The Earl’s New Identity
The Regency Renegades
Jasmine Ashford
RUSHMORE HOUSE PUBLISHERS CO.
Contents
Copyright
A Personal Note From Jasmine Ashford
Dedication
About The Author
Join My VIP Readers’ Club List
The Earl’s New Identity
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PROLOGUE
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CHAPTER ONE
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CHAPTER TWO
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CHAPTER THREE
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CHAPTER FOUR
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CHAPTER FIVE
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CHAPTER SIX
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CHAPTER SEVEN
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CHAPTER EIGHT
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CHAPTER NINE
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CHAPTER TEN
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
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CHAPTER TWELVE
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EPILOGUE
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Preview of The Lord’s Secret
Also By Jasmine Ashford
Acknowledgement
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Publisher’s Notes
Copyright © 2017 by JASMINE ASHFORD & RUSHMORE HOUSE PUBLISHERS CO.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
A PERSONAL NOTE
FROM JASMINE ASHFORD
Dearest Avid Romance Readers,
The characters within my stories have a strong faith of love, they know what they want to pursue during this era. They are constantly looking that true love really exists amid adversaries. Because of these obstacles searching for love, motivates them to overcome challenges they may face while waiting for the person to appear.
Will these obstacles, crisis, insecurities and stigma encourage them in believing true love despite the differences and challenges in social standing that they will face during this Regency Era?
Read on to find out the answers!
Thank you very much for your strong support to my writing journey!
With Lots of Love,
Jasmine
DEDICATION
“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
This Story Is Specially Dedicated To You, My Avid Romance Reader!
Thank you once again for getting this book and giving me an opportunity to share with you my creative side.
I am truly grateful for this gesture of yours.
I hope you will find my stories both entertaining and inspiring as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
With your utmost support, I will continue to write and entertain for many years to come with my great and interesting stories.
Have you checked out my other historical romance books series?
Click the link below to get started
*** AMAZON USA ***
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“There is nothing so mortifying as to fall in love with someone who does not share one's sentiments.” - Georgette Heyer, Venetia
Whenever Jasmine is feeling down, she always finds solace with this quote. It was Ms. Georgette Heyer that inspires her to the world of the Regency and Victorian.
Jasmine took the pen and the rest is history for her.
In Jasmine’s stories, you will witness how characters that are so complex are actually simple beings waiting to be connected by the Cupid’s arrow. It is just one of the many ways that love will reveal itself?
Jasmine hopes that you will find love, solace, and peace in her stories. When she is not writing, she is enjoying her precious time with her family and her faithful Siberian Husky.
Jasmine
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THE EARL’S NEW IDENTITY
THE REGENCY RENEGADES
By
JASMINE ASHFORD
and
Rushmore House Publishers Co.
PROLOGUE
Year: 1812
Venue: Docked near London....
Prince George has just taken over his father's rule. The country is unstable, and there are many who are unsure of where it will go. Within the Royal Navy, a diverse group of men try to find their place in the new world that is emerging- The Regency Era.....
“And never was a story more full of woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
The audience held their applause until the last breath, the last moment. The curtain fell and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Lola took a deep breath, letting out the breath that she had been holding. She rolled to her feet, her partner along with her, and took his hand, bowing to the happy crowd.
It was a three encore night, and very late by the time they finally got backstage.
“Amazing, Miss Montclair,” her director, Mr. Sullivan, said to her as she swept into the dressing room. “Another perfect piece.”
“Thank you, sir,” she lingered in the doorway. “Although if I am honest with you, Romeo and Juliet is an old hat. The plays coming in the next few weeks will really test our limits. The idea of being the first to perform them for British audiences feels a bit daunting.”
“I have no doubt that you can do it,” he said. “You are one of the most celebrated names in British theater, after all.”
“I appreciate the compliment,” she said. She desperately wanted to take off her makeup and head to her hotel for the night. They were touring, currently, and they were due for a stopover in London the next day. They would be there for several weeks, rehearsing for a new show, while putting on an old one in the evenings.
The London stops were exhausting, but she always enjoyed them. Lola had an endless amount of energy, and she didn't mind doing multiple different things in one day. She loved running between venues and juggling her schedule to accommodate everything.
In addition, she was from a village not too
far from London, and it was always nice to return to old stomping grounds. Her childhood best friend, now a lieutenant, in the navy, lived not too far from the city, and she heard rumors that his ship was due to dock any day now. With any luck, it would coincide with her tour.
She took off her makeup, staring into the darkened mirror. Being an actress meant Lola was considered beautiful by almost anyone's standards. She had wide eyes and dark hair, and she looked younger than her age of mid-twenties. She was a master of disguise, and often played roles that were younger than her real age. She had a small bone structure and petite curves, and had no trouble with attracting attention from men. Her love life was a different story, however, and it was a story she didn't often want to discuss. She was more comfortable portraying other people than being herself, especially when it came to love stories.
Changing into her street clothes, she hung up her Juliet dress. Her street clothes were plain, an inexpensive green dress that brought out her eyes and hugged her curves. She tried to blend into the crowd when she was out and about, watching other people rather than being the center of attention.
Unfortunately, this theater did not have dormitories to house traveling casts, and so they were booked into the hotel across the street.
She was lost in her thoughts, thinking about the days ahead. She floated out of the dressing room and down the hallway, already going over the lines for the next day in her head. Many of her fellow actors were going out for a cast party to celebrate, but Lola attributed her success to the fact that she never stopped working. She was always focused, always thinking about what the next step needed to be.
As she pushed open the stage door, the cold wind hit her in the face. She was also startled by about fifty admirers yelling her name.
“Miss Montclair! Miss Montclair!” they cried.
There were those holding flowers, young starry-eyed children, and young men hoping to catch her eye.
Lola jumped back. She was used to this on a rare occasion, but not quite to this extent.
She froze, trying to remember what she was supposed to do. She didn't think any of them meant her physical harm, but there were so many people that it could quickly get out of control.
“Miss Montclair!”
She smiled, and then curtsied, which made them burst into applause.
She could have reversed back into the theater, and basically run away from them, but Lola understood their love for her was the reason why she was even able to work so much. She understood that fame was part of the game, and their recognition of her was partly only because she was standing right outside the stage door. If she could get a block away from the theater, she might be alright.
“Thank you, thank you,” she said, taking the flowers and smiling. “I am so glad you enjoyed the performance, but I do have to return to my hotel for the night, if you don't mind. Alone.” she took a step back from a boy who pushed forward.
“Miss Montclair!” a reporter stepped forward, a pencil in his hand. “Would you make a comment on your recent separation from your intended?”
“I wouldn't like to discuss Peter, thank you,” she said. “It's a new play tomorrow, and a new start for me. Now if you'll excuse me...”
She brushed past them and they were kind enough to let her go. She bit her lip as she walked, trying not to cry. She did miss Peter, but being with him made her head hurt. She felt so unhappy when she was with him, and Lola did not like to feel unhappy. Negativity never led to good performance.
By the time she made it to the hotel to check in, she had managed to push the negative thoughts from her mind. She probably should have been escorted to the hotel. If she were a proper lady, she never would have walked alone, especially after dark. However, she was an actress, and only played proper ladies on stage.
Lola often dreamed of being a princess, or a countess, but only briefly. She knew it was something that wasn't possible, and she tried to focus on reality when she wasn't on stage.
For now, all she wanted to do was rest and start again tomorrow. Tomorrow was another day, another chance to get a standing ovation. That was where her true calling was, where her heart would always lie.
CHAPTER ONE
ON THE SHIP
ON THE SHIP
“DUCK!”
That was a word that one never wanted to hear during a battle, especially one that they thought they had under control. Wesley hit the deck in a roll, his shoulder connecting with the hard wooden slats. He knew he would have a bruise in the morning, but there might not be a morning if he didn't move fast now.
“First Lieutenant is down! You have command, Mr. Harper!”
He whipped his head to the second Lieutenant of the HMS Stallion, the former boy genius, Harold Harper. Everyone had thought he was the youngest, smartest thing to ever join the British Royal Navy. That was, of course, until Wesley joined up. Wesley was ten years Harper's junior, twice as quiet, and he was at least three times as brilliant.
Brilliance did not matter at all, if none of them survived this attack.
“Wesley, take a team to the port side cannons! Mr. Bamber, to the stern!” Harper bellowed.
“Sir, we should switch,” Wesley blurted out before he could process that this was considered insubordination. Bamber gave him a startled look, but said nothing. The two lieutenants were basically the only ones on the ship who were kind to him. A brilliant mind often meant that one was alone most days of life. “Mr. Bamber has better command of port side attacks, after Gibraltar, Sir.”
Harper paused for only a moment, and then waived his hand in permission.
“Go!” he cried and scrambled to his own station.
Wesley moved as fast as he could, the larger French ship advancing faster than seemed humanly possible.
He had joined the navy to escape chaos, which now seemed like the craziest decision he could have ever made.
“Load!” he cried, as his team scattered to man the cannons. He knew they only had a few moments to shoot, and he wasn't even sure they were going to make it. His mind raced, as he bit his lip. He had to scare them off, somehow. “Fire the cannons!”
“Sir?” one of the soldiers looked at him in surprise. The shot was not yet loaded, but he had to show them they were ready. “I said fire!” he cried. They rolled their eyes, but fired anyway.
The intention was to scare the French ship off, to show them that they were fully loaded. To Wesley's half-shock, it actually worked. The Stallion may be a smaller vessel, but her firepower was more intense. Within a minute, the French ship had pulled its sails, quickly retreating.
No one dared to move as they silently watched. If they were engaged in a full-fledged attack, it was likely to be them being blown to bits. However, Wesley's quick thinking had saved them, and just in time.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Lord Bamber came up behind him, as soon as it was clear they were safe, the cheers of the men echoing throughout the ship. His eyes were sparkling, which they always did after a battle. Lord Bamber was probably the most popular person on the ship, and the playful third Lieutenant seemed to be best friends with everyone. “That was brilliant.”
“We had to show them we were ready,” Wesley said as he bent over, panting. “Even if we weren't.”
“Well done, My Lord,” Wesley heard a voice say and he winced for a moment until he realized it was directed towards Lord Bamber. There weren't very many who knew that Wesley's title was that of the Earl of Rippon, a title he inherited quickly when his father and sister died in a French attack, their beautiful Irish home on the coast destroyed by similar firepower. He had joined the Royal Navy to avenge his family, but also to get as far away from that life, from the reminder of the inferno he had survived. He felt he could never fill his father's shoes, that he was never cut out to be an Earl, and he preferred not to think about it at any point in his day. They were secrets he preferred to never speak of again, never even to think of again. To everyone on the ship but a select few, he was Midshipm
an Wesley, rising fast, but not yet promoted. There were a few who knew of his title, revealed in a solitary moment of weakness.
“I didn't do anything,” Bamber turned to Harper. “Wesley had the brilliant idea to fake it. And look, they turned tail and ran. Are we to pursue?”
“No, we took on too much damage,” Harold said. The two of them were best friends off the ship, but when it came to work, Harold never cracked a smile. “We're due to dock in a day anyways. We have done our job for the Navy today. Tomorrow, we will dock, repair, and restock.”
“And sleep in my own bed,” Bamber grinned. “Which doesn't swing from a wall. You'll get to sleep in a bed on the floor as well.”
Harper cracked a small smile for that.
“You make it sound like I'll be staying in the closet and not a guest bedroom.”
“Could be,” Bamber chuckled, and turned to Wesley, who was trying his best to mind his own business. “Do you want to come?”
“Come...where?” Wesley asked, startled. He didn't like docking, because it meant hours and hours of wandering the streets alone, or staring at the ceiling in whatever rented room he could find. He had access to the inheritance his father had left, but he never used it. He was a midshipman; he may be promoted in a year or two, but nothing more, not any more. He tried to stay away from most of his shipmates, who either thought he was odd, or bullied him because of his age and abilities. Bamber was one of the few who knew the truth about his identity, but Bamber was the type of person who made one spill their secrets with a flash of his eyes. He was an honest, good soul, and Wesley was never foolish enough to presume he was a close friend. Bamber was one of those people who everyone liked effortlessly.
The Earl’s New Identity (The Regency Renegades - Beauty and Titles) (A Regency Romance Story) Page 1