Once Upon a Moonlit Path by Ava Stone

Author:Ava Stone
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: 0
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT

CLEAR

AVA STONE

O N E

Merrytree Cottage, Cheshire ~ December 1811

L ord Michael Beck had thought his old friend Jack

Hazelwood, Lord St. Giles, would have welcomed

him into Merrytree Cottage with a grand smile, a

glass of whisky, and an engaging tale of his recent elopement.

What he got instead however was…

“What the devil are you doing here?” Jack frowned at

Michael from behind his desk.

“Wonderful to see you too.” Michael frowned in return as

he stepped further into his friend’s study. “What’s with your

scowl? Married life not what you’d hoped for?”

“Apologies.” Jack sighed and pushed out of his desk. “And

married life is even better than I’d dreamed.” He crossed the

floor and welcomed Michael with an outstretched hand.

“Just surprised to see you is all. Cassy and I have reveled in

being far away from…Well, everyone.”

“Me included?” Michael laughed.

“You are part of everyone,” Jack agreed. “And I hardly

131

AVA STONE

thought you’d seek me out in Cheshire. It’s hardly your usual

haunt.”

Nothing in Michael’s life was usual any longer. The

weight of the world had been pressing down upon him for

quite a while, but it had intensified ever since he’d watched

his little sister marry a half-gypsy nearly two months ago.

Not that he minded Adam Vail’s gypsiness, but it was more

of the fact that the one thing he’d truly been tasked with in

life had been taken from him. There was no need for him to

attend soirées or balls or even mundane garden parties any

longer. There was no need for him to ever have to play the

role of chaperone again at any event or under any

circumstance, which meant that his entire focus was now on

his own life.

The thought of his own life made his gut churn, just as it

had the entire journey from London to Cheshire. He was,

after all, quite in need of funds as he tended to live a bit

beyond his means as a third son. Oh, his father was generous

enough, though Michael’s tastes often went beyond the

allowance provided by his father’s marquessate as he did

have a taste for the finer things.

Someone, however, owed him a tidy sum. “That blunt you

owe me. I need it.”

Jack’s eyes widened in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

Asking for money, even money that was owed to him,

seemed so gauche. “Are you really going to make me remind

you about your unfortunate streak at Newmarket this last

circuit?”

Jack shook his head. “I have been distracted.”

Yes, distracted by Michael’s cousin and then by eloping

with the girl, much to her father’s dismay. “How is Cassy?”

Jack laughed. “More than perfect, my friend.” But then he

shook his head. “You could have written me. There’s no need

to travel all the way to Cheshire to demand your winnings.”

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ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR

That was true. However, Michael did need a bit of advice,

and there was really no one he trusted as well as Jack. After

all, he might very well be Michael’s most scandalous friend.

And, therefore, who better to confide in? “I’m buying a

copper mine in Wales,” he blurted out.

Jack blinked at him. “A copper mine?”

Michael had been thinking about it for a while, even

before his sister had married.

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