As for Lord Raven? I have a feeling we have seen the last of him. Just as we have seen the last of Lady Peacock – whoever she is. Anyone that could have possibly believed that trollop was Lady Dory does not have eyes in their head!
Now I am being told that another couple might arise out of “The Dionysus Affair” as that night is now being called. True or not? I can’t say. What I can say is that if it is true? Then we might just have another grand love affair on our hands, dear readers! Isn’t that exciting? I certainly think it is!
-Lady A
Epilogue
Early August 1821
Seldon Park
Sussex
A tinkle of feminine laughter rose up from beneath the bedclothes. “Be quiet, Jeremy, or they will hear you!”
“So?” he challenged. “It is not as if we are causing a scandal! We are married, after all.”
Dory made a humpfing noise. “Still, we have created more than enough scandal as it is. Likely enough for an entire lifetime!”
That much was true. When the news broke that she and Jeremy had eloped to Scotland the morning after Lord and Lady Candlewood’s grand ball, all of the ton had been in something of a tizzy. After all, no one had even realized that Dory and Jeremy were acquainted, let alone knew each other well enough to hare off to Scotland together to be married.
Though the gossip had died down a few days later when a new scandal arose to overshadow them, even now, there were still a few whispered comments when Dory and Jeremy entered a social event. Just as people still wondered – privately, of course – whether or not she really was Lady Peacock, even though a second Lady Peacock had indeed been seen that fateful night at Lord Candlewood’s professing her desire for Jeremy in front of a ballroom full of people.
All these months later, Dory still had no idea who had worn her gown that night. In fact, the gown in question had been hanging in her wardrobe at Wyncliffe House when she and Jeremy returned from their honeymoon. As if it had never been missing – or worn by another woman – at all.
Dory had, of course, asked Rayne, Frost, Nick, Will, and just about anyone else she could think of how the gown had come to be there, but none of them would tell her. All Frost would say was that the matter had all worked out for the best, so why did she care? And Dory didn’t. Not really, for that mystery woman’s appearance had allowed her entry back into Society without too much question.
Not that suddenly becoming England’s newest duchess wouldn’t have accomplished much the same thing. Though that incident hadn’t hurt.
Still, on occasion, Dory did wonder what had become of the woman with the turquoise eyes, and if her own life had been ruined after playing that particular role on such a public stage. For the other woman’s sake, Dory hoped not.
“Woolgathering again?” Jeremy asked as he rolled her beneath him, careful of her ever-expanding stomach. “You look utterly adorable when you do that, you know.”
She slapped his shoulder playfully. “I cannot help it. I find that my mind is focused elsewhere as of late.” Especially on the babe she now carried within her. Jeremy’s babe.
According to Dr. Hastings’ findings, she had likely become pregnant one of the first times they had made love. Jeremy had berated himself, in private at least, for not taking more care with her, but after the first two times he had done so within range of her hearing, Dory would not allow him to castigate himself further.
In truth, she wanted this child. It was a symbol of their love, one that those who still questioned the validity of a union between an uninteresting wallflower of no note and the Devil of Sin, could not understand. Rumors didn’t ever completely die, Dory discovered when they returned from Scotland. They simply changed and morphed into something else.
It had bothered her at first, but now? She no longer cared. She loved her husband, and he loved her.
He also loved pleasuring her even though her body was changing. Not that she was complaining. The way he made her feel when he toyed with her breasts was even better now than it had been when he had first taken her to his bed.
“Still, we should get dressed and go to the breakfast room, I suppose.” Dory had no desire to leave this bed, but it was inevitable that they would have to at some point.
“Why?” Jeremy asked, pulling her back down to his side when she moved to get up. “This is a house full of newly wedded couples. I can assure you, sweet, we are not the only ones who will be late.”
In fact, Jeremy would bet his club on that. A club he still owned, though did not run as much as he once had.
When they had first returned from Scotland, Jeremy had been prepared to sell out his portion of the club to Richard, but in the end, Dory had convinced Jeremy that he needed to retain ownership of Dionysus. She had reminded him that, just like the ducal estates, the people who worked within the gaming hell depended upon Jeremy for their living. If he sold it? Those people would have no guarantee that they had a future.
When she had put it like that, he had started to reconsider. When the Bloody Duke had forbidden Jeremy to sell? Well, then that sealed it.
Yes, there was still a bit of scandal surrounding his continued ownership, but as many people had pointed out, if owning the gaming hell was the worst thing he ever did? Then he should count himself lucky.
“That might be true, but Maggie is expecting a letter from us this week. I don’t want to disappoint her.” When Dory moved to leave the bed, this time, Jeremy let her go.
At first, despite already having her approval, Jeremy had been worried about how his ward would react to Dory – both as Jeremy’s wife and her new mother. In the end, he hadn’t needed to lose any sleep over the matter at all. Though Maggie had been cautious around Dory at first, all it had taken was one trip to Mr. Okey’s toy shop for them to become fast friends. As Dory had sat on the floor with Maggie that day and they discussed the finer points of the various dolls for sale, it hadn’t taken long before the little girl climbed into Dory’s lap as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jeremy hadn’t thought his heart could be any fuller than the day he married Dory. He had been wrong. That day, seeing Dory and Maggie together, as natural as could be while he and Mr. Okey looked on, had filled Jeremy with so much love that he could hardly contain it within himself.
“I suppose I should pen one to my mother as well.” Though Jeremy didn’t really want to ruin such a lovely house party with such nasty business.
As promised, the dowager duchess had been exiled to a remote estate near the Scottish border and she was not happy. At all. Jeremy had informed his mother than she could return to London when she learned how to behave properly, especially around his new wife. The blistering letter he had received in return all but assured Jeremy that his mother would remain safely tucked away for a good, long time.
“Or,” Dory whispered mischievously as she turned back toward the bed. “You could show me how much you adore me. If you’re not hungry, that is.”
“I am ravenous,” he replied with a growl. “But not for food.”
“You devil,” Dory teased as she returned to his arms – exactly where she belonged.
“I am,” Jeremy sighed contentedly as he began to nuzzle his wife’s neck. “And you adore me all the more for it.”
“I do,” she sighed. “Because I love you.”
I love you.
Jeremy was certain he would never tire of hearing Dory say that. Just as he would never tire of saying the same to her. He loved her. She was his world.
And in the end, they remained in bed for a good long while so that he could prove to her just how much he did, in fact, love her.
Author’s Note
Like most authors, I put something personal into each book that I write. Some books, however, are more personal than others. This is one of those books.
Dory and Jeremy’s romance, like their names, is loosely based on the story of my own, much-loved paternal grandparents – the only grandparents I ever had
the chance to know. Though they have been gone for many years now, I still miss them, and when I sat down to write this novel – about a proper lady and a man that many did not consider her equal – I saw my grandparents’ story.
This is a book that has also been several years in planning. I would make notes. I would revise. I’d change a name and revise again until I felt that this story was finally ready to go forward. And so I did. With my papers spread out over my desk and my whiteboard filled when notes, I began to write. Then, half-way through the very first chapter, I paused.
Yes, this was Dory and Jeremy’s story. But it was also, in some ways, my grandparents’ story. Even though I hadn’t planned it that way.
As the book progressed, I also found that, again without intending to, I had woven in other bits and pieces of my life that are taking place this very moment. The proverbial “they” say that writing is cathartic, something I’ve always known since I was a teenager scribbling out my latest heartbreak in my diary. However, until His Temporary Mistress, it’s never been such a strong part of my book. I’ve always done my best to have parts of myself in my books, but never quite this much of me.
I thought about going back and changing the story. Several times. But I didn’t. Because if I had? That wouldn’t have been true to these characters. It also wouldn’t have been true to me as an author. This is how I envisioned the book. This is how I envisioned these characters after so many years of waiting for them to develop in my mind. Changing them would have been wrong. Or disrespectful. And quite possibly disloyal – not only to my characters but to myself and to you, my readers, as well.
So I hope you’ve enjoyed His Temporary Mistress. I enjoyed writing it, probably more than I’ve enjoyed writing anything in a while. And while my next book will certainly have parts of me in it? I think it will be some time before I write another book quite like this one.
Bethany
Coming Fall 2019
Raised in India, Miss Cecilia “Cecy” Worth really isn’t as wild as people say. Yes, she’s had some missteps along the way, but really, that entire incident with Lord Snowly and the pall mall mallet was an absolute accident! How was she to know that someone had put oil on the handle? Still, her uncle and guardian, Lord Marshfield, is not at all pleased with the reputation she is garnering for herself and the family as of late. He wants her properly wed and stashed away in the county as soon as possible. He’s also doing everything within his power to make that happen.
The last thing Lord Trenton “Trent” Pike wants or needs is to be called home from the Continent to play chaperone to his uncle’s ward, Miss Worth. Yes, he’s the man’s heir, but the chit isn’t even related to them! Not really. So she should most certainly not be Trent’s responsibility. Especially since he has a string of far more pleasurable women waiting to fill his bed. Except that if Trent wants his inheritance, he needs to make sure Cecy is wed to a respectable gentleman by the end of the Season – or else. He also doesn’t have the stomach to ask what “or else” means.
As Trent trails Cecy around London, however, he comes to see that she is not the walking disaster he assumed she was. In fact, she’s far more than what he or anyone else sees. They just don’t bother to look closely. Can Trent find Cecy a husband by the end of the Season, one who can see her for the wonderful woman she truly is? And more importantly, can he keep her out of his bed until that mystery man finally appears to sweep her away to wedded bliss?
Find out in Find out in Taming A Wild Lady, coming fall 2019!
Also, be sure to look for One Waltz With the Earl, the annual Seldon Park holiday novella, coming later this year!
Did you enjoy this book?
Then be certain to visit Bethany's web page at: www.bethanysefchick.com
Check out her other releases in different romance genres, stay in touch with the author, and sign up for her mailing list to be notified of upcoming releases!
Also, for the most up-to-date information on new releases, as well as links to exclusive short stories and novellas, become a fan of her author page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bsefchick
Other Titles by the author
Tales From Seldon Park
To Catch A Duke (Book 1)
Far Beyond Scandalous (Book 2)
At The Stroke of Midnight (Book 3)
A Viscount of Mystery (Book 4)
A Marquess Is Forever (Book 5)
The Secret Seduction of Lady Eliza (Book 6)
From The Viscount With Love (Book 7)
The Kiss of a Rogue (Book 8)
The Earl of Heartbreak (Book 9)
A Gentleman By Moonlight (Book 10)
A Scandal In The Making (Book 11)
An Earl For Hire (Book 12)
My American Marquess (Book 13)
One Forbidden Night (Book 14)
The Pleasure of His Kiss (Book 15)
A Lady To Desire (Book 16)
One Night In A Lord’s Bed (Book 17)
Christmas With A Scoundrel (Book 18)
A Lady For The Taking (Book 19)
His Temporary Mistress (Book 20)
Taming A Wild Lady (Book 21 - coming Fall 2019)
The Seldon Park Christmas Novellas
One Christmas With The Earl (Novella 1)
On A Cold Christmas Eve (Novella 2)
The Earl Who Loved Me (Novella 3)
Christmas At Hollywell (Novella 4)
A Season For Romance (Novella 5)
A Count For Christmas (Novella 6)
One Waltz With the Earl (Novella 7 – Coming Winter 2019)
Ghosts Inc.
Novels
Ghosts Of Lovers Past (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 1)
Heart of Shadows (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 2)
Spellbound (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 3)
Edge of Heaven (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 4)
Time's Mirror (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 5)
Ghosts, Inc. Ghostly Shorts
Ghostly Shorts Anthology, Vol. 1
Ghostly Shorts Anthology, Vol. 2
And We Danced (A Thieves Market exclusive short story)
Modern Magic
Dream Date
Bewitched, Bottled, and Bewildered
The Boyfriend Spell (Coming Fall 2019)
Cutlass and Lace
The Pirate’s Heart
The Pirate’s Seduction
Seducing The Pirate Queen (Coming Fall 2019)
The “Aphrodite’s Closet” series
Aphrodite's Closet: The Anthology, Vol. 1
(Nobody's Cinderella, Fairy Tale Theater, A Little Bit Of Magic)
Aphrodite's Closet: The Anthology, Vol. 2
(Stardust and Moonbeams, Belle of the Ball, The Enchanted Season)
Finding Prince Charming: An Aphrodite's Closet novel (Coming soon)
Also Available
Santa Search And Rescue
Christmas in Philipsburg
The Magic of Christmas
A Midsummer Night's Delusion
Much Ado About Something - A Short Story
Fairy Tale Lives (coming soon)
The Clockwork Doll: A Steampunk Novella
Crossed Hearts (A Modern Frame Tale of Romance)
Under A Golden Moon (coming soon)
About the author
Making her home in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, Bethany Sefchick – a self proclaimed nerd - lives with her husband, Ed, and a plethora of Betta fish that she’s constantly finding new ways to entertain. In addition to writing, Bethany owns a jewelry company, Easily Distracted Designs.
When not penning romance novels or creating sparkly treasures, she enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, reading, Steampunk cosplay, dabbling in plumbing, and lavishing attention on any stray cats who happen to be hanging around. She always enjoys hearing from her fans at: [email protected]
r reading books on Archive.
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