Regency Romances

by Grace Fletcher

  “Come by? Your homestead is in Lincoln. That’s hardly popping over for an update.”

  Link at least had the decency to look chastised.

  “That was my fault. I’ve been getting things sorted at my estate and making sure it’s on track. I’ve been away a lot longer than I anticipated.”

  Valerie folded her arms.

  “And what were you planning on updating me about? I hope you’re about to say you grabbed something Aylesbury doesn’t deserve and shoved it somewhere.”

  Link laughed.

  “I couldn’t have put it more colorfully myself. But no.” His laughter died away. “He’s in debt. And it’s bad. So I gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. I paid off his debt, and he was to apologize to Joanna as well as in writing.”

  Valerie remembered a letter Joanna had received a couple of weeks ago that she said had been from Aylesbury and he was apologizing. She hadn’t realized Lincoln had been the one to put him up to it. And a public apology? That was going to go down well.

  Hang on, did he said he had paid off Aylesbury’s debt?

  “You gave your money to Aylesbury to help him out of his debts?”

  “My parents were careful with their money and taught me to do the same. I can help him out and then some.” Lincoln shrugged. “If he blows it, that’s it. But my concern was my family and Miss Joanna’s reputation. And, of course, you.”

  Valerie raised an eyebrow.

  “Why ‘of course’?”

  Was this the talk she was looking for? Was he about to declare something Valerie had wanted for a long time but had never received? Lincoln shook his head.

  “Come, Miss Valerie. Surely you’ve noticed why I’ve been doing most of this?”

  “Your sister is married to Lord Aylesbury’s brother and you want to make sure she’s safe.”

  “Alan and Sarah are going to be fine. Their money wasn’t touched. If that was the case I wouldn’t be coming back round here.”

  Valerie knew her mouth had fallen open.

  “You’re coming here for me?” She said faintly.

  “Yes.” Lincoln raised a hand and his fingers gently touched her cheek. In the cool morning air, his fingers felt very warm. “Your father guessed correctly when we spoke. He told me to decide what I wanted because he didn’t want both of his daughters emotionally ruined.”

  “Emotionally ruined?” Valerie blinked. “He thinks you’re going to break my heart?”

  “If I didn’t follow through with my promise, I’m sure I would.”

  Lincoln stepped closer. Valerie could only stare as he came close, his coat brushing against her chest, and he lowered his head. His kiss was gentle, his lips warm. Valerie closed her eyes and sighed into his mouth. Lincoln’s arms slipped around her, holding her close and cradling her against his chest. Valerie found her hands running up his shirt and clutching his lapels. She didn’t want to let him go.

  When Lincoln raised his head, breaking the kiss, she still didn’t want to let go.

  “Matt…”

  Lincoln smiled and gave a soft chuckle.

  “You’ve called me Lincoln for so long I didn’t think you knew my birth name.”

  Valerie then realized what she had just said and blushed.

  “I know it’s not the social norm, but I wanted to see how it sounded.”

  “Then you can call me whatever you want once you become my wife.”

  Valerie’s brain was foggy, but she heard that. She shook her head to clear the fog and stared at him.

  “What did you say? Did you just say wife?”

  “I did.” Lincoln kissed her forehead. “I thought I was going to be a bachelor for the rest of my life. I didn’t think I’d be able to have the loving marriage my parents had. And then I met you and something clicked.” He kissed her eyelids, her nose and then her mouth again. “I fell in love with you, Valerie Davis. And I knew there was no way I was walking away without you. But I needed to know where we stood.” He paused and suddenly looked uncertain. “So, do I stay and we marry or do you turn me away?”

  Valerie knew her answer. She didn’t even need to think about it. She had spent too long concerned about other people she hadn’t been able to focus on her own feelings. But now, with her worries gone, Valerie knew what she wanted. And she wanted Lincoln. She tugged him down and kissed him.

  “Don’t go.” She whispered, hugging him. “Please, Matt. Don’t go.”

  Lincoln laughed.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” He pulled back and rubbed at the frown lines between her eyes. “Don’t think too much, Valerie. I can hear you doing it. Just relax. Once you’re married to me, all you need to do is let me look after you. You don’t have to worry about yourself. I can do it.”

  Valerie liked the sound of that. She didn’t think she could it immediately but the thought of Lincoln taking care of her instead was the best idea she had heard.

  “Not worrying about myself.” She smiled. “I’d like to do that one day.”

  “Then you’d better start today.”

  Valerie was still smiling when Lincoln kissed her.

  *** The End ***

  The Earl’s

  Troubled Governess

  Regency Romance

  Grace Fletcher

  Chapter 1

  C herry Hammortree knew she was in trouble. She could see it in the butler’s expression as he was sent to fetch her. Normally, the snowy-haired man kept a blank expression but Cherry saw the barely contained nervousness.

  It had to be terrible if he was uncomfortable.

  Cherry knew it would be. She had turned down yet another potential husband. Her parents seemed to get angrier each time but Cherry couldn’t help it. It wasn’t her fault that most of the men of her generation were despicable who saw her as a piece to trade instead of a person.

  That’s what happened when you ended up being unmarried at six-and-twenty, Cherry surmised. It was partially her fault for not agreeing to the first proposal that came her way but there was nothing to attract her to married life. She had expressed that many times.

  It was a shame it fell on deaf ears.

  Cherry knocked three times on her father’s study before entering. Her father was sitting at his desk, head bowed as he wrote. He didn’t look up as Cherry came in. Cherry’s mother sat on a chair by the fire, which had recently been lit. She sat so primly, with her hands in her lap, back ramrod straight with her head up. She didn’t smile at her daughter.

  Cherry approached her father’s desk and waited. William Hammortree carried on writing. He didn’t even acknowledge her. Cherry knew this was a tactic to make her nervous. But she wasn’t; she was old enough to know the manipulation, and she wasn’t about to bow down to him and give him what he wanted.

  Finally, Hammortree barely glanced up at his daughter and pointed at the chair just behind Cherry.

  “Sit down.”

  Cherry sat. Her knees were going to give out if she stayed standing any longer. She might as well wait in comfort.

  It felt like forever before Hammortree put his pen down and sat back, glaring at Cherry. It was then she saw the barely contained anger.

  “We’re very disappointed in you.”

  “This is about Elmore Lucian, isn’t it?”

  Cherry didn’t even know why she was asking. She knew this was why they were angry. Elmore Lucian was a baron’s son who had reached the age of four-and-twenty without getting married because of his temper. He was also a bigoted spoiled brat who thought he was entitled to more than he was allowed. And being permitted to court the niece of the Marquis of Yorkshire was something he thought he was entitled to.

  Not with Cherry. She could still feel his fingers on her neck.

  “You turned him down!” Hammortree snapped.

  “Because I don’t care for him and I won’t be married to a tyrant.”

  Caroline Hammortree snorted. It was not a pretty noise.

  “What are you talking about? Lucian is a ve
ry nice young man, a credit to his father, and he’s got a good social standing.”

  Cherry rolled her eyes. Her father is a marquis. That is one below a duke. A baron was much lower than a marquis. That was hardly a good social standing for their family; her parents just wanted to get her married.

  “I don’t care about social standing, Mama. That man showed his true colors to me and threatened to take a stick to me if I ever talked back to him once we’re married.” Her fingers brushed at her neck. “And he had his hand to my neck when he said it.”

  Her mother gasped. She looked scandalized.

  “He would never do that.” She protested.

  “He did.” Cherry could see neither of them believed her, but she was past the point of caring. “I don’t know why you keep setting me up with these men, Father. If you’re that desperate to get rid of me, couldn’t you find someone who’s actually decent?”

  That was the problem. All the decent men her age were already married. The ones that were left had many reasons why they were still unmarried.

  “These men are the sons of friends.” Hammortree snapped. “There is nothing wrong with them.”

  “You don’t see their facades slip. I do.” Cherry gritted her teeth, her hands clenching in her lap. “And I’m not about to become a commodity and lose my identity.”

  “Women obey their fathers and their husbands. That’s how it is and always has been. And you will know your place.”

  That had Cherry wanting to grimace. But she held herself in check. There was no way she could lose her temper in front of her parents. Her father would whip her, for sure. If she didn’t get it already for her defiance.

  “Will I? How would you feel if I came to visit, and I was covered in bruises, Papa? Or if I never saw you at all because he would refuse to let me leave his sight? Would you want me so cowed that I flinch whenever anyone looks at me because he’s accusing me of having an affair with any man in my presence? Not a chance.”

  It was a little over the top with the last one but Cherry knew she couldn’t put it past the men she had had attempting to court her. One of them had even said he thought women didn’t know how to be faithful. Cherry had told him to leave moments later.

  Her mother stood up and strode over to Cherry’s chair.

  “You will learn your place, young lady.” She hissed.

  Cherry sensed her mother’s hand coming up to knock her head, as she was prone to doing whenever Cherry displeased her, and stood up, swinging around on Caroline.

  “I don’t have to learn my place on anything.” She said with clenched teeth. “You can’t make me. I’d rather be a spinster than do this.”

  Then she saw the look on her mother’s face and decided to take her leave before it escalated. William Hammortree had a temper and ruled the house with an iron fist but his wife was made of tougher stuff. Cherry didn’t want to begin to remember how many times here dear mother had said you had to beat sense into a child.

  “Come back here, young lady!” Hammortree snapped.

  Cherry didn’t stop as she made towards the door. She knew she was going to get into trouble later but she didn’t care.

  The whole situation made her blood boil.

  ***

  Cherry hurried onto the terrace and sagged onto the wall, fighting back tears. She was fed up with the same run-around with her parents. They wanted her to marry, and they chose people who were bullies, emotionally and physically, who didn’t care they were marrying Cherry so much as gaining a punching bag.

  In other words, they wanted Cherry to have a husband like her father.

  It wasn’t something Cherry wanted. If she had a chance to leave she would go, regardless of how it would look in society. She wasn’t about to remain and be passed from pillar to post.

  “Cherry.”

  Cherry looked up. A tall, grey-haired man wearing his silk suit like it was made of jewels was walking towards her, using his cane to lean on as he limped over. Cherry had never felt so relieved to see someone.

  “Uncle Yorkie.”

  Cherry slipped over the wall and hurried over to her uncle, throwing herself into his arms. Frederick Hammortree, Marquis of Yorkshire, chuckled as he hugged her back with his free arm.

  “If you’re calling me that you really are upset.”

  Cherry sniffed, fighting back the tears now threatening to fall. Yorkie was her favorite uncle, the complete opposite to his younger brother, Cherry’s father. Cherry had latched on to him very quickly as a child and Yorkie protected her from the worst of her father’s beatings. Hammortree listened to his brother, almost cowering away whenever Yorkie used his size, but as soon as Yorkie’s back was turned he started again.

  Cherry pulled back and found her handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes as she sniffed.

  “I expect Father told you that I was being a spoiled, ungrateful little brat.”

  Yorkie chuckled.

  “You are entirely correct.” He took Cherry’s arm and led her over to the wall where they sat. “But I know you did the right thing. I know Elmore Lucian and I told your father he was a tormenter. He won’t listen and that’s his fault, not yours.”

  At least she had someone on her side. Cherry often wished her uncle, who had remained a bachelor and had no children, was her father. She sighed and twisted the lump of cloth in her hands.

  “Why do they seem to only know men no respectable woman would marry? Am I that unpleasant that they can’t find someone decent?”

  “Your grandfather said once he wanted his daughter, your aunt, to marry someone who was a lot like him. She married a good man.” Yorkie grunted. “If we go by that, your father is looking for a man like him to marry you.”

  “Charming.”

  Yorkie sighed. He tapped the end of his stick on the stones as they sat in silence.

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I want to leave.” Cherry gave the house a glare. “I’m getting fed up being paraded around and I don’t want to be around either of my parents. Can I come and stay with you?”

  Yorkie smiled and chucked her chin.

  “My door is always open for you. You know that. But I might have a better suggestion for you.”

  Chapter 2

  C herry wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that. But she trusted her uncle and anything would be better than living with her parents.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “You’ve heard of Lady Derbyshire?”

  Who hadn’t? One of the most glamorous women in society.

  “She’s the Dowager Countess of Derbyshire. Her son has the title of earl. He lost his wife a couple of years ago to smallpox.”

  “Have you ever met them?”

  “No. Lord Derbyshire is about a decade older than me so we wouldn’t have been in the same circles. I’ve met the dowager countess in passing but we don’t know each other well.” Cherry frowned. “Why? What’s she got to do with this?”

  “I saw her in York today. She’s looking for a governess for her grandchildren. Lord Derbyshire has a fourteen-year-old daughter and a eight-year-old son. She thinks they’re under her son’s feet too much and they need to have someone to keep them in line.”

  “And you put my name forward.”

  Cherry wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. The earl himself hadn’t requested a governess, the mother had. It wasn’t her responsibility, in Cherry’s eyes. And she could understand if the children wanted to be with their father all the time after losing their mother. They didn’t need to be kept in line; they just wanted their father.

  “I haven’t said anything yet, but I thought you might like to do that. It gets you away from your parents and you always wanted to do something with people.” Yorkie shrugged. “Plus, I think you’d do these children some good. You always were good with children.”

  Cherry paused. These children needed a female in their lives who actually cared about them. They had no mother, so they were looking for guidance
. Cherry could do that. And it wasn’t a marriage offer, which made it even better. She sighed.

  “Sounds like the best way to get out of here.”

  Yorkie grinned.

  “I’ll write to her as soon as I get home.” He tapped Cherry’s nose, the same way he had done when she was a little girl. “I just want what’s best for my niece.”

  Cherry started to feel better. Frederick Hammortree always looked out for her. And maybe a break from her parents would be best in the long run. Hopefully, when she was away from them, they would realize how foolish they were being and they could attempt to move forward as a better family.

  Because they were certainly not a family right now.

  ***

  The Earl of Derbyshire was minding his own business when his mother came striding into the room as if she was expecting a royal salute.

  “I’ve found you a governess.”

  At Derby’s feet, Lucy Fontaine looked up from her book. His son Michael was sitting in front of the fire playing with his wooden train. He exchanged a look with his sister, who made a face. Derby rolled his eyes at his mother’s entrance.

  “Good morning, Mother.” He drawled. “I trust you slept well today.”

  Lady Derbyshire huffed loudly. Clearly, she had been expecting her announcement to be received better than that.

  “Did you hear me, Derby?” She demanded.

  “I heard you.” Derby lowered his book and sighed. “But I don’t appreciate you coming in and declaring something like that.”

  They had been having a pleasant morning. For the first time in a while, Lady Derbyshire hadn’t graced them with her presence at breakfast. Hoping she had taken to her bed with another tiny ailment, Derby had gone about his business without having her breathe down his neck. Lucy and Michael enjoyed it as well; Lady Derbyshire tended to nitpick everything they did and Lucy was not known for being tolerant of other people. She was just like her mother in that aspect.

  Derby wished his wife was here. Henrietta had known how to take care of her mother-in-law. Derby did, too, but he still got flattened. It was as if, in his mother’s mind, she could do it regardless of the answer because she was his mother.