by Dawn Brower
USA TODAY Bestselling author, DAWN BROWER writes both historical and contemporary romance. There are always stories inside her head; she just never thought she could make them come to life. That creativity has finally found an outlet.
Growing up she was the only girl out of six children. She raised two boys into productive young men. There is never a dull moment in her life. Reading books is her favorite hobby and she loves all genres.
She is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. To follow her or can find more about her check out her website for the pertinent information:
www.authordawnbrower.com
Also by Dawn Brower
Broken Pearl
Deadly Benevolence
A Wallflower’s Christmas Kiss
A Gypsy’s Christmas Kiss
Snowflake Kisses
Diamonds Don’t Cry
Kindred Lies
Begin Again
There You’ll Be
Better as a Memory
Won’t Let Go
Enduring Legacy
The Legacy’s Origin
Charming Her Rogue
Scandal Meets Love
Love Only Me (Amanda Mariel)
Find Me Love (Dawn Brower)
If It’s Love (Amanda Mariel)
Odds of Love (Dawn Brower)
Believe In Love (Amanda Mariel)
Chance of Love (Dawn Brower)
Love and Holly (Amanda Mariel)
Love and Mistletoe (Dawn Brower
Bluestockings Defying Rogues
When An Earl Turns Wicked
A Lady Hoyden’s Secret
One Wicked Kiss
Earl In Trouble
All the Ladies Love Coventry
One Less Scandalous Earl
Confessions of a Hellion
Coming Soon
The Vixen in Red
Marsden Descendants
Rebellious Angel
Tempting An American Princess
How to Kiss a Debutante
Loving an America Spy
Marsden Romances
A Flawed Jewel
A Crystal Angel
A Treasured Lily
A Sanguine Gem
A Hidden Ruby
A Discarded Pearl
Novak Springs
Cowgirl Fever
Dirty Proof
Unbridled Pursuit
Sensual Games
Christmas Temptation
Linked Across Time
Saved by My Blackguard
Searching for My Rogue
Seduction of My Rake
Surrendering to My Spy
Spellbound by My Charmer
Stolen by My Knave
Separated from My Love
Scheming with My Duke
Secluded with My Hellion
Secrets of My Beloved
Spying on My Scoundrel
Shocked by My Vixen
Smitten With My Christma Minx
Heart’s Intent
One Heart to Give
Unveiled Hearts
Heart of the Moment
Kiss My Heart Goodbye
Heart in Waiting
Coming Soon
A Heart Redeemed
Heart Lessons
Broken Curses
The Enchanted Princess
The Bespelled Knight
The Magical Hunt
Ever Beloved
Forever My Earl
Always My Viscount
Infinitely My Marquess
EternallyMyDuke
Kismet Bay
Once Upon a Christmas
New Year Revelation
All Things Valentine
Luck At First Sight
Endless Summer Days
A Witch’s Charm
All Out of Gratitude
Christmas Ever After
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Victoria Miller for helping me polish this book and creating such beautiful art for it. I couldn’t do this without out.
Elizabeth Evans, you are equally important. Without your support I might not find the motivation to keep moving forward and some days it is difficult to remind myself how much writing means to me. Thank you for being you and for being a part of my life.
Excerpt: Lady Pear’s Duke
Bluestockings Defying Rogues
Dawn Brower
Chapter 1
Cameron Spencer, the Duke of Partridgdon, stared at the fire burning in the hearth. He’d been back in London for a sennight, and the cold had already started to seep into his bones. He had been away, save for a few quick visits, from England since he turned eight and ten, three years after his father forced him to agree to betroth himself to Lady Pearyn Treedale.
He’d hated every second of it. His father needed the money that came with that contract. It was the only way to save their estates, and he’d sold his son to the highest bidder. Cameron may have had to agree to marry her, but that didn’t mean he had to rush to the altar and officially make her his wife.
Lady Pearyn had been eight years old when the contracts had been signed. He was seven years her senior. So when he turned ten and eight, she was only eleven. It made sense to him, and to his father, when he made his case for him to skip Oxford and instead take a world tour. When his betrothed reached majority, he was expected to return, but Cameron hadn’t. His father died before then and he didn’t see any reason to honor that promise, at least not yet.
Cameron returned for his father’s funeral when he reached one and twenty, and then promptly left again, leaving his estates in the hands of his stewards. They were thriving, and they sent him quarterly reports so he could keep tabs on his estate, from a distance. That was all he needed. Occasionally he had to return for some business matter or the other, but he only stayed long enough to handle it, then would leave once again.
It worked for him…
He never stopped to consider how it might work for Lady Pearyn. He was now two years past his thirtieth year, and perhaps, it might be time to honor that contract. If she would still have him. They barely knew a thing about each other. She’d been a child the last time he’d spent any time with her. She hadn’t broken the betrothal… Perhaps she had grown to like the idea of being a duchess one day.
Cameron ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He couldn’t discern what direction he should take. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He was home, for good, and he had to make a decision.
“Pardon me, your grace,” Alfred, his butler said. Alfred had been with his family since Cameron was a boy, and he’d aged a lot in the years he’d been away. Still, he managed to move quieter than anyone Cameron had ever known.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You have a guest,” Alfred informed him.
No one should know he was back in London. Who could possibly have decided to make an abrupt appearance? “Send them away,” he ordered. The last thing he wanted to deal with was unwanted company. “I’m not at home to anyone.” His mood darkened with each passing moment. He was not fit to be around anyone.
“You look home to me,” Collin Evans, the Earl of Frossly said as he strolled into Cameron’s study. “And say what you will, I’m not going anywhere. It’s been months since you were last here. You didn’t even come home for my wedding.”
Cameron frowned. “Sorry about that.” Collin was his oldest and dearest friend, but he couldn’t attend that wedding. “I told you I wouldn’t be there in my last letter to you. You know why it wasn’t possible.” He crossed the room and took the top off the decanter of brandy, then poured two fingers into a glass. Cameron held up a glass and asked, “Do you want some.”
“I assume you’ve decided to allow me to stay then,” Collin replied. “So yes, I’ll have a drink with you.” His golden red hair was a little disheveled. That was unlike the earl. Collin took the glass Cameron offered him and took a big swig. “I am glad you’re home.” He tilted his glass toward him. “Are you
going to stay this time?”
Cameron rubbed his fingers around the rim of his glass. He hadn’t wanted the drink, but it seemed as if it was something he should do with Collin sitting in his study. He didn’t meet his friend’s gaze as he said, “I’m considering it.”
“You are?” There was a hint of surprise in Collin’s tone. “You’re not saying that to get my hopes up only to dash them.”
“You’ve been fine without me all these years.” He lifted his head and gave Collin a half smile. Cameron had ensured he remained alone without any distractions. There were no family obligations or want-to-be brides to hang over his head. Except they were always still there, no matter what. He couldn’t forget about what was expected of him. He’d tried, but it never left. “You’ve even managed to find someone to love. I’m glad you’re happy.”
“I am,” Collin said. “Happy that is. But you’re not and haven’t been for a very long time. It’s rare you smile. I don’t think you’ve known true joy since we were at Eton.”
“Before I realized my family was on the brink of losing everything…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Nothing has been close to ideal in years. I’m not sure I know how to be happy.”
His parents had not been the best example. Their marriage had been contracted and had not seen any reason not to broker their son. He’d been running from his problems for too long. Avoiding home had seemed like the best thing for everyone. Maybe he’d been wrong.
Collin finished his brandy and set his glass down. Concern poured from his blue eyes. “When we were younger, at Eton, a lot of our schoolmates called you the golden boy.” He gestured toward Cameron. “And not because of the color of your hair, but even that is a fair assessment I suppose. No, it was because you would one day be a duke, and they believed you had it all.”
Cameron snorted. “Shows how little they knew.” He did not have a golden life. His father was distant at best, and his mother rarely stayed home long enough to nod in his direction. The title meant more to her than the one child she managed to give birth to. By society’s rules she owed his father a spare, but she’d said on more than one occasion he was lucky she bore him an heir. There was no love between them. That was one of the reason Cameron had avoided Lady Pearyn for so many years. He didn’t want to have a marriage like the one his parents had. He wanted more, much, much more than that.
“I realize that,” he said in a solemn tone. “Because I was privy to your deepest, darkest secrets.” Collin leaned forward. “But this is what I want you to consider. You’re not as dark as you believe yourself to be. You’re good at brooding, and you can give in to fits of anger like no one I know, but where it counts, your heart is in the right place.”
“None of that matters.” He couldn’t do anything with the hand fate had dealt him. He either accepted it or kept running. “And it does little to help me now.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve met your fiancée, and she’s not who you think she is. I think, if you had a conversation with her, you would realize that perhaps you both want the same thing. She’s had to live in your shadow as much as you’ve lived in hers. It’s time to do something other than take the next ship across the channel. Stay and face your past, and then, move forward into a future of your own making.”
Cameron sipped his brandy. Collin had given him a lot to consider, but he wasn’t as convinced as he was that Lady Pearyn wanted the same thing he did. “How do you know what she wants? Has she told you?”
“Not in so many words,” Collin admitted. “She puts on a brave face for the world. She throws parties and endorses artists of all kinds. Her salon is always full, and there are always men there ready and willing to gain her attention. She flirts and laughs, but it never quite reaches her eyes. I think she’s lonely. As long as you have a tether on her she cannot move forward any more than you can. She’s not happy either. Don’t you think you owe it to her to set her free if you’re not going to stake your claim?”
There was a lot in his friend’s words for him to absorb. Was Lady Pearyn truly unhappy? He had selfishly considered her as title hungry as her parents and never once thought she might want something more. He’d kept his distance and hadn’t taken the time to learn more about her. Cameron had not even bothered to write her. He had spied on her from a distance and she’d appeared happy, and he’d assumed she was fine. Had he been wrong?
“You may be right,” Cameron began. “But I don’t know where to begin.” Should he pay a call on her? Write her? “We may be betrothed, but we’re not…familiar with each other.”
“There is that.” Collin snickered. “I am not certain she even knows what you look like. Though I cannot say the same for you. There was that one instance in the park in the spring. How do you know her appearance but she doesn’t have the same privilege?”
It was confession time. “I may have sneaked a glance at her a few times over the years.” His curiosity had gotten the best of him. Cameron had wanted to know what she looked like. She’d grown into a beauty, but a part of him had feared his parents would have attached him to a plain woman or worse. They had only cared about the money after all. “It was easy enough on the few times that I traveled back, after my father’s death. I needed to know…”
“If you might find her favorable?” Collin asked. “And do you?”
Lady Pearyn was one of the most stunning women Cameron had the privilege of laying his eyes upon. Her hair was as dark as the night sky and her eyes were a pure blue so lovely he could easily become lost in them. He never got close enough to get a true glimpse of their exquisiteness though. That would mean announcing his presence, something he was loath to do. “She is passable,” he replied noncommittally. “So she flirts?” He tried to keep his tone casual, but he feared he failed in that endeavor. “None have caught her interest?”
“Would it matter if they had?” Collin raised a brow. “You don’t truly want her, do you?”
That was the rub. He didn’t know what he wanted, but he was starting to suspect that he did indeed desire to know more about his fiancée. “And would you tell me if she decided to have an affair?”
“If you want me to. I suppose I would.” Collin stood. “But until this moment I never believed you wanted to know a thing about her. If you’re that curious you should come over during Christmastide, and the weeks leading up to it. My wife has invited a lot of people and it’s going to be quite the crush. You have a couple weeks to decide.” He took a quick breath. “I can also finally introduce you to her. She’s heard a lot about my friend Cameron, but she has yet to realize who you are exactly. It’ll be entertaining, to say the least.”
“You would throw me to the wolves?” Cameron said shocked. “I thought you liked me.”
“I do like you,” Collin said. “But I love my wife. Don’t make me chose.” He strolled to the door. “I must go, but do let me know when you make a decision.”
Cameron nodded. “If, and when, I elect to claim my fiancée, she’ll be the first to know.” He met his friend’s gaze. “But you’ll be a close second. For now, I’ll have to decline your generous invitation, and give my best to your wife.”
Collin chuckled as he left. Cameron stared at his brandy glass, drank the rest of it, then set the glass down next to the decanter. Perhaps Collin was right. First, he had to gather a little information and discern the best way to proceed. It was time to truly get to know his betrothed.
Excerpt: Shocked by My Vixen
Linked Across Time Book Fourteen
Dawn Brower
Prologue
Summer 1835
Scarlett stared out the window of the library at Weston Manor. She shouldn’t be there. Not the library, the Weston estate… Something inside her told her she’d regret allowing her mother to bring her there. Her premonitions never steered her wrong. Not once since she realized she could sometimes predict the future. She may only be five and ten, but her otherness often made her feel ancient. This time was no different.
“Why are you in here alone?” a gentleman asked.
She turned to meet Christian Kendall, the Marquess of Blackthorn’s gaze. He was a couple years older than her and he remained a complete gentleman. That might be because this was his family home, and one day he’d be the duke, or it could be his demeanor. She wasn’t certain either way, or why it mattered to her at all. Scarlett shrugged nonchalantly. “There’s nothing of interest outside this room.”
Christian, she couldn’t think of him as Lord Blackthorn, it seemed to impersonal and formal, tilted his head to the side. “But there’s something entertaining in here?”
“Of course,” she replied and gestured toward the shelves. “There are numerous stories on the shelves that could take me to different worlds anytime I choose.”
He smiled. “I suppose that is true.” Christian moves closer to her. “Do you have a favorite book?”
She shook her head. “I’d like to read some of the books my mother speaks of,” she began. “You know from her time.”
Christian’s smile fell. Did he not like to speak about time travel? His mother, Alys, the Duchess of Weston, traveled from the same time as Scarlett’s mother had. This was not a secret that either women had kept from their children. Scarlett had eavesdropped on several of their conversations over the years. They reminisced about how easy traveling was, mobile phones, and something called a hot shower. They all sounded interesting, but Scarlett doubted she would ever encounter them. She liked to think she was brave, but doubted she possessed the courage to travel to an unfamiliar time.
“I’m not sure I understand your meaning,” Christian said carefully.
Scarlett shook her head and lifted up the corner of her lips. “Don’t pretend you do not understand my words. It doesn’t become you to play ignorant of our mother’s pasts.”