Harlequin Historical September 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Annie Burrows

  But, then, he simply couldn’t, could he?

  No. She was going to have to be the one to fight for this marriage. She was going to have to prove to him that he was worth loving. By refusing to let him walk away.

  ‘I shan’t be happy at all. I shall be miserable. And not just because I will be on my own again. But because you walked away from me. Deliberately. And don’t think that I will be sitting here feeling sorry for myself,’ she said, holding up her hand to silence him when he took a breath to argue with her. ‘I will be worrying about what is happening to you. How can I be sure you are safe and well if I’m not there to see to it for myself? Who is going to make sure that you have enough to eat? And a proper bed to sleep in at night? With a roof over your head?’

  ‘Yes, but, Daisy,’ he said, coming over to her, ‘those are the conditions I don’t want you to have to endure.’

  Ah. There was that irritating, masculine need to protect her, which had driven her brothers to behave in such an obnoxious fashion.

  ‘What,’ she said tartly, ‘if you are injured in some battle? Who will look after you if I am not there?’

  ‘Sergeant Wilmot is experienced in—’

  ‘Yes, but he won’t go back with you, will he? Haven’t you noticed? He’s fallen for Sally.’

  ‘Sally?’

  ‘The scullery maid. Whenever she is in the scullery, peeling vegetables, he’s there, chopping them. If she’s washing up, he’s drying up. If she’s out tending the vegetable patch he’s out there with a hoe.’

  ‘Well...’ he frowned ‘...I can hire someone else...’

  ‘Why would you want to do that when you have a wife?’

  ‘Daisy,’ he began, on an exasperated sigh.

  ‘Don’t you Daisy me,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘If you go without me, I shall just jolly well follow you.’

  ‘And abandon all your schemes for restoring the prosperity of the Park?’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. You are not the kind of woman to promise so much to the poor folk around here, only to let them down.’

  ‘But anyone could continue that work, now that we’ve decided what wants doing. I could write to...to James, for example, to come here and carry out the plans we’ve already put in place.’ James was showing signs of becoming rather frustrated with the lack of purpose in his life. Father would not let him implement any changes on their own land, saying he was not ready to hand over the reins just yet. And James didn’t have the outlets available to other men of his rank. Father had given all his sons an abhorrence of gambling and whoring. And so he just drifted about from the house of one friend to another. And the number of those friends was dwindling, too, now she came to think of it. ‘It would do him good to have something productive to do with his time.’

  ‘Daisy, be sensible...’

  ‘No. I won’t,’ she said. ‘I don’t care about the improvements for their own sake. I am happy doing them all because I’m doing them for you, can’t you see that? I... I love you.’

  He raised his brows. Shook his head. Took a step back. ‘Look, Daisy, you might think you do, but this is just...panic speaking. Because you—’

  ‘It is not panic speaking. I know my own mind. I’m not a child,’ she said, stamping her foot in vexation. ‘Why can you not believe that I love you?’

  ‘Perhaps because you never said so until this moment. Even though I have said it to you many, many times.’

  No, she hadn’t said it before. Because she hadn’t realised she did love him. Not until he’d said he was leaving, and the happy, shiny future she’d been imagining turned into a grey, bleak wilderness.

  ‘I didn’t realise I did love you,’ she explained, ‘until just now. When you said you were leaving and a pain went right through my middle.’ She laid her hand flat on her abdomen, where she’d felt that pain slice into her. ‘I don’t want to stay here, fretting myself to skin and bone worrying about you. I don’t want to live without you, Ben, not now that we’ve finally found each other, after all the years of...stupid misunderstandings.

  ‘And if you...die...abroad...in some battle...’ She sniffed. Had to dash a tear from her cheek. ‘You have no right to put me through that, Ben,’ she said angrily. ‘If you really love me. No, Ben, I would never be able to survive that. Knowing I’d stayed here, in safety, while you went off on your own...to die alone...’

  He put his arms round her. Cradled her head with one hand. ‘Shh... Shh, now. Don’t cry. I never wanted to make you cry.’

  ‘Well, what do you think telling me you were planning to go away and leave me behind was going to do? Just imagine if it was the other way round? Could you stay at home managing this estate knowing I was off in danger somewhere?’

  ‘Daisy, it’s different for men. I’m used to the life. You are not...’

  ‘No, but I could learn. And, oh, Ben, for the first time in my life I want to...seize life, and love, rather than just being content to read about it in books. To fight for what we could have together. Because of you. You have made me feel I belong, and have value, things I have never known before. Not only that, but for the first time in my life I want to follow a man wherever he goes, whether it’s dangerous or not.’

  He sighed. ‘Daisy, I am not worth you putting your life in danger for...’

  ‘Ben, you have got to stop thinking of yourself as worthless. You have as much value as any man. More than any man, for me. But...’ she grabbed his lapels and gave them a little shake ‘...surely you believe that all men have equal value in God’s eyes? You came to church with me. You believe in it all, don’t you?’

  ‘That’s just religion, Daisy. And maybe I can believe in the goodness, the impartiality of God. But when it comes to people, to real life...’

  ‘People are idiots! All of them. All of us!’ She slapped at her own chest. ‘We look on the outer shell and judge others by clothes, and appearance, and rank, and wealth, and pedigree. None of which matter. Not really. What really matters is what’s in here.’ She laid her hands on Ben’s broad chest. Right over his heart. ‘You are a good man, Ben. The best. A man worth fighting for.’

  She looked into his eyes, bracing herself for signs of masculine exasperation. Instead, she saw something she’d never seen in Ben’s eyes before. It looked like the dawning of hope.

  ‘You really do mean what you say, don’t you? About me being your...your frog amongst toads...’

  She had never said that, not specifically. But it sounded as if he was taking a step in the right direction regarding his self-esteem.

  She nodded. ‘My home,’ she assured him. ‘My love.’

  ‘It...it isn’t true,’ he said slowly, ‘what you just said, about this being the first time you have been prepared to fight for what you want.’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ she said hastily, feeling as though he was slipping away from her somehow.

  ‘No. Don’t you remember that night by the lake? When your brothers knocked me down? Instead of walking away, you leapt right into the fray, wielding your umbrella like a sword. You looked like some kind of avenging angel, all in glittering white, with lightning flashing across the sky as you tried to drive them off.’ A smile tugged at his lips. ‘You were magnificent. If I hadn’t loved you before that night, I would have fallen in love with you right then. You see...’ he frowned down at her hands, which he was holding between his own ‘...nobody had ever come to my defence, before then. Not me personally, I mean. In the army, when I was part of a unit, we all looked out for each other, but that was done to preserve the integrity, the strength of the unit.’

  ‘Ben, what are you trying to say?’ Was this some new line of reasoning he was going to use to try to convince her he knew best? That he was making ridiculous decisions for her own good?

  He looked up into her face. His own twisted as though he was screwing himself up to say something he feared he was goin
g to regret. And he took a deep breath.

  ‘What I am trying to say is that, I suppose, as long as you bring your umbrella with you...’

  She gave a whoop of joy. ‘You mean it? You really aren’t going to leave me behind?’

  ‘You haven’t given me much choice, have you?’ he said, cupping her cheek with his hand and looking at her in a way that tugged at her heartstrings. ‘I don’t suppose I will ever be able to argue you out of it. Let alone think I could ever command your obedience...’

  ‘Not a hope,’ she said, hugging him. And then she kissed him hard, but briefly. ‘Oh, Ben, thank you, thank you. You won’t regret it, I promise. I will be such a good wife to you. Bandages,’ she said, suddenly thinking of all the occasions she might need to nurse him. ‘And medicines. I had better get in a stock of such things...’

  He cupped her face in his hands. ‘Not tonight. There is plenty of time to purchase such things. Tonight I want to share our last night together in this house as the Earl and Countess of Bramhall. As from tomorrow we will be Major and Mrs Flinders.’

  ‘Major?’

  He nodded. ‘I bought promotion. I didn’t use your money, truly, I—’

  She placed one finger over his lips. ‘I don’t care if you did. And I don’t care if you are a captain or a major or an earl, because to me you are... Ben. My Ben. Others can call you what they like. Or me. As long as, to each other, we are always just Ben and Daisy. Dealing with whatever comes our way, together.’

  It was going to be an adventure, she reckoned, marriage to Ben. And one that would be better than any she’d ever read about in any book.

  Because she was going to live it with the man who loved her and who she’d learned to love right back at her side.

  ‘Very well, then, Daisy,’ he said, smiling in a way she’d never seen him smile before. With pure joy. ‘Let’s go to bed.’

  * * *

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  ISBN-13: 9780369711144

  A Scandal at Midnight

  Copyright © 2021 by Annie Burrows

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  Young Victorian Ladies

  Three spirited sisters, all highly individual, find the men who are just right for them!

  Hazel, Iris and Daisy, the spirited Springfeld sisters, are expected to marry well. But they have other ideas. Hazel, the clever one, wants someone to appreciate her for her intelligence. Iris wants to be loved for something other than her good looks, and sporty Daisy is too busy having fun to think about things as boring as marriage. But each in turn will find the right man to match their highly individual personalities.

  Read Hazel’s story in

  Wagering on the Wallflower

  Read Iris’s story in

  Stranded with the Reclusive Earl

  Available now

  And look for Daisy’s story

  Coming soon!

  Author Note

  Stranded with the Reclusive Earl is the second book in the Young Victorian Ladies series and features Lady Iris Springfeld and Theo Crighton, the Earl of Greystone.

  Writing this book presented some interesting challenges, as the earl has a vision impairment. That meant, quite obviously, that I could not describe what Theo was seeing. He had to rely on his other senses to know what was happening around him. It was an interesting exercise as a writer and made me aware of how much information we do get about our surroundings from what we can hear, smell, taste and feel.

  I hope you enjoy reading Stranded with the Reclusive Earl. The next book in the series will feature Iris’s younger sister, Daisy.

  Stranded with the Reclusive Earl

  Eva Shepherd

  After graduating with degrees in history and political science, Eva Shepherd worked in journalism and as an advertising copywriter. She began writing historical romances because it combined her love of a happy ending with her passion for history. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, but spends her days immersed in the world of late Victorian England. Eva loves hearing from readers and can be reached via her website, evashepherd.com, and her Facebook page, Facebook.com/evashepherdromancewriter.

  Books by Eva Shepherd

  Harlequin Historical

  Young Victorian Ladies

  Wagering on the Wallflower

  Stranded with the Reclusive Earl

  Breaking the Marriage Rules

  Beguiling the Duke

  Awakening the Duchess

  Aspirations of a Lady’s Maid

  How to Avoid the Marriage Mart

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com.

  To Liz and Pat, thanks for your continued support and encouragement.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  CHAPTER ONE

  Cornwall 1890

  Lady Iris Springfeld was an enigma. Everywhere she went, the whispers exchanged behind gloved hands and fans were always the same. Why wasn’t she married? After all, she possessed the necessary qualities a man looked for in a wife. She was beautiful, graceful, sweet-natured and was known to come with a sizeable marriage settlement.

  During her first Season, when she turned down several proposals, no one thought anything was amiss, as an attractive daughter of an earl could have her pick. She must be waiting for a better offer, everyone assumed. By the end of her second Season, with still no marriage prospects, a few eyebrows were raised, a few questions were asked, but m
ost expected a marriage announcement to happen some time soon. But now that she had reached the advanced age of twenty-three, in the middle of her fifth Season, and still no ring on her finger, Society ladies were avidly discussing the situation.

  Something must be wrong with Iris Springfeld.

  What the gossips didn’t know was that Iris harboured a closely guarded secret, one she had only shared with her two sisters, Daisy and Hazel. Unlike most members of the British aristocracy, Iris Springfeld was determined to marry for love. Until she met a man she truly loved, one she knew for certain loved her for who she really was, not her pretty face and not her social status, she would remain single.

  And that man most certainly would not be Lord Pratley. Iris shuddered and pulled her jacket more tightly around her arms to try and protect herself from the inclement weather. Lord Pratley had been taking full advantage of Iris’s presence at Lady Walberton’s house party to pursue her relentlessly, so relentlessly he had driven her to take the dramatic action of feigning a headache and telling her mother she needed an early night.

  She didn’t like lying to her mother, but what choice did she have? It was the only sensible course of action she could take under the circumstances. She was sure if Lord Pratley had given her one more compliment she would have forgotten every lesson that had been drummed into her on correct etiquette and how a young lady must conduct herself in Society, and would have given him what for.

  Iris wiped away the raindrop dripping from her nose. If Lord Pratley could see her now, she doubted if he would be complimenting her on her beauty. Not when that thick blonde hair, which he admired so much, was no longer piled on top of her head in a carefully structured coiffure but hanging in a bedraggled mess down her back. He most certainly would not be describing her now limp locks as like spun gold or silken sunlight. As for her eyes, the ones he had said were as blue as cornflowers, and designed to capture a man’s heart, they were now hardly visible as she squinted through the increasingly heavy rain.