Regency Romances for the Ages

by Grace Fletcher

  Lonely.

  Realization hit her in the face.

  “Oh, no.” Diana raised her hands to her mouth and turned to Eloise. “What have I done?”

  “Diana?” Eloise hurried over to her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I got myself all wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  But Eloise’s question fell on deaf ears as Diana hurried from the room. She really had got it all wrong. It wasn’t Hardy she had been setting her heart on, it was Bedford. She hadn’t realized it and thought Bedford was a nuisance.

  It couldn’t have been further from the truth. And it was only taking the man leaving for her to realize it.

  Bedford wasn’t in the foyer and the front door was just being closed by the butler. Diana hurried past him and out into the biting cold, the wind whipping around her. Bedford was just getting into his carriage. If that door shut, and the carriage pulled away, chances were she might not likely see him again.

  “Henry!”

  Bedford stopped, almost freezing. Then he stepped out of the carriage and turned to her, a look of astonishment on his face, as Diana hurried to him.

  “Did you…” He looked dazed. “Did you just call me by my given name?”

  “I thought that would get your attention.” Diana held up her hands. “I promise I won’t do it in public.”

  “I should hope not.” Bedford frowned. “But…”

  “Please, just listen to me.” Diana knew if she didn’t get the words out they would never come. She needed to do this. “I didn’t listen to myself properly. Things were in a muddle. I thought I was in love with Neville…Hardy…but my mind was tricking me. My heart belonged to someone else.”

  Bedford was staring at her. Then he groaned.

  “Don’t tease me, please. I don’t want to be…”

  “I’m in love with you, Bedford.” Diana cut in. She saw the realization dawning in his eyes. “It’s just taken me until now to realize it.” She swallowed. “I don’t want you to walk away. Please, don’t leave me.”

  If he left now, Bedford would be breaking her heart. That, Diana wouldn’t be able to recover from. She had made a mistake with Hardy. Diana didn’t want to make the same mistake with Bedford, the man who had had her best interests at heart from the beginning.

  Bedford stared at her. Then he reached out. Diana went to him willingly, lifting her face as Bedford bent his head. His kiss was feather-light, brushing across her lips. Then he was kissing her firmly, his arms holding her close. Diana kissed him back, her hands tightening on the lapels of his jacket.

  Then Bedford raised his head and gave her a half-smile. She could see the relief.

  “I won’t go anywhere if you don’t want me to.” He whispered. Then he brushed a thumb across her lips. “Just don’t disappear on me, will you?”

  Diana smiled.

  “I wasn’t planning on disappearing, Your Grace.”

  “I should hope not.” Bedford sighed. “Can you forgive me for being a hard-headed fool?”

  “Can you forgive me for being a fickle woman?”

  Bedford chuckled.

  “I think I can forgive you for anything right now.”

  “Then I’ll make the most of it.”

  Diana tugged him down. Now she had made up her mind, this man wasn’t going anywhere. Not just yet.

  *** The End ***

  Sparring With

  the Insufferable Earl

  Regency Romance

  Grace Fletcher

  Chapter 1

  Being a Target

  “There! I see one!”

  Oliver St Clair, Earl of Gloucester, caught sight of a magnificent-looking deer grazing between the trees. It looked so elegant and placid. And a perfect target.

  Philip Dangerfield, Duke of Norfolk, lifted his rifle and took careful aim before firing one shoot. He grinned as the deer disappeared from sight and they heard a loud thump.

  “Got it!”

  “Nice shooting, Norfolk.” Gloucester leaned over and clapped Norfolk on the shoulder. “You’ve certainly gotten better with your aim in recent weeks.”

  “Better than you.” Norfolk chuckled as he reloaded his rifle. “You’re missing everything right now.”

  Gloucester scowled. He wasn’t on par with anything right now. This was meant to be a visit to Norfolk’s family estate where they could relax, have some fun and catch up on the last couple of years where things had been so busy they had barely seen each other for more than a few minutes. And Gloucester had always been a good shot, which was why he wanted to go hunting. He had been handling guns since he was a young man and now he wasn’t hitting anything. It was frustrating.

  “They’re just getting too fast,” he muttered, adjusting his rifle across his lap.

  James Woodthorpe, Earl of Warwick, chuckled and shook his head.

  “That’s not it at all. You’re just getting old.”

  “I’m not!”

  “I doubt it’s old age.” Norfolk was still grinning as he put the gunpowder away. “He’s got his mind on other things. Mainly, a certain lady of his who will be becoming the Countess of Gloucester in the coming months.”

  Here it went again. Teasing him about finally becoming a married man. Gloucester considered himself lucky with Edith Lennox. But his friends would not stop poking him about the fact he wasn’t going to be an unmarried man anymore.

  Neither man had married so far, preferring to be eligible bachelors. They had never been in love; they wouldn’t understand missing the woman they loved.

  “What’s wrong with missing my future bride?”

  “It ruins your aim.” Norfolk slapped his friend’s arm as he gently kicked his horse into gear. “You were supposed to be having a break with us, not thinking about life chained to a woman.”

  Gloucester rolled his eyes and hurried after Norfolk, Warwick trotting up behind them. They hadn’t stopped goading him for the past three days.

  “And I wonder why you two are bachelors,” he said sarcastically.

  This was not getting them anywhere. They had bagged one deer already, but Gloucester was eager to get one of his own. He wasn’t going back to the estate until he had shot an animal of his own. His pride wouldn’t let him leave.

  Then Gloucester spied a female deer just off to their left. She was standing stock still at the edge of the clearing, her ears twitching. Then she took off, darting between the trees. Gloucester kicked his horse into movement and galloped after it.

  “I’ve got this!”

  But his friends didn’t follow. They were shouting something but Gloucester was too focused on getting this doe. The blood was rushing in his veins. This is what he loved about hunting; nothing got him feeling more alive than this.

  The doe broke through the trees and charged down the slope. Gloucester galloped after her. His horse was gaining speed, getting closer. The doe leaped over a low stone wall and Gloucester’s horse took the leap as well, barely stumbling on the other side. He was so close. All he needed to do was get to his pistol…

  A gunshot rang out through the air. A split second later, Gloucester felt a sharp pain exploding in his leg. Surprised, the horse slowed and reared up, Gloucester unable to grab onto the reins and his leg at the same time. He landed hard on the ground and clutched at his leg. It was in agony. Blood came away onto his fingers and there was a gaping wound in the back of his leg, his riding boots ruined.

  The pain was unimaginable. Gloucester had never been shot, and it was excruciating. His father had talked about being shot in the army, but Gloucester never understood how it felt. Until now.

  Who had shot at him? Was he under attack? Was someone trying to kill him?

  Then he heard a female voice. It was shouting at him and she sounded angry.

  “What did you think you were doing, you bumbling fool!”

  Gloucester looked up and saw a dark-haired woman, not much younger than him, striding across the field towards him. She was carrying a r
ifle in one hand but that wasn’t what had Gloucester’s attention.

  She was wearing men’s clothing. A man’s shirt and waistcoat under a man’s jacket, and trousers that were a different color to the jacket. She also wore sturdy riding boots, her long hair loose about her shoulders, and a bag settled on her hip, the strap slung across her shoulder.

  Was he dreaming this? Since when did women wear men’s clothes? Gloucester momentarily forgot he was in extreme pain until he attempted to stand and it shot through his body again. He sat heavily on the grass with a yell.

  “You shot me!”

  The woman snorted.

  “You’re lucky I wasn’t aiming a little higher. Don’t you look?”

  “You…” Gloucester grimaced as the pain started throbbing up his leg. “Oh, that hurts!”

  “Gloucester!”

  Norfolk and Warwick had dismounted on the other side of the wall. They vaulted over and ran towards them. Norfolk knelt beside his friend and stared at the wound.

  “What on earth…?” Then he saw the woman standing nearby and stood. “Lady Juliana.”

  “Your Grace.”

  They knew each other? Gloucester couldn’t believe Norfolk wasn’t chastising the woman for being in charge of a rifle. He pointed at her.

  “She shot me!”

  “What?”

  Norfolk looked stunned. Warwick was staring at Juliana in astonishment.

  “You shot him?”

  Juliana snorted.

  “A little hare turned into a huge human before I realized what had happened. And you shouldn’t be here, anyway. You know this is my father’s land, Your Grace.” She gestured at Gloucester with the rifle. “Even if I wasn’t hunting, I would have every right to shoot you for trespassing.”

  Gloucester couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How was he to know he was on someone else’s land? And she didn’t have the right to shoot him. Warwick was still staring at Juliana.

  “You shot him?”

  Juliana bristled.

  “I happen to be a very good shot, thank you. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m not meant to be near guns.”

  “You shouldn’t be near guns if you keep shooting the wrong things,” Gloucester growled.

  Juliana snorted.

  “Well, maybe that should teach you to ride onto someone else’s land without a care in the world.”

  Now Gloucester was bristling. He was forgetting his pain in his anger.

  “I am the Earl of Gloucester…,” he began but Juliana cut him off.

  “I don’t care who you are, I shoot first and ask questions later.” She pursed her lips and looked at Norfolk, who was watching the exchange curiously. “You’d better bring him to my father’s house, Your Grace. We’re closer to there.” She shot a glare at Gloucester. “And consider yourself lucky if you don’t have to lose your foot.”

  She turned and strode off, her walk confident as her hair was brushed back from her face by the gentle breeze. Gloucester snarled.

  “Impertinent woman!”

  Norfolk shook his head and bent down, helping Gloucester to his feet.

  “Now you’ve done it.”

  “Who is she?”

  “My neighbor’s daughter, Juliana Boyd. Lord Boyd is a decent enough man and his wife is lovely, but Juliana is…unconventional.”

  Unconventional was the right word. Gloucester had never seen a woman handle a gun. He had never seen a woman wear men’s clothes before. She was completely unconventional.

  “I think I’m in love.” Warwick murmured. He was still staring after Juliana. Norfolk slapped the back of his head.

  “Less of the daydreaming and get Gloucester’s horse. We’ve got to get him a doctor.”

  “But at your estate, not hers,” Gloucester growled. “I’m not going there.”

  “But they’re closer.” Norfolk gave him a look that said he wasn’t going to take an argument. “You’re in need of a doctor now, Oliver. Focus on that and not on who you’re going to be going to.”

  Gloucester knew he was right, but that didn’t stop him from grumbling as the horses were retrieved.

  Chapter 2

  A Close Call

  By the time they reached the Boyd house, Gloucester was practically fuming. His leg was in agony and all he wanted to do was to go to Norfolk’s house, get his friend’s personal doctor, and rest there. But, instead, that woman was telling them to take him to her house. Gloucester wanted to be as far away as possible from this woman.

  Even if she did look enticing in men’s apparel. That was not right. Juliana Boyd was supposed to be in a pretty dress, sitting on the veranda drinking tea. She looked like she could pass that picture off very well. She wasn’t supposed to be going out into the country with a gun, wearing men’s clothing and shooting at rabbits.

  Or people.

  Gloucester growled at his friends as they pulled up outside the Boyd house. Juliana had already dismounted and was going inside, barely casting a second look over her shoulder.

  “I’m going to kill you two for this,” he snarled.

  Norfolk chuckled as he dismounted.

  “I’d like to see you try with your aim right now. And you can’t exactly run after us.”

  “Just stop your whining, Gloucester.” Warwick unceremoniously tugged Gloucester off the horse, making Gloucester’s leg practically scream in pain. “We’re getting you seen to. You want to keep your leg, don’t you?”

  Gloucester wasn’t sure if having his leg saved was worth being in the same house as Juliana Boyd. Talk about convention being turned on its head.

  Norfolk and Warwick carried Gloucester into the house. Juliana was at the foot of the stairs, directing some of the staff. They scurried away at her instructions and Juliana turned to them, beckoning Norfolk and Warwick towards her.

  “Get him upstairs. They’re preparing the guest room. The stable boy’s gone for the doctor.”

  “That’s not how you talk to people with peerages,” Gloucester snapped.

  “Oh, shut it.” Norfolk grunted, adjusting his hold on Gloucester’s shoulders. “Now’s not the time to discuss any of this.”

  Juliana snorted.

  “I’m glad you’re of sound mind, Lord Gloucester.”

  Then she hurried up the stairs, Gloucester trying not to look at her long legs. She was trouble, big trouble. He needed to get out of here.

  His friends struggled with him up the stairs and carried him along the hall. Juliana ushered them into a spacious bedroom that was practically sparkling with the sun coming through the south window. Juliana pulled the sheets back on the bed.

  “Put him down here.”

  Gloucester was almost dropped onto the bed, the act nearly knocking him onto the floor. He yelled as his leg screamed again and he managed to shift further onto the bed.

  “Phew!” Warwick flexed his arms and rolled his wrists. “How much have you been eating? You’re far too heavy.”

  “I’ll remember that when I’m better, Warwick,” Gloucester growled.

  Juliana rolled her eyes and went over to the dresser. She rummaged around as Gloucester was helped out of his coat. Then she returned to the bed with a pair of scissors in her hand. Gloucester sat up as Juliana sat on the bed and began to make a hole in his trousers with the scissors, starting to cut.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You can’t have the cloth sticking to the wound.” Juliana batted his hand away as Gloucester tried to push her back, not even stopping the cutting. “It’ll get infected, and it needs to be cleaned.”

  Gloucester flinched as she neatly sliced a line up his trouser leg. This felt really wrong. He reached out, managing to grab her wrist and squeezing tight. Juliana glanced up at him and Gloucester saw the fire in her eyes. Whoa. That had his heart stumbling.

  Unconventional she may be, those eyes were stunning.

  “Not by you.” He hissed before letting go and slumping back against the pillows.

  �
��Who, then?” Juliana demanded. “Would you rather lose the leg?”

  “If you’re tending to it, yes.”

  Norfolk sighed and laid a hand on Juliana’s shoulder.

  “I’ll do it, Lady Juliana. My friend is being very stubborn.” He took the scissors from her. “He’ll more likely kick you with his good leg.”

  Gloucester scowled as Juliana gave his friend a smile that made him feel like he had been punched in the gut.

  “Thank you, my lord.” Juliana stood and smoothed her hands down her trousers. “I’m going to wait for the doctor.”

  She left, walking with a grace that Gloucester hadn’t noticed before. Juliana Boyd was a real anomaly. Gloucester snarled. She was turning his head upside-down.

  “That woman…,” he began, but Norfolk held up a hand.

  “Enough. You need to calm down.”

  Gloucester sat back and grumbled as Norfolk cut up his trousers, revealing the wound just above his knee. It didn’t look good at all. Gloucester was sure he could see bone. He had to look away before his stomach decided to bring up his breakfast. Norfolk and Warwick were looking a little green around the gills. Gloucester couldn’t blame them; it did look like his leg was hanging on by a thread.

  The doctor got there quicker than Gloucester expected. He was very efficient, checking over the wound and cleaning it before dressing it. The bindings were painful and Gloucester felt like his leg was on fire but it was not on display anymore. Now the bandages were stark white against the flesh color of his thigh.

  “I must say,” the doctor commented as he started packing his bag, “you were lucky.”

  “Lucky?” Gloucester exclaimed. He gestured at his leg. “How is this lucky?”

  “I know Lady Juliana’s aim. She’s a crack shot, better than most men I know.” The doctor grinned as he stood. “You’re lucky she wasn’t aiming higher.”

  “Charming.”

  Norfolk chuckled, and Warwick hid a smile behind his hand. Gloucester glowered at the three of them as the doctor left. Everyone seemed to be against him. Why was he in the wrong for something that woman did? That wasn’t right. At all. Why was Juliana Boyd not being reprimanded for her actions?