A Secret Desire

by Lane, Charlie

  “Hmph.”

  “And secretly, you’re proud of him.”

  His lips lifted into a grin. “He’ll be here, Henrietta. And if he misses it, the guilt will eat him alive.”

  Ada gasped. “Do you see who is here?” Her gaze fixated over her right shoulder at a woman in the crowd.

  “Who?” But Henrietta saw who before she’d finished asking the question.

  “The Duchess of Valingford,” Ada hissed. “Why do you think she’s come?”

  Another surge of pride pinged through Henrietta. She felt like squealing her delight, shouting her victory. She allowed herself only a small, pleased smile as she shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, she hinted she would come for the unveiling at her fitting last week.”

  Ada’s mouth dropped open.

  Henrietta lifted one gloved finger and gently pushed it closed with a finger under Ada’s chin.

  “You didn’t tell me!”

  “You were out of the country. Where was it this time? Greece? The Antiguas? Ar—”

  “Just because one is in Italy doesn’t mean one is out of reach. Paper and ink, Hen, are common modes of communication.” She shivered and cast Henrietta a reproachful look. “The Antiguas? I’d never! And you wouldn’t either, and you know it. I know for a fact Blake Textiles refuses to work with anyone involved in the slave trade.”

  Henrietta nodded firmly. “Exactly right. And neither will my business.”

  Tobias leaned in, a patch of sticky slobber running down his lapel, arms full of wiggly girl. “Speaking of which—have you decided on a name?”

  Ada barked a laugh and gestured toward the covered sign. “Of course, she has or there would be no sign!”

  Tobias shrugged. “There has been talk of simply using a symbol, which is not, if you ask me, a proper shop name.”

  The symbol had been a silly idea born of frustration. The simple bird in flight hanging on a chain around her neck offered the perfect image, but it would cause more confusion than it was worth. Henrietta pulled out the pocket watch once more and checked it. Two minutes. “No one asked you, Tobias,” Henrietta reminded her brother.

  “Precisely why I’ve had to give my opinion so freely and vociferously.”

  Henrietta rolled her eyes and glanced down at the pocket watch once more. It was time. Exactly noon. Everyone gathered waited for Henrietta, Viscountess Rigsby, to open her new dress shop, her second dress shop, and the one that would introduce a new name to both locations.

  She snapped the pocket watch back in place and reached into her beaded reticule. Her fingers slid across cool metal, and she clasped it, pulling out a key with the figure of a bird in flight twisted into the handle. With a pang of regret at Grayson’s absence, she took a trembling step forward. She’d have to remove the cover over the sign first. Grayson had been going to do that, a dramatic flourish as she opened the door. But now, necessity beat out drama. Tobias would be greatly disappointed.

  “Wait! Hen!” A strong hand roped around her upper arm, turned her around, and swung her gently backward against a hard chest.

  “Grayson! You’re here!” Henrietta’s arms wound tightly about his neck, and he hugged her so tightly he lifted her off her feet. She felt the hard planes of his chest, his belly, strengthened and tightened through daily work with his tenants, pressed against her own soft center. She wanted to melt into him, to revel in the electricity shooting through her at his touch even after almost four years of marriage. She wanted to drag him home and keep him abed for the exact amount of time he’d been gone.

  But there was business to be done first, and Grayson knew it. He set her at arm’s length, his thumbs rubbing soft circles into the delicate skin above her elbows. “Of course, I’m here.” His eyes glowed with desires she knew mirrored her own. “God, I’ve missed you, Hen.” He pulled her close once more, dipped his head, and—

  “Papa!” A fury of gold curls and sticky cheeks flung itself at Grayson.

  He swooped Adaline up and hugged her tight. “My little bird! How I’ve missed you!”

  Henrietta couldn’t feel too frustrated by the interrupted kiss. Seeing her husband and daughter tangled together made up for every evil in the world, every pang, every fear.

  “What have you got on your cheeks, little bird?” Grayson asked, poking one sticky side of Adaline’s face.

  “Grandfather gave me a peppermint.”

  “Ah.” He grinned, set Adaline on the ground, and ruffled her hair. “Stay with Grandfather. Mama and I have business to attend to.” He turned to Henrietta and took her hands, intertwining their fingers. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded, unable to speak past the emotion welling deep in her chest and behind her eyes.

  He nodded, too, and hand in hand they approached the new shop front. They let go of one another only long enough to accomplish their tasks. Henrietta inserted the key into the lock. Grayson took hold of the thick, brown paper covering the shop’s sign. Henrietta turned the key and the lock clicked. The door swung open while Grayson yanked the cover away. It whooshed through the air, revealing the sign above the door. And they returned to the circle of one another’s arms.

  Henrietta nestled deep into Grayson’s shoulder, unable to drag her gaze away from what he had revealed. Lady Blake’s, the sign read.

  “Lady Blake’s?” Tobias’s incredulous question couldn’t wilt her ear-to-ear grin. “What’s it even mean?” he asked. “You’re certainly not Lady Blake. You’re not even a Blake anymore. You’re a Maxwell. More formally, you’re the Viscountess Rigsby. If anything, it should be called Lady Rigsby’s.”

  “Shut up, Tobias,” Grayson murmured, his eyes also glued, with pride, to the store front. “How does it feel, Hen?”

  “Wonderful.”

  “But truly, it makes no sense,” Tobias insisted.

  “I must admit to confusion myself,” Ada admitted.

  “Who’s Lady Blake?” Adaline asked.

  Henrietta spoke without looking away from the sign, the door, the window with extravagantly colored bolts of cloth displayed for passersby. “If you’ve not noticed, dress shops are named for the modistes who run them.”

  “Yes, that I understand.” Tobias gritted his teeth. “But you are not Lady Blake, as we’ve all pointed out.”

  “She’s a lady,” Grayson said with a shrug of his shoulder. “And she’s a Blake.”

  Henrietta was a future duchess and the daughter of a factory owner. She was no longer afraid of her future, but she would never forget her origins. Nor would she be ashamed of them.

  “Lady Blake is who I am,” she said simply, finally turning to her family and friends. “It’s all the different parts of me.”

  Her father-in-law sighed. “I’ll never quite understand you two.” But pride glinted in his eyes. He clapped his son on the back. “Glad you made it, son. We’ll talk about the state of the Scottish estate later this week, hm?”

  Grayson nodded and his father lightly popped Adaline on the nose with his forefinger. “You and I must work on candy etiquette. Come with your Papa later this week, little one.”

  Adaline’s vigorous nod shook her whole body, and she wrapped herself around her father’s leg.

  The duke disappeared into the crowd with a final wave of his hand as a goodbye.

  “He’s proud of you,” Henrietta said to Grayson.

  He turned more intimately toward her, pulling her chest against his own and stretching his fingers through the curls at the nape of her neck. “I’m proud of you.” His lips touched hers in the most delicate of kisses. He tasted of wind and sweat and love, and she pulled his lapels to urge him closer, to deepen their kiss.

  Tobias cleared his throat. “On the sidewalk? Come now, not even love is worth such an exhibition. It’s not done. It’s uncouth. It’s impro—”

  “Stuff it, Tobias,” Grayson growled, his lips barely leaving Henrietta’s to speak the words.

  “Shouldn’t we be going inside, anyway? You do have a shop to run, Hen.”
Tobias sauntered around their entwined forms and disappeared into the open shop door, Adaline’s hand in his own. Ada followed close on their heels, her cheeks as red as Lady Pendleson’s newest gown.

  Henrietta chuckled. “He’s right, you know, future dukes likely shouldn’t kiss their shopkeeper wives in the street.”

  His arms tightened around her, the gentle vice kept her from slipping away. “There are many things future dukes should not do, but this future duke does as he pleases. And right now, it pleases me to kiss you senseless.”

  “Hm. I’m very sensible, you know. It may take some time.”

  “How fortunate for me.” His lips took hers once more, and she breathed him in. He could do as he pleased for the rest of his years as long as what he pleased was loving her.

  About the Author

  Charlie Lane traded in academic databases and scholarly journals for writing steamy Regency romcoms like the ones she’s always loved to read. Her favorite authors are Jane Austen (who else?), Toni Morrison, and William Blake, and when she’s not writing humorous conversations, dramatic confrontations, or sexy times, she’s flying high in the air as a circus-obsessed acrobat.

  If you love the historical aspect of historical romance, follow Charlie’s newsletter! You’ll get not only insight into the history that informs her novels, but deals on free books and updates on her next publications.

  You can connect with me on:

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  Also by Charlie Lane

  Regency Romance that is lighthearted and hot!

  The Secret Seduction: A London Secrets Novella

  https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Seduction-Steamy-Regency-Novella-ebook/dp/B089FMBXCS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Charlie+lane&qid=1591467266&sr=8-1

  Love and secrets don’t mix…

  Appearances can be deceiving, just ask Carson Allworthy, Viscount Trevor. He might appear the quintessential gentleman described in his mother’s book, but he is no angel, a fact he plans to reveal to Miss Allison Shropshire, whose clever wit, big heart, and love of adventure tempt him to conduct a secret seduction.

  Allison may be the only woman in London who finds Lord Trevor’s impeccable manners—to put it bluntly—boring. She’d rather set his mother’s book aflame in Hyde Park than marry Lord Trevor. But an unexpected encounter sparks a desire to know all of the suddenly sultry lord’s secrets.

  Will Lord Trevor keep his secrets to himself? Or will he reveal all in order to win Allison’s heart and hand?

  Check out the fun and steamy novella Amazon reviewers say is “not to be missed” and “a must read”!

  Sinning in Secret: London Secrets Series Book 2

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CHLFMH1

  When a Lady intends to avoid marriage …

  Lady Willow, the powerful Duke of Valingford’s daughter, has two options: marry the man her parents chose for her or spend the rest of her days in a madhouse. Determined to shape her own future, Willow plots a secret escape.

  … can the lord who loves her change her mind?

  The Viscount Cordell takes a methodical and scientific approach to everything, including his search for a wife. Anxious to discover the formula for a happy and successful marriage, he agrees to marry the beautiful and impulsive Lady Willow, a woman who challenges his every hypothesis.

  Cordell knows Willow is the key to his marriage formula; she’s not convinced. Will she marry the man her parents have chosen or find another way to escape the madhouse?

  Pre-order now to make sure you don’t miss out!