A Scandalous Past (Regency Romance, Book 4) by Ava Stone

Author:Ava Stone
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: historical romance, regency england, noir, love triangle, triangle love story, regency historical, regency series, regency era, regency, regency romance, ava stone, espionage
Publisher: Ava Stone
Published: 2011-10-19T09:44:36.218408+00:00

“I know you don’t want this, Cordelia. I am sorry it had to be this way.”

She was too. Sorry they had to race from London to Gretna Green in the middle of the night, with her family worried sick about her. Sorry her friends and family wouldn’t be with her when she married. Sorry she would marry a man whom she could never make happy. Would Russell and Tristan really chase after them? Or was Haversham right? When they learned she was with Clayworth would they simply let her go?

There didn’t seem to be another solution that would protect her reputation, however. And as Clayworth’s countess, she would be out of her mother’s house. She supposed she would always be in debt to him for both those things. “Thank you for making this sacrifice for me, my lord.”

He sat forward on his bench and took both of her hands in his. “It’s not a sacrifice, ma minouche. I want you for my wife, as you well know.”

It was the why she couldn’t understand. She wasn’t any prettier than any of the girls who had tried to catch his attention over the years. She wasn’t more accomplished or better connected. She did have that grotesquely over-sized dowry. “Are your funds in order?” As his wife she had a right to know that sort of thing, didn’t she?

The earl chuckled, and the rich baritone sound filled the coach with warmth. “Get some sleep, Cordelia.”

***

Cordie awoke rather suddenly when their coach found a hole in the road. She sat up and blinked her eyes into the brightness that spilled inside the conveyance and stretched her arms. Sleeping in a carriage was not the most comfortable thing in the world. Every muscle was sore. Ball gowns were not the most practical of traveling apparel either.

She clutched a quilt that was draped over her more closely and looked across the coach at her husband-to-be.

Cordie screamed.

Who was that? The man sleeping on the other coach bench was not the Earl of Clayworth! Scraggily beard and mud splattered clothes notwithstanding, no one in their right mind would mistake this man for the earl. Had she been abducted?

The man’s eyes flew open in a panic at the same time the coach slowed to a stop.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“W-Wilson,” he stuttered. “Sorry to frighten you, milady.”

She wasn’t anyone’s lady yet, though she opted not to correct the man.

The coach door jerked open and Clayworth’s popped inside. “Are you all right, Cordelia?”

She pointed at Wilson, whoever the devil he was. “Who is this man?”

A smile tugged at the earl’s lips. “This is my coachman, Wilson. We’ve been trading off on the driving all night.”

“I can take the box now, milord,” Wilson said, moving towards the door.

“Have you had enough rest?” Clayworth asked, getting out of the man’s way.

“I don’t think I could go back to sleep now if I wanted to,” the coachman said with a shudder. “That scream’s rattled me nerves.”

“Let me know when you start to get drowsy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.