What A Wicked Duke Demands (Historical Regency Romance)

by Emily Honeyfield

  “Was I pleading?”

  “That’s how she saw it.” Beth took a deep breath, still not looking at him. “You can’t get me to change my mind, Your Grace. I can’t stay here in good faith when your brother is here. My sister …”

  “Your sister and my brother are currently reconciling.”

  That had Beth’s head snapping up.

  “What?”

  “We arranged that I would have Alexander and Flora locked in the same room until Alexander got everything he needed to say out. Last I heard, they were talking. No shouting or curses, nothing.”

  “And Flora actually forgave him?”

  “I don’t think we gave her much option. Although I know it’s going to take a while for her to forgive Alex fully. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes.” Gerard spread his hands. “He’s always loved your sister. He never stopped loving her. It was strong, and it scared him. Alexander didn’t know how to deal with it. So, he ran away.”

  “And he believed that he could atone for his actions by enlisting in the army.” Beth folded her arms. “He could have just written to Flora and explained himself. That would have atoned him.”

  “Do you think she would have read that letter knowing it was from him?”

  Beth paused. Then she shook her head.

  “Probably not. She was too angry and upset.”

  Gerard could understand that. His gaze drifted over Beth’s face. She had been crying recently, but now she seemed to be perfectly composed. That passion he had seen before was contained. If she walked out on him now, Gerard wouldn’t be able to see that passion again. He wanted that.

  He wanted her.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t know Alex and I were brothers.”

  “I’ve always known you as Lord Rossdale. I forgot what your real name was.” Beth swallowed. “Flora only ever told me his name. And even then, it was sparingly. He had ruined her, and yet she refused to say to anyone else who he was in her defence. I think, deep down, she still loved him enough to protect him.”

  “She went through a lot for him.”

  “She did. And she didn’t have to. I’m only just beginning to realize it.”

  At least she wasn’t running away from him. Yet. Gerard took a deep breath. If Alexander could do this for the woman he loved, Gerard could as well.

  “And what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you willing to go through a lot for a special someone?”

  “I …” Beth licked her lips. “Depends on who it is.”

  Gerard reached out and took her hand.

  “Me.”

  Beth’s eyes widened. She tried to tug her hand away, but Gerard didn’t give. Instead, he tugged her close, causing Beth to stumble. She fell against his chest, and Gerard wrapped his arm around her waist. He wasn’t going to let her go. Not this time.

  “Your Grace …”

  “What happened to calling me Gerard?”

  Beth shook her head.

  “It’s not appropriate.”

  “What do you think is appropriate, then?” Gerard shot back. “Our feelings for each other have never been appropriate, not from the day we first met. It’s always been there, and we knew it wasn’t supposed to be. But I didn’t care. And I’m sure you didn’t.”

  “I did.” Even as Beth spoke, her voice was wavering. “Because it was wrong.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Gerard kissed her. Beth momentarily stiffened, and he thought she was going to pull away. But then she melted into his arms and kissed him back. Gerard would take that. He groaned and tightened his arms around her. This time, he wasn’t letting go.

  “Please don’t go,” he whispered as his mouth moved to her cheek. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “You just don’t want to find another governess for your daughters.”

  “I’m being serious here, Beth.” Gerard lifted his head, cupping her jaw in his hand. “I love you. There, I’ve said it. I love you, and I don’t want you to leave. I want you here. With me.”

  Beth’s eyes had widened at his declaration. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. Gerard didn’t think he could make her literally speechless. Then Beth closed her mouth and swallowed.

  “You know I can’t.”

  “Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg? Because I will. I will do whatever it takes for you to stay with me.”

  “But as what? You know we’d be causing an uproar if Society discovered we had once lain together.”

  Gerard smiled, brushing his thumb across her mouth.

  “As my wife. A mother. A duchess.”

  Now Beth looked like she was about to pass out. She pushed his chest, and Gerard let her go. Beth staggered back, staring at him like she had never seen him before.

  “A duchess?” she squeaked. “Have you taken a leave of your senses?”

  “I’ve never thought any clearer.” Gerard spread his hands. “I know what I want, Beth. And I know you in my life would make it so much better.”

  “I …” Beth swayed. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say yes. That’s all you need to say.”

  “And what if I say no?”

  Gerard groaned.

  “I hope to God you don’t, but if you do, I’ll let you go home. I promise.” He swallowed. “Say yes. Please.”

  Beth stared at him. She didn’t move, and Gerard waited. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted to make Beth his right now. But this was Beth’s dance. Gerard had to follow her lead. Even if it was a slow one.

  “Just don’t desert me like your brother did to Flora.” Beth’s voice was quiet but firm. “I don’t want to go through that.”

  “Trust me, that will never happen.”

  Gerard would have to be mad to desert her. Beth hesitated. Then she stepped towards him, leaning into him as she cupped her face in her hands.

  “Yes.”

  THE END

  Can't get enough of Beth and Gerard? Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…

  Will Gerard’s social circle finally accept Beth and how will she deal with it?

  What kind of exciting news will Flora and Alexander share with the happy couple?

  What will be Beth’s Christmas gift to Gerard and how will he react when he finds out?

  Click the link or enter it into your browser

  http://emilyhoneyfield.com/gerard

  (After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “Nothing Like a Ravishing Governess”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)

  Nothing Like a Ravishing Governess

  Introduction

  Laura Pearce is a headstrong and adventurous woman whose family has been sullied by scandal. When Laura's family is in the midst of financial ruin, she decides to change her identity in order to avenge her father’s name. This fiery Lady thought she could do anything to avoid revealing her double life, as a spy and a governess, but is she ready to have her plans turned upside down? How much is she willing to sacrifice to protect her secret?

  The dashing Callum Burke returns devastated from India to grieve the deaths of his brother and sister-in-law, who’ve left behind six-year-old twin boys. That’s when he meets their seductive governess and desire flickers inside of him. The couple is off to a rough start, as Callum quickly senses that Laura isn’t entirely truthful. But when mistrust is not the only emotion growing between them, will his mission to find the truth turn out to be a quest for love?

  Callum’s suspicions burn, as does his lust for her, but will Laura’s secrets lead to their ultimate separation? Laura finds herself slowly falling for the wild-eyed and volatile Callum, even if she knows that her emotions might get in the way of her mission. Will she be able to avenge her father οr will she ultimately fail, in the wake of a truly passionate love?

  Chapter 1

  It had been several months since the final court decision: Laura Pearce’
s father, Timothy Pearce, was said to have embezzled money from his long-time business partner, an idea that had no bearing in reality. And in the wake of that horrific months-long legal battle, during which things were said between friends that had ruined their once-good standing forever, Laura’s father had become a mere shadow of who he’d once been—stoic and incredibly skinny and hardly speaking at all.

  Slowly, their little London house—never once described as “regal,” but certainly once regarded as a proper mid-income household, the sort of place where Laura had been allowed anything she’d required and been given a good education—had become a similar shadow, with their dinner platters growing smaller, their hopes diminishing. And thusly, just a few days after Laura’s 22nd birthday, she embarked from their London home, en route to Treadway House, where she’d secured position as a governess. She felt it the only way she could survive. And beyond that, she had structured a plan, a way to tear through the traitorous proceedings that had left her family broken. Her father, an embezzler? A thief? It simply wasn’t a possibility.

  The carriage splashed through the puddles and then cranked to a halt beside a small stone inn. Outside was a sign that read, Huddington’s. Laura drew her palms together and shivered. She was pressed up against the side of the little belly of the carriage, as she’d shared the carriage with several strangers from London proper. Two of them were burly and cumbersome men, whose bellies seemed to take up far more than their single fare should have allowed, while one of their wives sat on the other side, pressed up against her window.

  Occasionally throughout the ride, Laura had attempted to catch the woman’s attention, if only to live in a moment of discomfort together. But the woman had spoken sparingly and clenched her fists tightly upon her lap. Laura never got a sense precisely where they were all going, and due to the stench from their body odor that simmered in the coach, she prayed she wouldn’t have to sit with them the rest of the way.

  The carriage driver announced that he wanted to take a stop for dinner before proceeding on the rest of the way. Laura had only a few coins on her, just enough for whatever stew they’d stirred up that morning. When the carriage driver pulled the door open, she dropped out and grabbed her trunk. As she drew it out, it smacked her on the leg, and she winced.

  “Easy there, little girl,” the carriage driver said. He stared at her in a way that told her it was quite a rare thing for him to cart about pretty brunettes with bright green eyes, especially all alone.

  “I’m quite fine, thank you,” she said. She lifted her chin and darted the rest of the way into the inn. On her way, as though created on cue, a grim rain pattered across her shoulders and hat. She grimaced and ducked inside the inn, into the deep and dark hollow, a place that smelled entirely of stew that had cooked too long and beer that had been spilled onto the floorboards and not cleaned properly.

  Within the inn, a handsome and well-dressed, yet lonely-looking man sat at the far table, near the window. He read a newspaper with his arms crossed over his chest. Behind Laura, the two men from within the carriage ambled in. They sounded blustery and weary. The barmaid rushed forward to take their coats, but Laura clung to hers, not wanting to give anything away. She’d never travelled alone like this, as it wasn’t proper for someone of even Laura’s middle-class sensibilities. But as she’d told her worried father and mother before she’d left, they simply had to make do. Perhaps she wasn’t fully strong enough, but she could pretend to be.

  “Quite a journey,” one of the burly men from the carriage offered, as he passed his hat and coat to the barmaid, who also seemed to be the innkeeper’s wife. He flashed his head around to see Laura, and his grin was mischievous and oddly evil, as though he yearned to say something about the time he’d spent pressing her hard against the window. “But we’re nearly there. I don’t suppose you have a room for my wife for the night? She doesn’t wish to go the rest of the way and asks that we pick her up tomorrow.”

  The innkeeper’s wife said they had a room and that she would prepare it. Then, she smiled at Laura warmly, perhaps with the thought that she was the wife of this wretched creature. Laura shook her head wildly, as the man burst into laughter.

  “Not this pretty thing, no. My wife is a dastardly creature. One with a hairlip. You’ll catch her the moment she—oh, here she is.” He whipped his arm out to gesture to the poor woman, who hunkered inside and flashed her hands across her shoulders to wipe off the rain.

  The innkeeper gathered the woman and led her to the upstairs portion of the inn, where the bedrooms were. Laura perched at the edge of a chair near the other strange, handsome man and felt she might quiver out of her skin.

  She forced her face to remain stoic and firm, so as not to give away her fear. Slowly, she sat and waited and felt the ominous eyes of the men upon her. She squeezed her trunk with both hands, as though she could use it as a weapon. Of course, there was no way that she could possibly overpower them, if it came to that.

  The innkeeper’s wife didn’t return quickly. Laura’s ears craned for any sign of her. One of the men marched around the side of the bar and grabbed two pints and poured the beer inside. “A man has to do his own work around here, I see,” he said. He clipped his beer against his friend’s, and the two of them laughed horribly. Then, he turned towards Laura and said, “I don’t suppose I can get you one, too, little lady?”

  Laura was horrified. Throughout the past weeks, she’d done nothing but tell her mother and father that all would be fine if she took this governess position. Of course, she’d left out one of the biggest elements of her scheme, knowing that she couldn’t fully reveal her intentions to her parents. They would have forbidden it.

  “She’s frozen solid. Look at her,” the other man said. He rubbed his large belly and leered at her. “She reminds me of little Gretchen upstairs when she was younger. Doesn’t she look just like her?”

  “Nah. Your missus was never this beautiful,” the other man scoffed.

  The innkeeper’s wife finally arrived and took both men’s food orders—beef stew with freshly baked bread. Laura’s heart raced as the innkeeper’s wife approached. She said, “Can I get anything for you?”

  Laura spoke too quickly, and her voice wavered. “I suppose it would benefit me to … to … to leave my trunk here with you, my lady,” she said. “If only so that I can arrange for it to be taken on to my destination later.”

  The innkeeper’s wife seemed a bit incredulous. “The carriage driver will carry on soon. He’s upstairs washing up for his meal. I’m sure you can wait for him.”

  But Laura didn’t wish to wait. She felt if she did, then she would be stuck in the carriage with these two wretched men. She had to protect herself. She clutched her smaller travel bag and just said, “I can leave an address and half the payment, to be paid in full when the trunk arrives.”

  The innkeeper’s wife shrugged. She grabbed the trunk and drew it around the side of the bar and then splayed a ledger across the sticky counter. Laura tapped up and informed her of the address—The Treadway House, a bit more than 15 miles away.

  “I suppose I could rent a horse?” Laura asked. “To be returned either later this evening or tomorrow.”

  The woman nodded and added another notch on the ledger. “I’ll show you to the horses now if you’re in a hurry.”

  Laura felt she’d never been in such a hurry in her life. She held the travel bag tight against her waist and cut through the door of the inn, through the streaming rain. The innkeeper’s wife was hunched as she walked, like she wanted to curl into a ball. The stables were 30 feet from the main door, and by the time they reached them, Laura’s hair fell in streaks down her back.