The Bed and the Bachelor

by Tracy Anne Warren

  The servants exclaimed with surprise, then delight, their affront rapidly dissipating. Even Mrs. Tremble was on the verge of forgiving her—or at least she had been until she found out that Sebastianne would be living in Drake’s town house until the wedding.

  “It ain’t proper,” the cook protested. “Ye’re marrying Quality now, and ye ought to behave as such. And I don’t care if yer brothers and father are staying here too. We’ve all met the lot of them. They’re hardly fit chaperones, even if they’re sweet as a picnic hamper full of jam tarts.”

  “She’ll come around,” Drake told Sebastianne, as her attention returned to the present. “Mrs. Tremble is just set in her ways, but she’ll adjust. You won her over once; you’ll do it again.”

  “I hope so. Surely she must see that Papa and the boys and I cannot remove to a hotel.” And the notion of living at Clybourne House, or worse Braebourne, was out of the question, she added silently. She was nervous enough meeting his mother, but living alone with his family . . . no, she would just have to bear a bit of disapproval. Besides, her reputation was ruined already, she rationalized, so what did it matter where she resided for the next month?

  He turned her slightly in his arms. “Speaking of accommodations, it has come to my attention that the town house is rather cramped now that we are a family of five. I was looking at some land west of the city. I wondered what you might think of building a house there?”

  “A house? For us all?” she said, faintly amazed. “But I just assumed you would want Papa and the boys to take up residence elsewhere, you know, after we are married.”

  “No, love. You would be lost without them, and curious as it is to say, I’m coming to enjoy my daily discussions with your father. He’s fascinating. As for Julien and Luc—”

  “Yes?”

  “They’re wonderful young men, and they’ll be excellent uncles when the time arrives for us to start our family.”

  Something inside her melted, her love growing deeper if that was possible. Leaning forward, she crushed her mouth to his for a thorough and highly satisfying kiss.

  “A house in the west sounds grand,” she murmured. “We’ll make it big, so there is plenty of room.”

  He nodded, brushing his lips across hers again. “Yes, very big. After all, I am excellent at addition.”

  She was leaning forward for another kiss when the sound of whispering skirts broke the quiet.

  “Ahem,” a gentle feminine voice said. “Forgive the intrusion. I can always come back.”

  Sebastianne tried to whirl away from Drake, but he caught her hand and drew her arm through his. “Not at all,” he said, “I was just discussing residences with Sebastianne while we waited.”

  The dowager smiled. “So I see.”

  “Mama, allow me to present my future bride, Madame Sebastianne Dumont.”

  Ava Byron gazed at her out of soft green eyes—eyes that looked amazingly like Drake’s. “How do you do, my dear?”

  Sebastianne made a short curtsey. “A pleasure, Your Grace. Thank you for inviting me to your home.”

  The dowager glanced at Drake. “I can see why you chose her. She’s lovely.”

  Stepping closer to Sebastianne, the dowager duchess stretched out a delicate hand. “You are obviously a very special woman to have captured my son’s regard. I was afraid for a time that he was going to make good on his pledge to remain a bachelor. His head is so often in the clouds, you know.”

  “Yes, but he is so brilliant and interesting and so very kind that a little distraction now and then makes no matter,” Sebastianne said. “At least not to me.”

  Warmth blossomed in the dowager’s gaze, along with love. “Nor to me.” Leaning near, she kissed Sebastianne’s cheek and squeezed her hand. “Welcome to the family, my dear. You shall make a fine addition to this irrepressible brood of mine.”

  Drake sent Sebastianne a quick glance that said I told you so.

  She began to relax.

  “And now for my news,” the dowager said, suddenly beaming like a giddy schoolgirl. “What would you two think of having a double wedding?”

  “Double wedding?” Drake said, looking nonplussed. “Who else is getting married?”

  “Me! Lord Saxon has asked me to be his wife, and I have said yes.”

  “Saxon!” Drake goggled. “Viscount Saxon, you mean?”

  “The very one. Just because you didn’t get on with his daughter doesn’t mean I have to pass up the father.”

  Drake made a choking sound.

  “Come,” she told them, dragging Sebastianne toward one of the damask-covered sofas. “I shall tell you all about it over tea. Croft should be in any moment with the tray. Now, my dear”—she settled Sebastianne at her side—“you’re a widow too, even if you’re still quite young. How do you feel about white wedding gowns?”

  Glancing across at Drake’s shocked, pale face, Sebastianne began to laugh. Suddenly, she knew she was going to love being a Byron.

  Acknowledgments

  My sincere gratitude to—

  My editor, Lucia Macro,

  and my agent, Helen Breitwieser.

  Emmanuelle Jappont for her invaluable assistance

  with French expressions and translations.

  Merci beaucoup, Manue!

  My kitty cats—

  Christofur, Violetta and Georgianna—

  who always keep me company while I write.

  And last, but never least,

  to Leslie.

  I couldn’t do it without you, sis.

  About the Author

  TRACY ANNE WARREN grew up in a small central Ohio town. After working for a number of years in finance, she quit her day job to pursue her first love—writing romance novels. Warren lives in Maryland with a trio of exuberant young Siamese rescue cats and windows full of gorgeous orchids and African violets. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and dreaming up the characters for her next book.

  Visit her website at www.tracyannewarren.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  By Tracy Anne Warren

  The Bed and the Bachelor

  Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed

  At the Duke’s Pleasure

  Seduced By His Touch

  Tempted By His Kiss

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  THE BED AND THE BACHELOR. Copyright © 2011 by Tracy Anne Warren. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 9780062033277

  FIRST EDITION

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