Heaven Sent the Wrong One
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"Not unless my son-in-law, Jeremy, or my wife gave us away," Viscount Rose replied.
"We could have been more successful sooner if this idiot here—" the Earl pointed a finger at Lord Bhramby's nose, "—had told us about their maid-valet ruse earlier! Pah!"
"How could that be my fault?" Lord Bhramby slapped his finger away. "They seemed to get along just fine. Besides—I could barely see the view without Countess Penthorpe's titanic bosom smothering me everywhere I turned. And then, I had to leave for Europe and I never heard from either of you fools—how could I know that things had gone awry?"
"I admit I was flabbergasted when you told me about their ruse in Bath at the soiree a few weeks ago," Viscount Rose said. "It certainly helped in making sense of everything."
"Well, you can't imagine how astonished I was when you told me Alexandra married that old goat, Redfellow!" Lord Bhramby replied. "Last I saw her, she was all moon-eyed over your son."
"Well, thank God things turned out the way they should have, at last," Viscount Rose said. "Now—let bygones be bygones and let's celebrate with a toast."
"Who else did you invite?" The Earl of Weston looked about the room. "I see Grandstone's boy over there, but where's his old man?"
"Dead," Viscount Rose said.
"What about Bixby?" the Earl asked.
"Dead," Lord Bhramby replied.
"Furlough, Morrison, and Benton?" The Earl frowned.
Viscount Rose sighed. "Dead, dead—"
"And almost dead," Lord Bhramby added.
The three men looked at each other.
"Well, then—I suppose it's just you and me, George—and this possum over here," the Earl of Weston said.
"Oh, shut your mouth, you ugly toad!" Lord Bhramby uttered.
Viscount Rose raised his glass with a laugh. "To the original Rakes Club of London!"
"Cheers!" Bhramby and Weston clinked their glasses with his.
~
Meanwhile, at the opposite side of the reception hall, twelve-year-old Diana turned on her heels and headed straight for the bridal table where the newly-weds sat. She squeezed herself between her Uncle Allayne and his new wife, Alexandra—alias Miss Anna Banana.
Plopping herself on her Uncle Allayne's knees and ignoring his protests that she was too old to be sitting on anyone's lap, she swerved her piercing blue gaze at the pretty lady who looked a great deal like her grouchy Uncle Jeremy.
"So—" Diana kneaded a piece of paper into a ball in her hands, raising a tawny brow, as she regarded the woman that had muddled her Uncle Allayne's brains and turned him into a barbarian. "Do you like bananas?"
"Pardon me?" Miss Anna Banana's eyes widened.
"Diana!" Uncle Allayne scolded in her ear.
"Do you know—" Diana leaned closer to poor Miss Banana and lowered her voice, cupping her mouth with one hand, "—that Uncle Allayne has naughty pamphlets under his bed?"
"Oh?" A startled Miss Banana turned into a blushing banana.
Interesting. Diana grinned innocently at Alexandra's mortified face.
"Poppet!" Uncle Allayne's growl solicited glances in their direction. "Bloody—where's your Papa?"
She slid from her perch on her Uncle's lap. "I love you, Uncle Allayne," she gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek, and then turned to Alexandra. "So, you do like bananas," she waggled her eyebrows with a sly smile. "Oh, well—that's all I wanted to know. Bye now." She skipped off to play with Edward and Gabriel before the newlyweds could think of a retort.
"What was that about?" Alexandra turned to her husband with a flummoxed gaze.
"Nothing. Don’t mind her." Allayne took a sip from his wine glass.
"Is it true? You have naughty pamphlets—?"
A dimple quivered on his cheek. "Don't believe in everything that that little imp tells you."
Alexandra crossed her arms on her chest. "You didn’t answer my question. Do you, or do you not have any?"
"Why don't you go look under my bed and see for yourself?" he shrugged, before turning to accept felicitations from one of the guests.
Alexandra relented. Surely, Allayne would have disposed of those pamphlets knowing she would be sharing his bedchamber. She nodded and accepted best wishes from the other guests.
Later that night, as Allayne slept soundly in exhaustion next to her after they’d made love numerous times, Alexandra crawled out of bed to pick up her wedding dress that had been disposed of in a heap on the floor. She tried to shake the wrinkles out of the gown, but it had been rumpled beyond hope. With one last forceful jerk, she flung the dress over the back of a tall chair for her maid to retrieve for ironing in the morning. Something flew out from its hidden pocket, landing squarely on Allayne’s face.
“Sorry,” Alexandra kissed her startled husband’s forehead as he sat up with a start on the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asked sleepily, as she bent to retrieve the crumpled ball of paper that she recognized as the same piece Diana had been playing with earlier. How in heaven's name had it ended up in her pocket? She absent-mindedly unfurled the heavy vellum embossed with the Duke of Grandstone’s crest, and smoothed it with her fingers.
“Nothing. Go back to slee—” Alexandra’s brows knitted as she read the written content.
“What is it?” Allayne tilted his head question.
Alexandra handed the paper to him with a scowl.
And there, scribbled in a child's messy handwriting, he read, "Uncle Allayne hid the naughty pamphlets underneath his smalls in the drawer."
Dear Readers,
I hope that after reading this story, some of you would have learned something about love, acceptance, forgiveness, and the important priorities in life. Many times, things don't turn out the way we plan them to be, which leads to heartbreak and extreme disappointment. The things we can't control can easily distract us from our ultimate goal—to gain knowledge from our mistakes and use the lessons learned as leverage against the challenges we face every single day. How we deal with failure—and use it to our advantage—is the entire point in our progression.
Don't expend your energy on petty things. Keep your focus—and your sight on the perfect shot.
My best to you always,
VJ Dunraven
P.S.
Listed on the next page are the rest of the titles in this series and other books I have written that will soon be available on Amazon.Once again, I thank you for your readership and support.
The adventures of the dashing Heirs of Cornwall continue
in VJ Dunraven’s uproariously witty and riveting tale,
THE RETURN OF PRINCE CHARMING
Available in the Winter of 2013
Heirs of Cornwall Series
The Promise
Heaven Sent (The Wrong One)
The Return of Prince Charming
The Perfect Duke
Highest Royal Coven of Europe Series
The Silver Eyed Prince
Guardian and Commander
Son of the Redeemer
Bryan and Sophia
More coming soon!
VJ Dunraven was educated with a Bachelor’s in Arts and Sciences and a PhD in Dental Medicine. After spending years in the scientific and medical field, she decided to pursue her dream to become a designer, a venture that gave her tremendous fulfillment and success.
However, her creative inclination took a literary turn in the beginning of 2011. She began writing the first book in the Highest Royal Coven of Europe series, entitled The Silver Eyed Prince, immediately followed by two books belonging to the series called Heirs of Cornwall, entitled The Promise and Heaven Sent (The Wrong One).
When asked why she likes to write, she replied, “Don’t you want to escape sometimes? Once in a while, to that magical land where no problems exist, no bosses, and teachers breathing down your neck and no hours to keep? I do—so I can live in that world and see it, feel it, touch it—in moments when real life gets too exhausting.”
These days
, VJ Dunraven spends her time designing for private clients and pursuing her writing. She loves hearing from her readers! Visit www.VJDunraven.com to drop her a line, read more about your favorite characters, and find out about the latest releases.
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