He couldn’t help it as she approached. Alex grabbed her hand for wanting to kiss her, then bowed and pressed his lips against her knuckles. “Lovely, as always.”
“And equally charming,” she whispered, her eyes brimmed with tears, a wide smile spread across her lips. “Are you going to regret this?”
“Marrying you?”
“No, eloping.”
“Minnie, what’s another scandal between the two of us, my darling?”
* * *
Thank you for reading A PROPER SCANDAL! I hope you loved Minnie and Alex.
Not ready to say goodbye to the Ravensdale family? Keep reading for a peek at THE LADY’S FORBIDDEN DESIRE to find out what happens when Grace falls her childhood friend, Theodore Nash.
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The Lady’s Forbidden Desire
Summer waltzed through the park’s oak trees, stirring up hope and a certain infallible mortality as only those warm months could. From the edge of the garden, beneath the glowing lanterns of the party, it appeared to Grace as though nothing was about to change. But on a night such as this, that simply wasn’t true.
Between one breath and another, Lady Grace Ravensdale fell in love with Theodore Nash. She didn’t fall as it was often described; it was an intuition that found a heart beat and never let go. That very fact had been her sole secret in life. She kept it between her heart and the fine ivory keys of her grand piano, orchestrating concertos to a romance that would never be. Being in love with the gardener’s son was something best left alone, hushed and locked away.
And tomorrow, he was leaving.
She leaned against the stone wall encasing the steps down to the reflection pool below the ballroom. It was a honeysuckle night, the air heavy with the perfume of the surrounding gardens. Laughter echoed below; the remnants of Teddy’s going away party. The entire village had been there that afternoon. Grace had made a brief appearance to be polite, then retreated to her room to stare down a stack of letters neatly tied in ribbons and lace.
She never did read them.
Kipling strolled along the wall, stopping to bump his head against Grace’s as she remained hidden.
“I should join the others, shouldn’t I, Kip?”
The large orange tabby butted his head against her shoulder purring loudly.
“Traitor.” She scratched between his ears and sighed. “I thought I could at least bribe you with a bowl of cream.”
“I prefer something stronger,” a voice came from the bottom of the steps. “But I’m always open to bribes.” Her brother emerged, holding a hand out for hers. Well, Rhys was her cousin technically. She just always thought of him as a brother, as she considered her Aunt Clara her mother. She never knew her parents back in India. She was but a babe when they passed from thyroid fever.
As though an early daffodil struck with the first icy pellet of a late spring storm, Grace retreated a step.
Late twilight ruffled through his wheat-colored hair, his gray eyes shining back at her with mirth. He appeared older thank his seventeen years as he leaned against the stones in his wrinkled dress shirt, his ankles cross, as he studied her. “You should be dancing tonight. Your new dress is pretty.” Before she could answer, Rhys grabbed her hand, dragging her down the remaining steps to the garden illuminated with lantern light, even the reflection pool held candles flowing freely between the giant flowering lily pads.
“Chin up, it won’t be so bad after tomorrow.”
Her fingers played at the beading on her yellow gown, her heart beginning to hammer against her chest. Joining the the party meant everything would happen as it should. If only life held the magic the gardens did at Burton Hall, maybe there could be another ending.
Rhys was in love with the idea of adventure, and wanted to join Teddy in Africa. But war wasn’t an adventure. It was death. And Teddy would be so far away.
Laughs were loud and uncapped, merriment rang through the air as the orchestra played under lantern light. Burton Hall was a place where London society came to unwind. It was only natural given that her uncle, Bly Ravensdale, was a notorious adventurer and a rather roughish man. Even Clara, couldn’t completely tame the Devil, as he was known. So society conventions had a curious way of bending whenever he was around.
Couples danced past as others drank champagne, their voices loud, their stories uncensored. There was a game of charades beneath the large oak tree anchoring the garden before you walked out to the rest of the park. It all whirled by without consequence. Grace was helpless to stop it, especially when Rhys refused to release her hand.
He stopped then, twirling her in a circle. Her skirts were heavy, much too heavy to fan out about her. Still, she smiled as he winked at her when she came to stop and found the center of herself once more.
“Boys, allow me to introduce my sister, Lady Grace Ravensdale.” The men before her grinned and bobbed their hellos as she nodded demurely. “Grace, these are some mates from Eton. I believe you’ve met Amory before.”
Rhys and Teddy were forever bringing back friends on school breaks. Amory did look familiar, his hair red hair slicked back in posh style for such an informal event. He grinned at her, nodding once more. His spectacles slid down his nose slightly when he straightened.
“I expect her dancing all night, fellows. Don’t let me down.”
Amory stepped forward. “I’ll gladly accept that challenge. Would you care to dance, Miss Ravensdale?”
“Please, call me Grace.” She was only half-listening as she spotted him out of the corner of her eye. Teddy stood by the boxed hedges with Victoria on his arm. The pair laughed as another couple chatted away. His violet eyes met Grace’s from across the busy scene and for a moment, one bittersweet moment, it was as if time had stopped. Grace looked away and accepted Amory’s outstretched hand.
So Grace did what was expected and danced the slow minutes into hours, passing from one man’s arms to another with polite smiles and conversation. She did all this even as her heart was breaking because finally it had had happened—Teddy had proposed marriage to Victoria. The impossible seemed doubly so now. She had no right to think there could ever be another end, but that small whisper of hope was crushed as they danced by her, deep in conversation.
Beneath the endless black sky of Yorkshire, the world seemed entirely small and large at the same time. Burton Hall had been her life. It was all she knew outside of playing piano. And yet there was much more uncertainty at bay, beyond. She excused herself and wove through the crowd, trying to appear composed when she was anything but.
“You can’t leave.” His voice was normally a warm embrace, now it was an empty memory.
Still, Grace paused.
“I haven’t danced with you yet,” Teddy said.
Grace receded back into the dark shadows of the hedges, shying away from the lanterns gently swaying from the limbs of the giant oak tree. She blinked up to the night sky, inhaling a cool slip of summer air into her lungs as she focused on the stars above. Grace always preferred the sun to the vast night.
“There’s no need,” she said as politely as possible. “It’s getting late and I want to retire, but I hear I’m to offer you my congratulations.” Grace braced herself, wrapping her arms around her middle. “I wish the two of you a happy union.” Strangely, she did. She could be bitter or hurt about Teddy marrying another, but that had always been the plan, hadn’t it? There was little point in wishing him ill. Life was too short for such feelings.
“You were going to leave without a goodbye?” He edged closer, tilting his head as he puzzled her over. His lips were drawn into a tight line. Try as he might, she recognized his disappointment.
She brushed against the hedge. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light, soaking in the image of Teddy in his uniform. Teddy and those strange violet eyes, which had been in her life for years now. Theodore Nash was undeniably and unfairly handsome. His black hair, usually tussled
from the windy moors was trimmed and tidy. His face was cleanly shaved, only highlighting his strong cheekbones. Those edges would wash away to rounded cheeks when he laughed, just as the lines around his eyes would deepen when he smiled.
She didn’t answer because she had a difficult time with lies. They had a funny way of getting caught in her throat, especially around Teddy.
“Please, don’t.” He reached his hand out for her in the dark, his fingers trembling. “Gracie,” he pleaded.
Grace had discovered her head could rest comfortably against the space between his chest and shoulder. It was a perfect fit. Just as his hands molded to her slim hips, so his thumbs could trace circles against the small of her back. Last summer, the season of one endless fever dream, taught them how perfectly they fit together, how they were born to love each other.
And then he left for Oxford. And then Grace had her season. And then there were endless hours of nothing that followed. That is until that day he returned from university early to announce he was joining the army to fight in Africa against the Boers. Then that night, what seemed hopeless became impossible.
“One dance for an old friend.”
Her heart broke three times over as she nodded her acceptance.
Teddy drew her closer, circling them further back into the dark, back against the borders of the garden so they only had the stars above. “I’ll miss you, petal. Do you know that?”
“You mustn’t say things like that now.”
His bushy black brows drew down in deliberation. He let out a brief rush of air, a short exclamation of words that could not be said. “I have to leave and I don’t wish you remember seeing you so sad.”
She gave a heartless laugh then at the hopelessness of it all. Grace should have locked herself away that evening and avoided all of this.
He drew her closer still, the two of them forgetting the waltz to cling on to each other in an easy sway instead.
“I have to marry her, petal. I’m leaving to fight. It’s the honorable thing. It’s expected of me.”
“She will make you an excellent wife,” Grace conceded.
Teddy cupped her face in his hands, staring at her in marked silence. “Gracie.”
At first, all she could do was swallow past the painful lump in her throat and force out another painful breath. “Come home safe,” she whispered, averting her eyes from his hardened stare. “I should—”
“There is something—”
“Please don’t,” she cautioned. Grace pressed her hands against his chest and attempted to push away. Her arms wouldn’t straighten. She just couldn’t do it, so she remained close, as she wished.
“One more kiss, petal. It’ll be torture to live every day after knowing that I can never do so again. One more.” His thumb swept over her lips with marked tenderness as a constricting pain started in her throat. His lips brushed her ear, the warmth of his breath caressing her skin made her stomach somersault. “I would give you violets upon violets in another life.” His voice was haggard, too raw for it to belong to her Teddy. “Do you know that?”
* * *
Find out what happens next in THE LADY’S FORBIDDEN DESIRE, available Spring 2020. For more information, including pre-order links, click here.
Books by Rebecca Paula
Historical Romance
Ravensdale Series
Etiquette with the Devil, Book 1
The Duke’s Improper Bride – October 17, 2019, Book 2
A Proper Scandal, Book 3
The Lady’s Forbidden Desire, - Spring 2020 Book 4
Standalone Historical Romance
A Spy to Call My Own - Spring 2020
(Previously published in Her Majesty’s Scoundrels anthology)
Winter Hearts
Contemporary Romance
Sutton College Series
Between Everything and Us
Anything More Than Now
Standalone Contemporary Romance
Everly After
A Proper Scandal Page 27