A Summer Scandal (Seasons of Romance Book 3)

by Rachel Osborne

  Louisa’s smile faltered as she thought of how much she owed to dear Edmund. He had truly done all that was in his power, and far more than he was obliged to, to help settle the matter between Nash and her. It was his word and his wealth that smoothed the way for Nash to progress and create his fortune, and his support that helped sway Mr Turner to consent to the match. Papa would do whatever would make me happy, Louisa thought, but she had noticed the sadness that lingered in her father’s features, the way his smile did not quite reach his eyes. It had not been a conventional plan, nor a conventional match, but then Louisa Turner was not a conventional young lady. She still saw nothing but romance in the way Nash had thrown aside his future for her, and could not fault his commitment in his willingness to wait and work for their life together. Their marriage was agreed, yes, but it was not to take place for at least a year or two, yet. This, Louisa was not entirely happy about, but she considered it a sensible compromise, and thus she complied with only minimal complaint.

  “We shall invite Maddy and Robert to dine with us this evening, I think, my dear,” Mrs Turner murmured, folding her hand over her husband’s, and speaking in a voice designed to reach only his ears. Louisa straightened, intent on hearing, whilst not seeming to listen.

  “Bess will come with them, of course, and we may share Louisa’s news then. Do you think it worth waiting until Christopher can join us?”

  Mr Turner’s eyelids flickered behind his spectacles.

  “He is busy with concerts all this week! No, I think we shall proceed as you suggest. A small family dinner this evening will be the very best for breaking the news. Christopher will hear of it in time...”

  Louisa frowned, a little unsettled to hear the weary tone in her father’s voice. She forgot to feign ignorance, then, her eyes sliding over to him, and he met her gaze for the briefest instant before relaxing into a smile designed to put her mind at ease.

  “What do you think, Louisa? Will your sisters not be surprised to hear your news?”

  “Surprised, yes.” Louisa nodded, swallowing her concern. “And pleased! They are fond of Nash and will be only too happy to call him brother, I am sure!”

  Juliet harrumphed from her corner of the carriage but when Louisa looked at her, her gaze was still fixed on the window, so she was left to conclude she imagined the sound, or that it related to some secret thought in Juliet’s head.

  “Perhaps, when Nash is a situated in the barracks, we shall have him to dine too,” Mrs Turner suggested, with a genial smile. “After all, we have already grown rather used to him being a regular visitor at Aston House. I do not suppose that will change, now.”

  “Indeed, not!” Louisa declared, beaming at her mother. “If anything, he will come more often, not less. I think he will make a fine addition...”

  She launched into a detailed description of all the delightful visits she had planned for her new fiancé on the days he was not pledged to work with the regiment. It would scarcely be any different than before, except now she and Nash would be able to freely plan their future. And one day, when he had earned enough of rank and fortune to take his own property, she and Nash could embark on their own life together.

  With a sigh, she snuggled back into the corner of the carriage, allowing her eyelids to grow heavy as she dreamed about the elegant home they would make, and how envious all her sisters would be of her thrilling, regimental romance...

  Epilogue

  “How charming the house looks decorated just so!”

  “Indeed, yes...it is charming, but - my dear - please do not stand there admiring it! You are obstructing the doorway!”

  Maddy laughed as she steered her hapless husband out of the way of arriving guests, and settled him comfortably in a seat next to his father, while she slipped upstairs to check on Juliet.

  “Maddy! Oh, thank heavens for some sanity!” Juliet cried, when the door to her dressing room opened to admit the last Turner sister.

  “Rude!” Louisa shrieked, turning her sister’s head back to face the mirror. “Now stop fidgeting and let us work.”

  “Poor Juliet, how we are all hanging over you to make you perfect...and how you hate us for it!” Bess sang, smoothing an invisible crease from the pretty jade green dress Juliet had selected for a bridal gown.

  “It’s quite unnecessary,” Juliet said, obediently keeping her head very still while Louisa tended to her hair. “Everybody here has seen me and knows what I look like. It is a farce to try and make me a fashion-plate.”

  “You do want to look well on your wedding day, though, don’t you, dear?” Mrs Turner asked. She was perched on the bed, watching her daughters and surreptitiously dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief when sentiment overwhelmed her.

  “I want to look like myself. Poor Edmund will not recognise me!”

  At last, she could bear it no more and batted her younger sisters away before one last glance in the mirror pronounced her acceptable. Turning to greet Maddy properly, she smiled.

  “Well?”

  “Beautiful!” Maddy agreed. “And quite like yourself.”

  “Just think, Juliet, you might look like this every day if only you took a little time and care,” Louisa observed, entirely ignorant of the sharp look of censure she received in retaliation from her older sister.

  “Well, Bess, come along and let’s find our seats. I want to be close enough to see Edmund’s face when he lays eyes on you!” Grinning, she took Bess by the hand and the two young ladies scurried off, leaving Juliet, Maddy and her mother to make the final touches before following them downstairs to join everyone in the grand room where the wedding would take place.

  “It scarcely looks like Northridge Place at all!” Mrs Turner said, admiring the clutches of flowers placed here and there and ordained with ribbons.

  “Yes, Mrs Gale has such an eye for decoration,” Juliet agreed, with a grin. “It is fortunate, for I am terrible at it, and if we are to host dinners and balls and all manner of celebrations here, I shall have to learn.” She pulled a face, and her mother and sister laughed.

  Maddy glanced over her shoulder, seeing her seat still empty beside her husband, and offered her sister one last embrace before hurrying off to join him. Mrs Turner, too, squeezed Juliet warmly before handing her off to her husband and finding her seat in the crowd of friends and family who had all been invited to share in the happy day.

  “Well, Juliet!” Mr Turner said, smiling at her as they took their places at one end of a long aisle that led the way along the room to where Edmund and Reverend Worthy awaited them. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” Juliet said, her eyes fixing on the uncharacteristically neat head of her husband-to-be and smiling. They had waited a long time to reach this point, she and Edmund. She had seen two other sisters married: Maddy and Robert, sitting contentedly together with his father who had become like a second Papa to all of the Turner girls and was adored by them all; and Bess and Christopher, who sat alongside his sister, who had promised, along with her brother, to provide all the music required at the celebration and leave Bess free simply to enjoy herself. Even Louisa was engaged, although she sat with friends, clutching the note that Nash had written that morning, apologising for his absence, but wishing every happiness to the couple that had become his closest friends and supporters as he continued to work hard and excel in his career. Their wedding would come soon, Juliet knew, but was still some time away yet.

  “What a year it has been, Papa,” she murmured, as they began their slow progress down the aisle. “How quickly it seems to have flown by, and yet how long it has taken to reach this point.”

  Edmund turned, then, catching sight of Juliet for the first time that day, and his entire face erupted in a smile that she could not help but return.

  “Dearly beloved...”

  Reverend Worthy began the familiar verse, and the entire room hushed to listen, as Juliet and Edmund made their first vows to one another as husband and wife, and another happy union was beg
un.

  The End

  Author’s Note

  Thank you so much for reading A Summer Scandal! I hope you enjoyed meeting the Turner family and watching the sisters find their way to their very own happily-ever-afters...

  If you’d like to find out more about me and see the occasional sneak-peek of what else I’m working on, please feel free to join my mailing list or follow me on twitter.

  And if you liked this book please consider leaving a review or telling a friend! Thank you x

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  About the Author

  Rachel Osborne writes historical romance set in a number of time-periods, from the Regency right up to the Second World War. She loves to learn about history and most often has her nose buried in a book, knitting pattern or cup of tea, when not procrastinating on twitter.