To Love, Honor, and Obey...

by Dayna Quince

  “Jeremy...” she gasped. She had no idea he felt this way. She had always seen him staring at her but never thought much of it. She didn't want to notice, didn't want to feel anything for a muscular, bronzed-by-the-sun farmer who had more heart than anyone she ever knew. Feelings, attraction, a handsome face. That's what had led to her ruin. “I don't know what to say.” She was not the angel he described. She was a liar, a fallen woman. She remembered everything about her old life, though she tried to forget it. She didn't deserve this kind, sweet man.

  “Say yes. Say you will be my wife. I can't give you fancy dresses and jewels, but I can keep a roof over your head and keep you warm at night. I don't care about your past. Divine providence, fate—whatever you want to call it—led me to that bridge that night. I'm just a farmer with a meager income, but I will make myself worthy of your love.”

  Patience swallowed. Tears came to her eyes and soaked her lashes. She had been dishonest, but she couldn't go forward without telling him the truth now. “Jeremy, it is I who am not worthy. I lied to you. I know my name, and I know where I came from. I am ruined and can never return to my family. I shamed my mother so completely that I had no recourse but to take my own life. That's why I jumped from the bridge that night. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you would take me home. I can't ever go home.”

  The look on his face said it all. He dropped her hands and stood. “You wanted to kill yourself and your baby?”

  “She said it was my only choice. With no husband to give me his name, I was worthless. She said it’s exactly what her mother would have expected of her.”

  “Who said this?” Jeremy said angrily.

  “My mother,” Patience sobbed.

  He stumbled back. “Your mother told you to take your life because you are with child? What about the father?”

  “He cares naught for me. He is a known rake. I thought he cared for me. He lured me to an empty room under the guise of a group game with the other guests. I was a fool.” She slid to the floor and buried her face in her hands. She jumped when she felt his arms come around her. She had never been held like this before. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. “Please don't make me go. I will work hard for my keep, even with the baby.”

  “Shhhh.” He ran a hand over her hair. “What is your name?”

  “P-patience Wickenham,” she hiccupped.

  “Where are you from?”

  “Willowton.

  “And you have no other family?”

  She shook her head. “They must think I'm dead. I'd prefer it to be left at that.” She pulled back and used the sleeve of her dress to dab at her eyes.

  “That's going to be a problem,” he said. “I can't marry a dead woman.”

  Her head snapped up. “You would still have me after all I just told you?”

  “I would.” He wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “I have more bad news,” she said sheepishly. “I'm only seventeen.”

  He grimaced. “Well, it seems it will have to be an anvil wedding for us, and before full winter sets in.”

  She kissed him exuberantly and then pulled back. “You have saved me, Jeremy. You are my angel.”

  He looked away bashfully. “I don't know about that.”

  “I mean it. You are more than I deserve.”

  He shrugged but his red face gave away his true feelings. “We can call it even. Patience Wickenham, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He looked into her eyes.

  Patience nodded and smiled. “Yes, I will.”

  It was the start of the season, a season Obedience was grateful she wouldn't have to participate in, but Chance insisted they come to town before travel was no longer advisable to meet his closest friends. They were out of the period of mourning, although they still talked about his father daily. Soon she would enter confinement, and they would remain at Willowton Park until after the baby was born. She was not alone in her delicate condition. Three beautiful women sat across from her, eyeing her with rapid interest and equally round abdomens.

  “Well, it seems we were all rather busy this past summer.”

  Two of the women snickered, the pretty blonde turning a becoming shade of pink before smiling and looking rather pleased. The gentlemen had removed themselves to the billiard room, so Obedience was facing these obviously seasoned ladies of the ton alone. She reminded herself to punish Chance later.

  “I've heard so much about you,” Obedience tried again.

  “I must say I have not heard enough about you. Chance said in his letters to Dominic that he had known you since he was a boy, but he never mentioned you to me. I'm very annoyed with him. For three years, he hid behind my skirts to save himself from parson’s mousetrap and then marries out of nowhere. I'm of the mind to box his ears.”

  Obedience grimaced. “It was rather a rushed affair. There wasn't time to do things properly.” Obedience smiled at the woman Chance had introduced as Lilly. For all the lessons she had sat through at the hands of Mrs. Moore, none of them was following proper etiquette.

  “I think it’s romantic. Obviously, they are very much in love.”

  The woman with wild black ringlets smiled at her. Obedience could tell they would get along famously. Olivia was her name, if she remembered correctly. She was married to the sea captain.

  “It wasn't romantic at first, but things rapidly improved,” Obedience admitted.

  The pretty blonde tilted her head, and Obedience immediately stilled. Out of the three ladies, she was the most intimidating.

  “I sense a lot of nervousness coming from you. Chance may have introduced our names, but let me tell you about how we came to find our own husbands.”

  Lilly sighed. “There isn't enough time for that, Lydia. You'll scare the poor girl.”

  “I'll keep it brief.” Lydia patted Lilly's knee. “You see, Lilly met Lord Redwick while masquerading as a maid in his household, trying to escape the scandal of treason and her evil stepfather. I had a secret affair with Olivia's brother, Lord Wilhelm, and refused to marry him until I realized I couldn't live without him and was carrying his child. Olivia…” Lydia paused as Olivia waggled her fingers in the air in excitement. “Olivia stowed away on Captain Colton's ship when he went in search of Lord Wilhelm, who had fled England because of me. They married shortly after their return, and Lord Wilhelm and I married shortly after that.” Lydia finished with a flourish of her hand.

  Obedience was sure her eyebrows met her hairline. She was both shocked and relieved. “Well then, since we are sharing, Chance returned home to see his father who was dying. I hadn't seen him in five years. He proposed to me two days after his father suggested it, and we married two days after that. The eve of the wedding, my mother disowned me and my sister disappeared. I have not heard from either of them since. We did hire a private investigator and she was found. It seems she is happily married to a farmer a few miles away from Willowton Park. I have one older sister who will also not speak to me, but I no longer consider that a great loss. The duke...” She hesitated. The familiar sorrow filled her chest whenever she spoke of him. “He was very special to me, very much like a father. He passed the night of our wedding, in his sleep, I like to think.” She looked up to find three astonished faces.

  “We're so sorry for your loss,” Lilly said.

  “That is quite a story,” Lydia added.

  Olivia smiled and dabbed at her eyes. “But if you look at us now, despite our rather unorthodox courtships and marriages, we all found our happy endings.”

  The women looked to each other and shared smiles.

  “That we did,” Obedience agreed.

  The three ladies picked up their teacups and raised them into the air. “To the new Duchess of Maltravers,” Lilly said, “and more importantly, our new friend.”

  Obedience smiled warmly as she raised her cup to salute them and they all sipped. She liked these ladies tremendously already, and she looked forward to many more visits.<
br />
  Chance braced himself for another hearty slap on the back as he finished another finger of brandy. Dominic promptly refilled his glass.

  “Look at you. You're a besotted fool,” Dominic sneered.

  “Welcome to the club.” Devon pocketed another ball and Colton cursed. They were standing around the billiard table, the room dim and hazy with cigar smoke.

  “Am I supposed to deny it?” Chance said hoarsely. He was well on his way to being drunk.

  “No,” Dominic shook his head. “It's going to get worse.”

  “You're one to talk. You panted after Lilly the moment you caught scent of her in your kitchen,” Chance quipped.

  Dominic shrugged carelessly. “Love is love. Sometimes it wallops one over the head—”

  “I can attest to that,” Devon snorted.

  “And sometimes it sneaks up on you,” Dominic finished.

  Colton nodded in agreement. “Fighting it makes it worse.”

  “I'm not fighting anything. I'm neck deep in wedded bliss and loving it. So are all of you.” Chance took the pool cue from Devon and took his shot. No one disagreed with his assessment.

  “What still terrifies me is fatherhood,” Dominic admitted. “My own father was a bloody ogre, and I have no experience with babies or children, for that matter.”

  “I have young sisters, but I've never had to care for them beyond the usual brotherly stuff,” Colton added as he stepped back to let Dominic take his shot. “I'm trusting Olivia to educate me. All I'm good for is begetting them.”

  “Watch it,” Devon growled at him. “I'll vomit all over this fine felt.”

  The rest of the men chuckled.

  “In all seriousness, I've never been more happy and scared in my life. I'd rather be in a knife fight with no knife than see Lilly in pain,” Dominic sighed warily.

  The men nodded in agreement.

  Chance stepped back. “I'm glad I'm not a woman.”

  “I'll drink to that.” Devon picked up his glass and took a gulp.

  “What do you suppose they are talking about right now?” Colton stroked his chin.

  “Us,” Devon said confidently.

  They looked at each other warily. “We probably shouldn't leave them alone much longer.” Dominic put his cue down and finished the last of his drink.

  “If I know my wife, she probably had her lady’s maid come down to give lessons,” Chance muttered.

  “What sort of lessons?” Devon asked as he shrugged into his jacket.

  “The sort of lessons that have earned her two pay increases in the last six months.”

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  About the Author

  Dayna was only fourteen when she developed a serious addiction to romance novels. What began as an innocent desire to read became an all-out obsession with the romance genre. She gave book reports on romance novels, got in trouble for reading during lectures, and would rather spend her time reading than attending high school parties. After all, high school boys could not compete with the likes of Stephanie Laurens Devil Cynster. After getting her first job, her addiction only got worse. She now had her own money to spend and a car to get to Barnes and Noble as frequently as she wanted. She managed to maintain a somewhat normal life, marrying her high school boyfriend who was aware he was competing with fictional men for her attention. Dayna soon began writing her own romance novels, inspired by her love for all things romance. Dayna and her family live in Southern California with their two children and three fur babies. Dayna is happiest at home where she can be with her family and write to her hearts content.

  www.daynaquince.com

  daynaquince@gmail.com

  Also by Dayna Quince

  The Fated for Love Series:

  Mine, All Mine

  Sweet Torture

  Storm on the Horizon

  To Love, Honor, and Obey

  Desperate and Daring Series:

  Available from Jacks House Publishing beginning September 2018

  Preorder now!

  Desperate For a Duke

  Belle of The Ball

  Just One Kiss

  Anything But Innocent

  An Unconventional Innocent

  Mad About You

  A Rogue of Her Own

  Hero of Her Heart

  An Undesirable Duke

  Dare to Love a Scot

  Afterword

  Dear Reader,

  I really hope you enjoyed this book and my Fated for Love Series (if you read the other books.) If you haven't, check them out! I started this series 9 years ago (as of 2014) and it was always meant to be a series. Yep, I've had these characters in my head that long! It wasn't until 2012, shortly after the birth of my son, that I got serious about writing again and publishing my work myself. It has been an amazing journey, not because I've struck it rich or am a famous author—I'm neither of those things—but because I finished something not even I thought I could do. That alone makes it worth it. I had a dream and I reached it. These books will always have a special place in my heart because of that. Thank you for being a part of my dream.

  Copyright

  To Love, Honor, and Obey

  ©copyright 2014 Dayna Quince

  www.daynaquince.com

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  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission with the exception of brief quotations for use in critical articles and reviews.

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  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the product of this author’s imagination and being used fictitiously.

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