An Enchanted Christmas Collection : Regency Romance
Page 27
She did, explaining about the night her father had come home with Lord Crickley, and that he had been caught cheating, and it was Crickley who had seen him. He begged her to understand, saying he needed the money to lay against a horse that was sure to win the following day.
Lord Crickley had then told her of the deal he had struck with her father.
“I did it for my mother, not my father, Harry. She does not deserve to have her name blackened.”
“I will make sure she does not suffer, love. Tomorrow Phillip will send word to Thomas that we need him to return urgently.”
“Yes, I wish to see him and for him to be here to support Mother.”
“And you,” Harry added, kissing her cheek.
“I have you for that now, Harry.”
“Always and forever.”
His kiss was gentle, not wanting to force her after what she had already endured.
“Now, as there is nothing further to be done tonight, we shall sleep and in the morning we will deal with what must be dealt with; but know this, my love. From this day onward we will never again be parted.”
“Yes.”
One word only, but it was filled with longing.
“I will have a room readied for you for appearances, but you will not stay there. From now on you will sleep in my bed.”
“I cannot… surely?”
“Yes,” he kissed her again, “You can and will.”
Harry left to organize everything, and then took Jemma to her room, one door along from his. When he returned to her thirty minutes later, she was asleep in the bath.
He looked down at her and felt his love for her consume him. Her hair had been released and hung over the rim of the bathtub in long silken curls. Her skin was soft and pink from the warm water. Long lashes rested on her cheeks, and she slept deeply. Her breasts rose above the water, the rest nestled beneath.
“Jemma.” He bent to kiss her awake.
“Harry?” Her lashes fluttered open. “I fell asleep.”
“You are tired from your midnight flight, love. Come, it is time for bed.”
He lifted her out, drying her gently, before wrapping her in one of his nightshirts.
“I would have kidnapped you, Jemma, and was making plans to do so if I could not stop the wedding any other way.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he said pulling back the covers and ushering her beneath.
“My heart felt heavier with each day it drew closer, and I could find no way to get out of the betrothal. I spoke with both my father and Lord Crickley, but they would not listen.”
“It matters not anymore, my love. We will be together now forever and always.”
Her sigh was soft, and soon her breathing slowed into slumber. Harry lay with her soft weight pressed to his side until he too found sleep in the arms of the woman he loved.
Chapter Ten
He woke early with Jemma still in his arms. She still slept heavily, so he kissed her hair and eased from the bed, leaving her sleeping. Washing, he dressed quickly and left the room.
“I thought you may need my company.”
Phillip was waiting for him when he reached the front entrance of Harrington House.
“Egad, is this an apparition that I see before me,” Harry drawled, eyeing his brother’s neatly dressed form. “My brother awake before noon.”
“It will happen only this one time.” Phillip yawned.
“In truth, I will be pleased of your company because I may need someone to stop me murdering Crickley.”
“Hence the reason I stand here before you at such a ridiculous hour, Harry.”
They traveled by carriage, simply because Phillip could not stomach riding his horse before he’d eaten his morning meal, and arrived at Lord Crickley’s house at least with the appearance of composure.
The butler opened the door to Harry’s fist pounding on the wood.
“I wish to see both Lord Crickley and Lord Partridge.”
“But they are abed, Lord Harrington.” The servant looked aghast.
“Then I suggest you wake them before I do.”
The man scurried away after showing them into a parlor.
“Try not to break any bones, or do something that will have you brought up on charges, Harry.”
“I will promise nothing.”
His anger simmered as he remembered how Jemma had suffered at the hands of the men he was about to confront, especially Crickley. They waited for thirty minutes before Lord Partridge appeared. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked as if he had not slept much last night.
“Lord Harrington, why have you summoned me from my bed?”
“Because last night your daughter and wife fled to my house because Lord Crickley attempted to rape Jemma.”
The man staggered back a step.
“You,” Harry said, stalking forward, finger pointed at Jemma’s father, “are responsible for this. You cheated at cards and Crickley caught you, and marrying Jemma was to silence him.”
“I-I have no idea what you speak of.” Lord Partridge looked from Phillip to Harry and back again.
“I know everything, and you should be ashamed of your behavior. To treat your daughter in such a way is beyond contempt. But know this, Partridge. The betrothal will be broken and she will be marrying me.”
“No!”
“Yes, and when Lord Crickley walks through that door, you will support me when I tell him so.”
“B-but my reputation!”
“I would send you to hell were it not for your wife and daughter, sir. You deserve nothing more. But I will save your precious reputation if only for them, and then if I hear you have cheated again, you will not like the consequences.”
“What is the meaning of this, Harrington?”
Harry tore his eyes from Jemma’s father as Crickley stalked into the room.
“How dare you arrive at my house at such an hour uninvited!”
Crickley too looked as though he had not had much sleep. Dark smudges circled his eyes, and he looked pale.
“How dare I!” Harry thundered, seeing red as he thought of what Jemma had endured at this man’s hand. “You bloody bastard, how dare you attempt to rape Miss Partridge!”
He crossed the room and grabbed him, shaking him hard, then planted his fist in his face, sending him backward into the door.
“That will do, Harry.” He heard his brother’s words and then felt Phillip’s fingers grip his arm. “No good will come of killing him.”
“I want to.”
“Yet you will solve nothing by doing so.”
He made himself turn away and inhale deeply. When he turned back, Crickley had staggered back to his feet.
“The betrothal is off, and Jemma Partridge will be marrying me, Crickley. If I hear you have spread slanderous stories about her family to anyone, then I will take it as a personal slight and seek retribution.”
“How dare you strike me!” Crickley attempted to glare at Harry.
“You’re lucky my brother is here, or I would have done so again and again,” Harry growled.
“You will pay for this.” Crickley looked at Harry then Lord Partridge, who had slumped into a chair. “All of you.”
“Crickley, I had an enlightening conversation with some men from the village of Cartleigh. It seems you have been abusing young girls and fleecing men of their money. Now if you wish for me to delve deeper into this matter, then go right ahead and spread your vile rumors, because you can be assured that when I have finished it will not be Jemma and her mother who are forced into hiding.”
Crickley stumbled back to rest on the wall as color leeched from his cheeks.
“You would not dare!”
“I dare, and will take great delight in ruining you if you utter one damning word about the Partridge family.”
“Have the wench then, I want nothing from her or her family.”
“So glad you could see things my way,” Harry said, nodding to his bro
ther to follow as he prepared to leave the room. “I will handle the details regarding the broken betrothal, and suggest you leave the area for some time. Because next time I see you, my brother may not be there to stop me from killing you.”
They left the house and climbed into the carriage. Minutes later, they were heading back to Harrington House.
“It is times like that I am pleased you are my brother and not my enemy, Harry.”
He found a smile, and it grew as he realized that Jemma was finally his. His Hero would become his wife.
“That smile is far too wide for such an hour. I beg you to tone it down.”
“It’s called love, brother, and I highly recommend it.”
On Christmas morning Jemma woke once again pressed to Harry’s warm side. He stirred beside her, his arms instinctively wrapping around her body to pull her close.
“Merry Christmas, my sweet Hero.”
“Merry Christmas, Leander.”
She giggled as he grabbed her and tumbled her beneath him to kiss her thoroughly. Cupping his face, she looked up into his sleepy eyes.
“Is it possible to be so happy, Harry?”
“Yes, and this is only the beginning, love.”
As he made slow, sweet love to her, Jemma knew that there would be children in their future, love, and happiness. She closed her eyes and gave herself to the man who would bring her all those things and so much more.
…
Thank you for reading AN ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS COLLECTION BOXED SET. I hope you enjoyed it. I must admit that Christmas is a favorite time of year, and I devour Christmas novellas from October to December!
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Have you read my Langley Sister Series? Read on for an excerpt of the first book LADY IN DISGUISE:
“Oh my goodness.. I hadn't read a historical romance in a while and I was skimming thorough my Kindle and found this one.. y'all I freaking loved this book.”
-Amazon reviewer
Will her secret bring her ruin or love?
Desperate and penniless, Miss Olivia Langley is out of options. To ensure her family's survival she and her sister decide to take a drastic step - they don masks and take to the road as highwaymen. Disaster strikes when, inside the first carriage they rob, they find the one man Olivia had hoped never to see again. Five years ago Lord William Ryder had broken Livvy's heart. Now he has returned and she has a bad feeling that if anyone can succeed at unmasking her deepest secrets, it will be him.
Can a rake reform?
Will knew his return would be greeted with both joy and resentment, but after five years of hard living he was ready to come home and take his place in society. He had never forgotten Olivia no matter how hard he'd tried, and whilst he hadn't imagined she would welcome him with open arms, the hostility and anger she displays are at odds with the woman he once knew. Will is horrified to find she's living a dangerous lie and refuses his help. But now that he’s back, Will is determined to do whatever it takes to protect her, and finally claim her for his own.
ONE CLICK FOR LADY IN DISGUISE!
“Definitely worth the read. I absolutely love her story telling. It's never too much.”
-Goodreads reviewer
Turn the page for an excerpt of Lady In Disguise!
Lady In Disguise
“Stand and deliver!”
Hands still braced on the seat, Will shook his head again; surely he hadn’t heard those words correctly.
“Those within the carriage step down at once or I will blow a hole in the side!”
In the past few years, Will had been shot, stabbed, held hostage and forced to leap from a burning ship, and now he had arrived, to what he believed the safety of his homeland, and within hours he was being robbed. If rage weren’t nipping at his heels, he’d laugh.
“I will give you a five-count!”
“I’m coming!” he bellowed, reaching for the door. Pushing it open with enough force that it banged loudly against the carriage, Will stepped down. Cooler now that dusk had settled, he could smell the trees and earth of his homeland.
“No risks, Luke,” he cautioned his driver quietly as he looked at the riders before him. “Well?” he then questioned the two masked men, waiting for one of them to speak; curiously, both seemed almost unnaturally still. “Are you robbing me, or did you want to take tea?” His drawled words had the required effect, as one of them spoke.
“Throw your money over here, or I will shoot you!”
“You had better make that shot count, because you can be assured if you miss, you won’t get a second one,” Will stated calmly, looking at the two riders. Both wore black hats pulled low to cover their eyes and scarves hid the lower half of their faces. Pistols were pointed at him and his driver. They looked menacing, yet not overly big, he thought, eyeing the slender thigh of the one closest to him.
“The penalty for robbing a peer is death I believe,” he added, reaching into his pocket and removing a money pouch.
“The penalty for starvation is the same, my lord!”
With the coin pouch now in his hand, Will looked at the man. His words were muffled, yet he could hear the desperation.
“You’ll end up with your neck stretched by the hangman’s noose if you don’t rethink your choice of career, young man.”
“Spoken like a cosseted nobleman, Lord Ryder. Now throw me that purse and we shall be on our way.”
Will paused, holding the highwayman’s gaze, and then slowly threw the purse in the air, the coins making a chinking sound as they resettled in his palm.
“It appears you have me at a disadvantage, sir. You know who I am, yet I am at a loss to remember you. Of course, that could be because you have your face covered and a pistol pointed at my head.”
Will watched the horse lift its head as the man’s hand tightened on the reins. Interesting. It was dark, and the moonlight was weak, but the highwayman had recognized him immediately, if that reaction was any indication. He’d seen the worst life could offer, yet it saddened him that someone who had crossed his path would need to steal to survive.
“This is not a social call, Lord Ryder. Just hand over the pouch and we shall leave you to continue your journey.”
“And if I say no, will you kill me where I stand?”
“We don’t want to kill you!”
“Then turn your horse around and leave,” Will said, his voice now low and menacing. The gun wavered and then steadied as the man transferred the reins into the same hand as the gun, the empty one he now held out to Will.
“Throw me that pouch.”
“No.” He watched the two highwaymen look at each other after he spoke. A suspicion formed in his head as the leader raised a shoulder in a gesture that looked far too feminine for a man.
“I will shoot your driver.”
Will had not survived the last few years to be shot just miles from his home, and he realized that a young, desperate man aiming a gun at his head was a situation that could get out of hand quickly.
“Here.” He threw the bag at the leader, who caught it easily.
“Now go, before I decide that you two need to be taught a bloody good lesson in manners,” Will added, scowling at them.
They turned their horses and began to leave.
“I’ll stop them!”
“No, Luke!”
Too late, Will watched his driver’s knife sail through the air and lodge itself in the shoulder of the lead highwayman. The scream that filled the air told him his original guess had been incorrect. They weren’t youths; in fact, they were women. He took a step towards her as she lurched sideways in the saddle, but she saved herself by gripping the horse’s mane, and soon they were gone from his sight.
“Christ, I just stabbed a woman, Will.”
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Wendy Vella is a bestselling author of historical and contemporary romances
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