Ruined (To Love a Governess Regency Short Story)

by Jane Charles

  Alec pulled back and stopped. Audrey wanted to cry in frustration. Surely this was not it. It wasn’t over, was it?

  He leaned forward, his lips a breath away. “I love you.”

  Before she could respond he thrust forward, deep inside, tearing through her maidenhead. How could she have forgotten? He was being gentle because of her virginity. Tears stung her eyes from the sudden pain, but it was disappearing almost as quickly as it had come. Alec remained still. She looked up to see he was watching her, concern etched on his brow.

  Audrey smiled. “I love you too.”

  His face relaxed and he moved, bringing his member against the place that ached. Over and over he moved and the tension built inside. She tried to move with him but she was awkward. Instead, she grasped his shoulders and brought her legs around his hips. Alec lifted her bottom and plunged inside over and over. No longer slow and careful, but quick, almost frenzied.

  The pressure and tightness built until it let loose, and pleasure washed over her, thrumming through her channel, tightening around his cock. Alec stiffened, threw his head back and groaned as he came inside her before he collapsed to the side and pulled her into an embrace.

  His breathing was ragged, as was hers. Audrey snuggled against him, enjoying the security of his arms, in awe of what had just occurred.

  Chapter 9

  Alec gently kissed Audrey’s eyelids. The sun would be up soon and they needed to be gone or there would be hell to pay with Strotham.

  “Audrey, you need to wake up.”

  She slowly opened her eyes and stretched her arms above her head. When she saw him, a contented smile came to her face, like a cat that swallowed the cream, and she sighed. Clearly his soon-to-be wife had no regrets. Audrey snuggled closer to him, her eyes still drowsy with sleep. Alec pulled away and got out of bed. If he stayed there much longer, especially with Audrey seductively pressing herself against him, he would never leave that bed.

  Her smile disappeared and her eyes opened wider, etched with worry. Alec leaned over and kissed her. “We need to leave before Strotham finds us.”

  The bed dipped as she sat up and looked around the room. Audrey was fully awake now.

  “Why don’t you wash while I gather my clothes? I will wash and dress after you are done.”

  Audrey pulled the blanket tight around her body, got out of the bed and padded her way to the pitcher and bowl of water. A lovely rose color blossomed in her cheeks and spread to the rest of her face as she tried to wash and remain covered. Alec turned his back to give her privacy. One day she would be comfortable enough to be around him unclothed.

  When she was finished she scooped up the blue dress from yesterday along with undergarments he hadn’t quite seen and disappeared behind a screen. While she dressed, he washed and did the same. He was just pulling on his last boot when she came back around, dressed and ready for the day, almost. Her hair was mussed, as badly as it had been the day she arrived. With a smile, Alec recalled wishing he had been the one to put her in such a state.

  A brush lay on the dressing table and Audrey settled herself before it and began working the tangles from her hair as Alec tried to tie his cravat into something presentable. With quick fingers, Audrey had her hair twisted, tied and pinned behind her head. He had never watched a lady prepare for the day but assumed it took hours. Either he was wrong in his estimation or Audrey was quicker than most. Of course, her hair wasn’t full of cascading curls. That probably would take hours.

  She glanced up at him through the mirror. “Ready?”

  “I have been for quite some time now.” He grinned and bent down to kiss her on the top of the head.

  Audrey rose from her seat, grabbed her satchel and tossed her shift from the night before inside, along with the brush. For a moment she glanced around the room, probably trying to determine if she had forgotten anything, before she glided to the armoire and pulled out her cloak. Alec assisted her in donning it then bent to retrieve her hat, which Audrey settled on the top of her head.

  The door creaked when Alec pulled it open. Strotham needed to have his servants oil the hinges. He stuck his head into the corridor and looked both ways. Nobody was about at this hour, but if they dawdled much longer, servants would begin their day. Standing back, he allowed Audrey to precede him into the hallway. The floorboards creaked at the top of the stairs and they both stopped and looked around. Hopefully Strotham was a sound sleeper.

  A few more steps creaked and the two hastened to be out of the house before anyone came to investigate.

  “Exactly where are you going with Miss Rutledge?”

  Alec stopped mid-step and turned. Strotham stood at the top of the stairs wearing a silk dressing robe with a belt tied at the waist.

  “Miss Rutledge and I were going out for a drive.”

  Strotham arched an eyebrow. “Exactly where to at this hour?”

  As if he couldn’t guess already. The man was just being difficult. “Scotland, of course.”

  “My wife now owes me ten pounds.” He grinned down at them. “And Fairfield still needs a governess.”

  “I am beginning to wonder if he will ever get one. This will be three he lost to marriage,” Audrey giggled.

  “Had he not married the first one this would not be an issue.”

  “And neither one of us would have found our wives,” Alec reminded Strotham.

  Strotham nodded his head in agreement.

  “We will be off now, to return someday.”

  Alec could hear Strotham laughing as he and Audrey walked out the door, but he didn’t care. The man was as besotted with his wife as Alec was with Audrey and would have done the exact same thing if he was in Alec’s shoes. Of that, he was certain.

  Audrey grasped his arm and he led her around the corner of the house to his carriage where he had left it last night. However, the horses were gone. “What happened to my horses?” His voice was not quiet, but quite agitated with concern.

  A stable boy came running. “They are in stalls, Lord Winters.”

  “Why? I never asked you to do that.”

  The boy’s face grew red. “Well, sir, when you didn’t come back, I moved them. I hated to see them outside, tied to the carriage, all night.

  Alec let out a sigh. “Thank you. Would you mind hitching them back up?”

  He raced off and Alec turned to Audrey. “The moment I stepped into your room last night I completely forgot about the cattle. I tend to forget about everything when I am around you.”

  Audrey blushed and turned her head in embarrassment. Alec pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. “And I look forward to a lifetime full of distractions.”

  A Summons From His Grace

  Regency Christmas Summons Collection 4

  © 2011 Jane Charles, Olivia Kelly, Phyllis Campbell

  In JANE CHARLES’s Compromised for Christmas, Miss Elizabeth Whitton craved excitement and adventure. Unwilling to endure one boring Season after another, she convinces her uncle in the Home Office to let her work for him. * John Phillip Trent has been spying for the Home Office in the stables of Tuileries as Jean Pierre Bouvier for more than two years, his only English contact – Lisette Renard a servant girl inside the palace. * When a summons from the Duke of Danby slips through the proper channels, both Elizabeth and John’s covers are compromised. To escape the palace and France with their lives, they’ll have to depend on each other and the miracle of Christmas.

  ~ * ~

  In OLIVIA KELLY’s It Could Only Be You, Harry Connelly has crossed an ocean and pushed his half-healed, battle weary body to its limits to confront the man who stole the life he should have had; his grandfather, the Duke of Danby. Wounded, Harry collapses in a small village’s church, and is nursed back to health by the vicar's beautiful daughter, Lily Beaumont. A man haunted by the demons of war, he should know better than to become involved with such an innocent but he cannot stay away from her. Harry's forced to make a decision. He can wield his decades old anger
and bitterness against his grandfather, to compel him to acknowledge the damage he caused, and demand that the duke make monetary amends. Or he can turn his back on the past, and create a future with the woman he is beginning to think he cannot live without.

  ~ * ~

  In PHYLLIS CAMPBELL’s Becoming a Lady, Dorothy Paxton is not pleased when a handsome Englishman walks into her inn and announces he's taking her back to England to reunite with the grandfather who turned his back on her years ago. Her escort, Calvin Seton, bribes her by paying her brother's doctor's bills, and soon she's on the ship sailing for London. Little by little, Calvin's charm softens her heart. While her lady's companion teaches her to become a lady, Dorothy is secretly wishing Mr. Seton would do some teaching of his own...in his bedroom. Yet she must control her desires or she's no better than her mother who succumbed to a nobleman, only to have him leave her. Dorothy will not repeat history. Or will she?

  A Summons From Yorkshire

  Regency Christmas Summons Collection 1

  © 2011 Ava Stone, Aileen Fish, Julie Johnstone

  In AVA STONE’s The Counterfeit Christmas Summons, Lady Emma Whitton has decided its time to take her future in her own hands. She has been in love with Viscount Heathfield since she was in leading strings. Unfortunately, it's been almost that long since she's laid eyes on her brother's old friend and vice versa. Tired of waiting for him to remember her, Emma pens a holiday invitation (in her brother's hand) to Heathfield and waits as patiently as she is able for her one true love to arrive. * Heath isn't quite certain what to make of the very strange summons he received, but his curiosity is most definitely piqued. He heads north to Danby Castle, only to find that his very orderly life is about to be turned upside down.

  ~ * ~

  In AILEEN FISH’s The Viscount’s Sweet Temptation, Lady Harriet Thornhill knows the summons from her grandfather means he’s decided whom she must marry. Determined that she’d only marry a man of her choosing, she stows away in her friend’s father’s carriage, only to find herself alone with young Archibald Napier,Viscount Morley. * Morley’s plans for a quiet Christmas vanish when he discovers the sweet young lady hiding under the blankets in his carriage. As she claims an acquaintance with his sister, he feels duty-bound to see her safely back to her family.* A broken carriage wheel leaves them stranded, and Harriet’s reputation is at stake. Morley’s not ready to take a wife, until he’s told he wouldn’t be a suitable husband for her. With memories of her sweet, tempting kiss filling his thoughts, he prepares to fight for the hand of the woman he believes he could love.

  ~ * ~

  JULIE JOHNSTONE’s Gift of Seduction - The day Andrew Whitton, Earl of Hardwick chooses his fortune over the woman he loves, Drew discovers that money makes for a cold bed partner. Now, no matter how far he runs, the memory of his betrayal haunts him, and there’s not enough liquor to dull the past or diminish his disgust. * Charlotte Milne trusted in happily ever after until her knight turned out to be wearing rusty armor. Drew, the scoundrel, seduced her, though she very much enjoyed the seduction by the man she’s loved since childhood. Left scandalously ruined, Char flees her home intent upon forgetting Drew and proving her worth. * Separated by disloyalty and pain, each struggle to bury the memories of the other until a mandatory summons from the Duke of Danby sets them on a path of collision to Danby Castle. With the tides of irrevocable change rising, Drew must find a way to show Char that even the most selfish of rakes can be redeemed by love before the woman of his heart becomes the wife of another.

  A Summons From the Duke

  Regency Christmas Summons Collection 2

  © 2011 Jerrica Knight-Catania, Lilia Birney, Samantha Grace

  In JERRICA KNIGHT-CATANIA’s Loving Mister Lockwell, Lady Isabel Whitton has no use for people other than her twin sister -- she much prefers the company of her books. So when she discovers that all her cousins from near and far have been summoned to her home, Danby Castle, for Christmas, she isn't pleased. To make matters even worse, the deplorable Mister Lockwell has come uninvited. * Damien Lockwell, 3rd son of the Earl of Totterdown, has invited himself to Yorkshire for Christmas. Spending the holiday with the Whittons seems far preferable to watching his father drink himself into a stupor. And Lady Isabel proves to be just the kind of entertainment he was looking for -- she's smart as a whip and quite the most unique creature he's ever met -- not to mention she despises him, which is the most thrilling part of all for a man like Damien.

  ~ * ~

  In LILIA BIRNEY’s A Second Chance For Christmas, Philip Whitton has been summoned back home by his grandfather after a wastrel existence in Italy, studying music and trying to forget his first love. Emily Barlow, nee Ware, is picking up the pieces of her shattered existence following her husband's death. Thrown together by chance on the road back home to Danby, Emily and Philip rekindle the flames of their old passion. Will the fire burn itself out like it did before, or are they ready to follow their hearts and live out the truth of their love?

  ~ * ~

  In SAMANTHA GRACE’s Twice Upon a Time - since her father’s untimely death, Felicity Halliday has relied on the medical knowledge learned at his side to treat London’s most disreputable in order to support her family. Life has been hard, but everything changes the night she is snatched from an alley behind a theatre and tossed into a nobleman’s carriage. * It has been less than a fortnight since Julian Beckford returned to London after a sojourn in India, and he’s already up to his top-boots in one of his cousin’s mad schemes. When his foolish cousin decides to engage an actress to play his wife over the holidays at Danby Castle, Julian becomes an unwilling party to the lady’s abduction. Along their journey to Yorkshire, Julian makes a stunning discovery about his cousin's pretend wife....and finds it’s possible to love Twice Upon a Time.

  A Summons From the Castle

  Regency Christmas Summons Collection 3

  © 2011 Catherine Gayle, Suzie Grant, Christi Caldwell

  In CATHERINE GAYLE’s An Unintended Journey, Abby Goddard’s life is going along just swimmingly, apart from the disappearance of her life’s love—Wesley Cavendish, a man well above her station. Just before Christmas, Grandmama dies after revealing the identity of Abby’s grandfather. The Duke of Danby, no less. Now the entire family will travel to Yorkshire to confront Danby, hoping to gain a dowry for Abby. But then Wesley reemerges, sparking a hope Abby thought long destroyed. * Shall the prodigal son’s sole inheritance be an unsightly gash? Wesley Cavendish aspires to the political realm, despite his father’s near-murderous opposition…not to mention his opposition to Abby Goddard. But since Father died, will the new Earl of Fordingham rescind Father’s disgraceful allegations? Fordingham thwarts Wesley at every turn, threatening marriage to a prominent Tory family—which precludes Abby—to put an end to Wesley’s Whig involvement…unless Wesley can find a loophole.

  ~ * ~

  In SUZIE GRANT’s Caribbean Jewel, blackmailed by a British Naval Commander, Captain Randall Whitton, a smuggler with a penchant for gold is rescued by Jewel Derington, a feisty plantation owner and the very woman who betrayed him in the jungles of Barbados. Escaping danger has never been so thrilling. Together they are drawn into a political game of winner takes all from which only his grandfather, the Duke of Danby, can rescue them.

  * Fascinated by the glitter of his Caribbean Jewel, Randall's lust for gold soon fades. His quest to tame this fiery treasure catapults them both into an adventure where the stakes are higher and the prize greater than either of them have ever dared dream.

  ~ * ~

  In CHRISTI CALDWELL’s A Scandal for Christmas, for Lady Alexandra being the source of a cold, calculated wager is bad enough....but when it is waged by Nathaniel Michael Winters, 5th Earl of Pembroke, the man she's in love with, it results in a broken heart, the scandal of the season, and a summons from her grandfather--the Duke of Danby. To escape Society's gossip, she hurries to her meeting with the duke , determined to put memories of the earl far behind. Exc
ept the duke has other plans for Alexandra....plans which include the 5th Earl of Pembroke!

  More titles from Jane Charles

  The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies Series

  To Walk in the Sun

  A Gentleman’s Guide to Once Upon a Time Series

  His Impetuous Debutante

  His Contrary Bride

  His Not So Sensible Miss

  To Love a Governess

  Sacked (Regency Short)

  Handfasted (Regency Novella)

  Ruined (Regency Short)

  Compromised for Christmas, a short story in

  A Summons from His Grace

  Book 4 of the Regency Christmas Anthology

  Which also include the following books

  A Summons from Yorkshire, A summons from the Duke,

  and A Summons from the Castle

  About Jane

  Jane Charles has lived in the Midwest her entire life. As a child she would more likely be found outside with a baseball than a book in her hand. In fact, Jane hated reading until she was sixteen. Out of boredom on a long road trip she borrowed her older sister’s historical romance and fell in love with reading. She long ago lost count of how many fiction novels she has read over the years and her love for them never died. Along with romance she has a passion for history and the two soon combined when she penned her first historical romance. What turned into a hobby became a passion, which has been fully supported by her husband, three children and three cats.