty more in the future.
As many of my works reflect I am greatly influenced by the beautiful French countryside in which I live. I’ve been here in the South West for the past twenty years though I was born and raised in England. My three gorgeous girls are all bilingual and the youngest who is only six, is showing signs of following in my footsteps after producing The Lonely Princess all by herself.
I’m told book two is coming soon ...
She’s keeping me on my toes, so I’d better get cracking!
KEEP READING TO DISCOVER MY OTHER BOOKS!
Other Works by Emma V. Leech
(For those of you who have read The French Fae Legend series, please remember that chronologically The Heart of Arima precedes The Dark Prince)
Girls Who Dare
To Dare a Duke
To Steal A Kiss
To Break the Rules
To Follow her Heart
To Wager with Love
To Dance with a Devil
To Winter at Wildsyde
To Experiment with Desire
To Bed the Baron
To Ride with the Knight
To Hunt the Hunter
Matilda and Montagu, the story so far
To Dance until Dawn (August 14, 2020)
Rogues & Gentlemen
The Rogue
The Earl’s Temptation
Scandal’s Daughter
The Devil May Care
Nearly Ruining Mr. Russell
One Wicked Winter
To Tame a Savage Heart
Persuading Patience
The Last Man in London
Flaming June
Charity and the Devil
A Slight Indiscretion
The Corinthian Duke
The Blackest of Hearts
Duke and Duplicity
The Scent of Scandal
The Rogue and The Earl’s Temptation Box set
>
Melting Miss Wynter
The Winter Bride (A R&G Novella)
The Regency Romance Mysteries
Dying for a Duke
A Dog in a Doublet
The Rum and the Fox
The French Vampire Legend
The Key to Erebus
The Heart of Arima
The Fires of Tartarus
The Boxset (The Key to Erebus, The Heart of Arima)
The Son of Darkness (October 31, 2020)
The French Fae Legend
The Dark Prince
The Dark Heart
The Dark Deceit
The Darkest Night
Short Stories: A Dark Collection.
Stand Alone
The Book Lover (a paranormal novella)
Audio Books!
Don’t have time to read but still need your romance fix? The wait is over…
By popular demand, get your favourite Emma V Leech Regency Romance books on audio at Audible as performed by the incomparable Philip Battley and Gerard Marzilli. Several titles available and more added each month!
Click the links to choose your favourite and start listening now.
Rogues & Gentlemen
The Rogue
The Earl’s Tempation
Scandal's Daughter
The Devil May Care
Nearly Ruining Mr Russell
One Wicked Winter
To Tame a Savage Heart
Persuading Patience
The Last Man in London
Flaming June
The Winter Bride, a novella
Girls Who Dare
To Dare a Duke
To Steal A Kiss
To Break the Rules
To Follow her Heart (coming soon)
The Regency Romance Mysteries
Dying for a Duke
A Dog in a Doublet (coming soon)
The French Vampire Legend
The Key to Erebus (coming soon)
Also check out Emma’s regency romance series, Rogues & Gentlemen. Available now!
The Rogue
Rogues & Gentlemen Book 1
1815
Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life, but a means of survival.
Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading ‘gentlemen’ are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further.
Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local Militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter, inadvertently giving Henri incriminating information about the man she just helped free.
When her father gives her hand in marriage to a wealthy and villainous nobleman in return for the payment of his debts, Henri becomes desperate.
Blackmailing a pirate may be her only hope for freedom.
Read for free on Kindle Unlimited
The Rogue
Interested in a Regency Romance with a twist?
Dying for a Duke
The Regency Romance Mysteries Book 1
Straight-laced, imperious and morally rigid, Benedict Rutland - the darkly handsome Earl of Rothay - gained his title too young. Responsible for a large family of younger siblings that his frivolous parents have brought to bankruptcy, his youth was spent clawing back the family fortunes.
Now a man in his prime and financially secure he is betrothed to a strict, sensible and cool-headed woman who will never upset the balance of his life or disturb his emotions ...
But then Miss Skeffington-Fox arrives.
Brought up solely by her rake of a step-father, Benedict is scandalised by everything about the dashing Miss.
But as family members in line for the dukedom begin to die at an alarming rate, all fingers point at Benedict, and Miss Skeffington-Fox may be the only one who can save him.
FREE to read on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Dying for a Duke
Lose yourself in Emma’s paranormal world with The French Vampire Legend series…..
The Key to Erebus
The French Vampire Legend Book 1
The truth can kill you.
Taken away as a small child, from a life where vampires, the Fae, and other mythical creatures are real and treacherous, the beautiful young witch, Jéhenne Corbeaux is totally unprepared when she returns to rural France to live with her eccentric Grandmother.
Thrown headlong into a world she knows nothing about she seeks to learn the truth about herself, uncovering secrets more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined and finding that she is by no means powerless to protect the ones she loves.
Despite her Gran’s dire warnings, she is inexorably drawn to the dark and terrifying figure of Corvus, an ancient vampire and master of the vast Albinus family.
Jéhenne is about to find her answers and discover that, not only is Corvus far more dangerous than she could ever imagine, but that he holds much more than the key to her heart …
FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited The Key to Erebus
Check out Emma’s exciting fantasy series with hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “An enchanting fantasy with a likable heroine, romantic intrigue, and clever narrative flourishes.”
The Dark Prince
The French Fae Legend Book 1
Two Fae Princes
One Human Woman
And a world ready to tear them all apart
Laen Braed is Prince of the Dark fae, with a temper and reputation to match his black eyes, and a heart that despises the human race. When he is sent back through the forbidden gates between realms to retrieve an ancient fae artefact, he returns home with far more than he bargained for.
Corin Albrecht, the most powerful Elven Prince ever born. His golden eyes are rumoured to be a gift from the gods, and destiny is calling him. With a love for the human world that runs deep, his friendship with Laen is being torn apart by his prejudices.
Océane De Beauvoir is an artist and bookbinder who has always relied on her lively imagination to get her through an unhappy and uneventful life. A jewelled dagger put on display at a nearby museum hits the headlines with speculation of another race, the Fae. But the discovery also inspires Océane to create an extraordinary piece of art that cannot be confined to the pages of a book.
With two powerful men vying for her attention and their friendship stretched to the breaking point, the only question that remains...who is truly The Dark Prince.
The man of your dreams is coming...or is it your nightmares he visits? Find out in Book One of The French Fae Legend.
Available now to read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
The Dark Prince
Acknowledgements
The vile Mr Burton is, sadly, loosely based on a real person and Liddon Mill on a real place. The story Lucian uncovered is one that existed at Litton Mill and is heart wrenching to read about. “A Memoir of Robert Blincoe, an orphan boy; sent to endure the horrors of a cotton mill,” makes uncomfortable reading.
***
Thanks, of course, to my wonderful editor Kezia Cole.
To Victoria Cooper for all your hard work, amazing artwork and above all your unending patience!!! Thank you so much. You are amazing!
To my BFF, PA, personal cheerleader and bringer of chocolate, Varsi Appel, for moral support, confidence boosting and for reading my work more times than I have. I love you loads!
A huge thank you to all of Emma’s Book Club members! You guys are the best!
I’m always so happy to hear from you so do email or message me :)
emmavleech@orange.fr
To my husband Pat and my family ... For always being proud of me.
Archive.