The Duke's Undoing (Three Rogues and Their Ladies)
Page 25
“I am his guardian, Cousin. He goes to Eton. He must not be coddled.”
Kate got up and paced the room, much distressed. She did not want a Season, and she did not want to be parted from Joey. She felt physically ill at the thought of her little brother enduring the hazing and bullying he would surely suffer.
“I wish to take the stud fees and go back to Italy. I know Aunt Clarice, and I am certain she would be game. We could take Joey with us. It would be a splendid opportunity for him.”
Kate knew it was a pointless request, but perhaps Freddie was in an expansive mood after his own news.
“With a war on the Continent, that is, of course, impossible. As you know, Lady Kate.”
“Papa and I had no difficulties!”
“You father was a very competent man. Though I cannot agree with his desire to give you the Grand Tour, I cannot fault him for the manner in which he took care that nothing untoward should befall you. And there is that clause in his will about Francesco, you recall.”
The Horrible Will. That her beloved Papa had come to commission such a document was a source of continual pain. But he had had very strong feelings about Catholics. And he knew how stubborn his daughter was in her devotion to her first and only love.
Freddie continued, “It would be far more comfortable for you to resign yourself to this new direction, Cousin. If you will allow me to say so, I believe that with your unique charm and appearance, you are certain to make a brilliant match. Most girls enjoy their Seasons, you know.”
Clenching her fists, she said, “I will marry for convenience only. To gain guardianship of Joey and to get my fortune.” Tears burned in her eyes. “I will marry someone with his own interests, his own life. Someone who will not mind that I want to live in Italy and paint.”
“When you marry,” he said, “your husband will become Joseph’s guardian.”
She halted. “You are a dreadfully unfeeling man to send Joey to Eton. I hope you have more compassion for your own child.”
She bade him good morning, determined to go find her stepbrother in the schoolroom.
But Cousin Freddie was not finished. “Your aunt is sending her carriage for you, Cousin. It will arrive tomorrow. I suggest that you and your maid set to the task of packing up such things as you will need. I will give you a draft on my bank in Town so you may purchase a suitable wardrobe.”
Why was she surprised that she had been saddled with a fait accompli? Stalking out of the library, she climbed the stairs to the schoolroom. There she found Joey, studying an atlas. His tutor, Mr. Graves, a tall, desiccated elderly fellow with a goatee, was instructing his pupil in Latin.
Kate’s own Latin was excellent, allowing her to understand that they were discussing the conquests of Julius Caesar. She had never interrupted her brother’s lessons before, but now she said, “Mr. Graves, it is vital that I speak to my brother alone. Would you please allow him to take a walk with me?”
Startled, the man agreed.
Joey said, “Is s-s-s-something wrong, K-k-kate?”
“I will tell you when we get downstairs. We will go walk in the garden, and Cook can send us out some lemonade and biscuits that we can eat in the rose arbor.”
Joey’s large blue eyes lit. He was currently experiencing a growth spurt and seemed never to get enough to eat. He followed her out of his schoolroom and down to the kitchen, where the good-natured cook agreed to her request. Kate and Joey walked out the kitchen door and into the garden.
It was early spring, and as yet, only the daffodils, tulips, and crocus were out. However, the roses were budding and the trees were heavily laden with sweet blossoms. In front of the rose arbor stood her easel with its half-finished painting of the new blooms her late stepmother had loved so much. It saddened her to think she would never finish this painting, and worse, that strictly speaking, she had no right to this lovely garden anymore. Being banished from her home and from Joey made her angry. It was good that she was angry. Such feelings kept her from feeling the desolation that had been her companion since Papa’s death.
“Has Cousin Freddie spoken to you lately about the changes he is making in our lives?”
“N-n-no.”
Sitting down on the white wooden bench inside the arbor, she made room for him. He was too old to take into her arms, as she wished to do, but she possessed herself of his hands and squeezed them. “I fear we are to be separated. I go to London tomorrow to stay with Papa’s sister, Aunt Clarice.”
“Oh, K-k-Kate! I will miss you! D-d-do you have to go?”
“Yes. I must find a husband. Then you can come to live with us. Or maybe, when the war ends, you and I can go to Italy to live.”
“I d-d-don’t want t-t-to stay here by myself! I d-d-don’t like Cousin Freddie. He doesn’t like m-m-me.”
She sighed, and, giving in to her desire, put her arms around him and hugged him.
“Joey, Cousin Freddie is your guardian until such time as I marry. He is sending you to Eton.”
“N-n-no!” He pulled away and looked into her face, his eyes round with panic.
“I will try to find a husband very soon. I promise.”
A footman approached them, laden with a pitcher of lemonade and a plateful of biscuits.
As he consumed the treat, Kate ruffled his sandy curls. He was such a beautiful boy. “It will not take long, Joey. I have a plan.”
To read more, look for The Taming of Lady Kate.
If you liked this book, please consider reviewing it on Amazon!
A new Regency romance by G.G. Vandagriff will be published shortly. In the meantime, enjoy some of her other books, all available on Amazon:
Historical Romance:
The Last Waltz: A Novel of Love and War
Women’s Fiction (with Romance!):
The Only Way to Paradise
Pieces of Paris (Published by Deseret Book)
Suspense:
The Arthurian Omen
Mystery Series (with Romance!):
Cankered Roots
Of Deadly Descent
Tangled Roots
Poisoned Pedigree
Hidden Branch
.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
G. G. Vandagriff is a traditionally published author who has recently gone indie. She loves the Regency period, having read Georgette Heyer over and over since she was a teen. G. G. is already at work on her next Regency romance and plans on writing at least a trilogy. She also has a great many fans of her earlier books, particularly the award-winning The Last Waltz and The Only Way to Paradise, who are anxious to read sequels! And her mystery fans are always urging her to write another book featuring her wacky genealogical sleuths, Alex and Briggie.
Obviously, G. G. likes to genre hop! In addition to her fiction, she has written two nonfiction works. And she writes a twice-monthly column for the on-line magazine Meridian as well as being a guest columnist for the Deseret News.
She studied writing at Stanford University and received her master’s degree at George Washington University. She lives with her husband, David, a lawyer and a writer, on the bench of the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. From her office she can see a beautiful valley, a lake, and another mountain range. She and David have three grown children and two (and a half) wondrous grandchildren.
After playing with, reading to, and doing crafts with her grandchildren, her favorite thing is traveling. She goes to Italy once a year for medicinal purposes (and research—read The Only Way to Paradise). Her favorite classic authors are Tolstoy, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen. Her favorite contemporary authors are A. S. Byatt, John Fowles, Marisa de los Santos, Emily Giffin, and Candice Hern.
Visit G.G. at her website http://ggvandagriff.com, where you can see pictures of her travels, read excerpts of her books, and sign up to receive her newsletter. You can also read her blog, http://ggvandagriff.com/blog, and sign up to follow. She has an author page on Facebook (G.G. Vandagriff-Author) and on Goodreads and Amazon. She loves t
o hear from her fans!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to all my fans both old and new. Special thanks to my alpha readers: Susan Dayley, Alana Tompkins, Kate Sonne Myler, and Anna Stone. Much gratitude to my editor of twenty years, Suzanne Brady for her always skillful (and tactful) assistance. And the most profound gratitude to my husband for the beautiful cover, technical assistance, and mental, emotional and spiritual sustenance during the whole of this project.
PRAISE FOR G.G. VANDAGRIFF’S WORK
The Last Waltz
G.G. Vandagriff completes her story using vivid word pictures. Ms. Vandagriff’s latest offering is very appropriately titled. Like the waltz, the storyline picks the readers up and twirls them from plot twist to plot twist in what is, at times, almost a dizzying rate of speed.
Although the tenor of The Last Waltz is somewhat different than this author’s previous books, it does have one trait similar to the author’s previous writings. For those readers who like to “cheat” by peeking at the end of the book, it is almost a guarantee that they will put two and two together and come up with nine. With many authors, one can skim through the final pages of a book and sum up a story. One thing that seems to be common throughout Ms. Vandagriff’s books is her ability to weave so many elements so tightly that one cannot arrive at the proper conclusions without actually reading her books from cover to cover.
The Last Waltz illustrates the value of so many different kinds of love . . . companionship, empathetic love, protective and secure love, and of course, that vibrant first love. This book is not necessarily the happily ever after type of love story that causes teen hearts to flutter. Although the sheer determination of the heroine makes one feel that the endings scattered throughout this book are not necessarily tragic, this is truly a romance of more than the star struck lover variety.
—AML Review
What is by far the strength of Ms. Vandagriff’s writing is her ability to create characters that pull you into the story, until you become a part of that story yourself. I read somewhere that if a reader wants to see two characters fall in love, then they have to fall in love with both of those characters. And I find that this is a truism for all of fiction—and doesn’t just relate to the event of falling in love. The more enmeshed the reader becomes with the characters—the more wrapped up they will be with the story itself. And in this book there is little doubt that this was the case. There were times I wanted to throw the book against the wall, times I was deliberately ignoring people because they were interrupting the “best part,” (which, by the way was nearly the whole book—and there were certainly more than one.) and at times I would laugh, cry, mourn, and rejoice with the characters. But what is amazing is how well the characters worked into the historical setting itself.
—The Bookworm’s Library
I was immediately drawn into a chaotic world of love and war—an interesting juxtaposition. I kept reading if only to discovered how the story would end. But along the way I encountered several themes which ran throughout the novel. What does it mean to be in love? Is it true that you can give yourself completely to another person only once, as Amalia’s uncle states? What does it mean to be part of a family—especially when family members keep secrets? How can one find strength to make good choices and persevere in the face of adversity? How can we avoid the tragedy of becoming, as one character says, “less than we were born to be”? Norman Mailer wrote the following: “I feel that the final purpose of art is to intensify—even, if necessary, to exacerbate—the moral consciousness of people. In particular, I think the novel at its best is the most moral of the art forms.” I think “The Last Waltz” confirms Mailer’s statement: It asks us to look inside ourselves and to examine the state of our own moral consciousness.
—Joan Petty (Five Stars)
Pieces of Paris
“It was the simple things that undid her, Annalisse had discovered. Something as ordinary as the scent of lilacs when the air was heavy, a brief measure of Tchaikovsky, or a dream. A dream like the one she’d awakened from last night—so real she could smell the Paris Metro in it. Any of these things could revive in a moment the memories she’d spent the last six years burying. They crept under the leaden shield around her heart and found the small, secret place where she still had feeling.”
From the first paragraph Pieces of Paris gripped me. The story, by G.G. Vandagriff, didn’t matter then, the writing had enchanted. And then, I realized, the story did matter. Very much. I was carrying this book around with me everywhere I went.
Pieces of Paris is about environmental abuses, narrow-mindedness, narcissism, bigotry, tragic memories, loyalty, vindication, rediscovered faith, love, resolution, and peace. It’s about a husband and wife, who learn that the best way to resolve the challenges of life is with each other. And with God.
—Susan Dayley, Looking Out My Backdoor (Five Stars)
GG Vandagriff once again explores the intensity of human emotion, delivering a powerful story of second chances, the gift of forgiveness, and the depth of true love. This well-crafted story is absorbing from page one and the characters powerful and relatable.
Pieces of Paris is a literary symphony, a cacophony of words that delves into the hearts of all of us, as Annalisse and Dennis fight to reestablish the rhythm of their marriage. An emotionally engaging and unforgettable journey.
—H.B. Moore, Multi-Award Winning Novelist (Five Stars)
Weaving together powerful truths and psychologically driven fiction, GG Vandagriff’s Pieces of Paris takes readers on an emotional ride that winds through the darkest recesses of painful memories, plunges into unexpected realities, then climbs to breathtaking vistas of understanding, forgiveness and love.
Vandagriff has a true gift of words and paints glorious scenes and intense emotion in this well-paced, gripping drama. This powerful story of second chances, the gift of forgiveness, and the depth of truth will resonate with readers of all ages and stations in life.
—Michele Ashman Bell, Best-selling Romance Novelist, author of the Butterfly Box Series (Five Stars)
If it sounds like there’s two stories going on here, you’d be correct. But Vandagriff is an accomplished and skilled writer, and she manages to weave the two threads together to form a compelling and utterly wonderful story of hope and redemption.
There are so many interesting aspects to this story. It is, in a sense, a love story. But in the broader view, it’s a tale of pain, memory and loss, but it is also a story of redemption and hope.
“Pieces of Paris” is a lovely work. Vandagriff just gets better and better with each book. Give it a look.
—AML Review
Copyright © 2012 G.G. Vandagriff
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Orson Whitney Press except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Cover Design: Copyright 2012 David P. Vandagriff
Cover Art: George IV, by Thomas Lawrence, c. 1814
Cover Gold Frame by Eric Wüstenhagen, Creative Commons License
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual person living or dead is entirely coincidental.
The Orson Whitney Press
ISBN: 0-9839536-7-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-9839536-7-8