Regency Romance: The Earl’s Unexpected Journey Of Love (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (Historical Romance Fiction)
Page 17
“She is not untouchable. I can guarantee that.”
“I think I know what you are going to do.”
Bryan just smiled at his friend. He was going to take this as a challenge and see what would become of it. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt the woman. He just wanted to see if he could get her attention.
He stood up.
“My lord, you must be careful. This kind of behavior will be frowned upon. You know this.”
Bryan frowned slightly, halting in his tracks. He looked down at Matthew. “Be careful?”
Matthew nodded and leaned forward to speak in a low, conspiratorial voice. “If you hurt her, there are people who will take you to task. She is beloved in this city. And in places beyond where she has traveled. She has many friends. You don’t want to step out of turn.”
Hearing those words intrigued Bryan. What was it about that woman that made so many people want to protect her and keep her safe? He had to know. It couldn’t just be her beauty. What could it be? Was she really that charming?
He nodded at Matthew. “I’ll heed your warning, cousin. Thank you.”
He’d approached Anna with a drink in hand. He handed it to her with a bow and a smile. “I would like to introduce myself, my lady. Duke Bryan Michael Watson at your service. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Anna gave him a huge smile and he felt his heart leaving his chest. He knew that from that moment on, that smile was all he wanted to see.
“Lady Anna Maddy. It is nice to meet you. How do you do?”
He thought he saw something in her eyes. They seemed to sparkle at him when she looked at him. She held out her hand and he took it, lowering himself at the waist to kiss it. His instinct was to make a trail of kisses up her arm and then pull her to him, but he knew that was completely the wrong thing to do. He restrained himself to the best of his ability.
He stood up straight and gazed directly in her green eyes. The smile didn’t leave her face. She let her eyes linger on him for a lengthy moment before moving them to someone standing nearby. Then she looked back at him.
“Have you been in the city long?” She asked.
“I have, yes. I’ve lived here for most of my life. You?”
“I have traveled extensively in my time. And I never tire of it. I’m ready to go back out and see the sights of the world. But I cannot. I must wait for a while.”
Bryan lifted his eyebrows. “Why must you wait, my lady?”
“As you may or may not know, I have a son, Drake. He is still in his schooling and this is the home that he knows. Until he is finished with the academy and becomes involved in the family business, I am unable to travel extensively.”
“Will he be joining your father in banking?”
Anna raised her eyebrows. “You know my father?”
“I do, yes, if your father is Frank Duprey. He handles banking issues for my family’s company, Watson Furniture.”
Anna nodded. “Oh, I see. Yes, Drake plans to join my father in banking. He was not interested in the construction business, before the accident that took my husband last year. He is even less interested now.”
“Completely understandable.”
“I agree.”
“If you have any room, my lady, I would like to put my name on your dance card.”
The look on Anna’s face was priceless. She stared at him for a moment before handing him her card without a word. He put his name on the card for the next dance.
CHAPTER TWO
ANNA’S DILEMMA
At the same time, Anna was thinking about the events of the night before. The Christmas season had always been her favorite. She wanted to be as festive as possible and made sure that she wore the brightest greens and reds she could. She longed for snow but so far, it had only rained.
She sat up in bed, grateful that a fire had already been started in the hearth of her room. She enjoyed getting out of bed to a warm room. She would have to express her continued gratitude to Martha when she saw the young scullery maid.
She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stretched up toward the ceiling. She felt exhilarated, excited, happy. She also didn’t know why she felt that way. In the back of her mind, a young Duke had her attention. She was trying to block it out by humming a tune while she got ready. Quickly she realized she was humming the song she had danced to with young Duke Watson.
She felt somewhat confused. There was surely no way that he was much older than her own son. He was no more than 23, she was positive. She didn’t feel in danger when she danced with him. She didn’t feel out of place or wrong. In fact, she felt perfectly matched in his arms, spinning around the dance floor. She allowed his face to come to the front of her mind and held his image there for a time. He was tall and had sweeping dark hair. His eyes were a tremendous hazel color, his gaze was sharp as a tack. His arms were strong when he held her to him as they danced. His hands were sculpted works of art.
She shook her head. Apparently, this young Duke had very much caught her eye.
A knock at the door brought her attention back to reality.
“Mother?” The door opened and Drake put his head in. “Mother, are you decent? May I come in?”
“I think it would be a little too late if I was not decent, Drake. What do you need?” Anna stood up, taking her robe in hand and crossing the room as she pulled it around her shoulders, sliding her arms into the sleeves gracefully.
Drake smiled at her. “You are never not decent, mother.”
Anna laughed. “What is it, Drake? What do you need?”
“I have a plan for the Christmas Festival and I was told to consult you about it. It’s for church.”
“You were asked to be in charge again this year? That’s wonderful news, Drake. I’m so proud of you.” Anna gathered her son in her arms and gave him a warm hug. He returned it and when he pulled away, he had a large smile plastered on his face.
“You seem really happy, mother. Has something changed? Is someone courting you?”
Anna was taken aback. She took a step back from him. “Why would you say that? No, I’m not being courted.”
It is currently at $0.99 (around 250 pages).
CHECK OUT THE LINK BELOW
Click Here To See How The Story Ends . . .
JOIN MY MONTHLY GIVEAWAY CONTEST NOW!
CLICK THIS LINK below to get started…
ALSO BY JESSIE BENNETT
Faces of Love Series
1. LINK: Book 1 - Thawing A Duke’s Heart
2. LINK: Book 2 - The Lady’s Torn Heart
3. LINK: Book 3 - A Brazen Lady And The Shunned Duke
The Chronicles of Loyalty Series
1. LINK: Revealing A Marchioness’s Heart
The Inheritance Saga Series
1. LINK: To Capture The Duke’s Heart
LINK: To Love A Viscount
The Fairbank Series
Prequel LINK: The Marquess’ Temptation
1. LINK: The Marquess’ Curse (Love & Hearts)
2. LINK: More For A Duke (The Familial Adventures)
3. LINK: Loving The Reluctant Viscount (Love & Hearts)
4. LINK: Duke’s Forbidden Love (Love & Hearts)
5. LINK: The Earl’s Unexpected Journey of Love (Love & Hearts)
LINK : The Duke’s Dark Secret (Truth & Lies)
Acknowledgement
Thank you for taking your time and energy to read “The Earl’s Unexpected Journey of Love”. Without your continuous support, I would not have written this book.
Wherever you are, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. I also want to thank my wonderful Facebook fans, my advance copy reviewers and beta readers in advance for making this series a success
If You Have Enjoyed This Book…
…. We would really, really appreciate it if you would help us tell other readers how much you have enjoyed this book by leaving us a review. To us, reviews are like little gold pieces and they help persuade other readers to
give the novels a chance. More readers will encourage our authors to write more quality novels, and that means we will continue to produce highly-entertaining stories. Please give your unbiased reviews by CLICKING HERE.
Publisher’s Notes
This book is copyright © 2016 & 2017 by JESSIE BENNETT & CARLTON HOUSE PUBLISHING CO.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.