Gossip held it that, when the door was at last opened, he rushed to his wife inquiring about her health and completely doting of her care that his wife had at last asked him if was not inclined to meet their children.
Lord Windon had remarked that she mattered more, driving one and all present to teary eyes until apparently the words sunk in and he grimaced.
"Children? More than one, then? Woman, you will be the death of me," he joked. To which the Duchess huffed and presented the two babes swaddled in clean linen and mewling softly.
He had greeted them, with a face lit with such naked emotion that the bystanders had to look away from that private moment. He had cradled them both, one male, the other female.
The lady laid her children to her breast and wept with exhaustion and apparent love. And wouldn't you know it? She insisted she would nurse her own young. She tarried in the nursery with the devoted Duke by her side. Her sister-in-law visited with her brood and the walls of Windon Keep came alive with the sound of children.
Her father lived long enough to see his grandchildren be christened and passed away quietly in his sleep only a few weeks later, sated with life and fulfilled.
After they had mourned, they returned to Mossford where Robert gave her a gift to fill her heart to overflow. He had drawn up papers proclaiming his daughter heir to his wife’s estate of Mossford.
She worried at the implications of such a wealth. “It is a burden, truly Robert. However shall we keep her from the attention of fortune hunters?”
He pacified her. “Perhaps we keep the truth quiet until the betrothal contract is signed and then tell her future spouse. I fear all manner of heiress hunters would plague her with dark intent if her fortune is known.”
“Indeed. But will she retain her estates after marriage?” One problem solved, yet another replaced it in quick succession.
“If only he is a man kindly, beloved.”
“A small dowry then?” she smiled, remembering their first encounter.
“Aye, and we pray that she marries a man as devoted as I am to you,” he answered soberly.
The Duchess snorted at that. “There is not another man in the whole of England.” She moved closer to her husband, holding her body against his. “Nor a woman to be found as devoted to her husband as I.”
“I love you, wife,” he returned to her with a slight kiss.
“And I you.” She answered with a deepening kiss of her own, leaning into him as his hands banded her close.
They kissed over the maps of their lives and the promise of the future, the assurance of love and an abiding contentment.
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Novels:
Satisfying The Duke & Her Debts
She refuses to be ruined by her father's debts
Lady Isobel Duskwood finds herself swimming in a sea of indebtedness after her father's tragic passing. Vowing to protect her family's estates, she looks for a match that can save her family's good name.
But her father's debts are held by none other than Lord Brighton, the Duke of Norbury. A well-known scoundrel, Lord Brighton is widely thought to be unrefined and an unsuitable match for the prim and proper Isobel. Shocked by a scandalous offer that would cancel her debts, Isobel seeks other means of satisfying her family's obligations.
Suddenly exposed to the true character of other men seeking her hand, however, she finds an unexpected protector in the Duke. The rogue of a man introduces Isobel to a primal, pure form of attraction, showing her how to let loose both her heart and her body.
This is a steamy 50,000-word Regency era romance novel with a HEA and female main character who is strong enough to think for herself.
The Duke’s Headstrong Woman
Lady Nadia Haversham, heiress to the Duchy of Emerys, has seen too much of the world to be satisfied with the "prim and proper" place English society expects of her. Having accompanied her father from one end of the burgeoning British Empire to another, she has developed a hunger for something more, and cannot settle for a simple fairy tale marriage.
Lord Marshall Beckham, the Duke of Berrewithe, lives a heartbroken and lonesome life. Resigned to fulfilling his ancestral duties, he had long ago given up on finding a partner and an equal. Until he met Nadia...
This is a steamy 50,000-word Regency era romance novel with a HEA and female main character who is strong enough to think for herself.
Novellas:
Trained By Her Darling Duke: The Maid Earns His Undying Love
When her aunt found her a position in the Duke of McClellan's household staff, Audrey Fisher was excited to be entering the service of such a distinguished nobleman. His reputation for both charm and generosity fills young Audrey's head with silly daydreams of being swept off her feet.
Of course, no duke would stoop to court a maid. That only happened in fairy tales.
But it turns out the virile young Duke wants his new maid to do more than just polish his silver. Being the hands-on type, he's going to train the young, chaste, virginal maid himself. And to his own surprise, he finds himself needing her with every fiber of his being.
Taming The Viscountess: The Duke Falls For A Sharp Woman
She knows what she wants, and it's not him.
Viscountess Emma Goodwin is at the forefront of the suffragette movement as the British Empire lumbers through the second decade of the 20th Century. With only a few bankrupt estates attached to her title, she is caught in the vise of a world where women are expected to "know their place" and suitors for independent ladies are few and far between. To make matters worse, her overbearing mother is pressuring her to find a match to shore up the family finances.
Declan Hughes, the third Duke of Dawsbury, is an unlikely match for the Viscountess. Macho, stubborn, and a well-known playboy, rake and scoundrel— he is everything she dislikes in a man. Seeing her courtship as the ultimate challenge before settling down with a woman who can finally match him, he sets his sights on her, and in the process strives to become the man she wants him to be.
This is a 20000-word novella involving an strong, self-assured viscountess and the masculine duke who falls in love with her. Sex scenes and HEA included.
Short Stories:
The Dominate Duke & The Maid: The New Maid Gets Trained
When her aunt found her a position in Duke Graham's household staff, Mary Brandon was excited to be entering the service of such a distinguished nobleman.
But the Duke wants his new maid to do more than just polish his silver. Being the hands on type, he's going to train the young, chaste, virginal maid himself.
The Lady & Her Maid: Lesbian Seduction In Victorian England
Agnes is grateful to work for a noblewoman like Lady Sinnott. She ensures the male help doesn't take improper liberties with the female house staff—a rarity in Victorian household service.
When it becomes apparent that Lady Sinnott herself favors those with feminine charms, the lady and her maid find themselves risking scandal and social ostraciszation as they find someone who shares their sapphic desires.
Denying The Duke (Regency Romance: Strong Women Find True Love Book 3) Page 12