Regency Romance Collection: Regency Fire: The Historical Regency Romance Complete Series (Books 1-5)

by Bridget Barton

  I do not dread my day of judgment for I feel sure that, once I am in the great beyond, I shall be able to make my peace and finally live in happiness with the only woman I have ever loved. Lady Verity Farrington. My Verity.”

  When Richard Cunningham had finished reading, both men remained silent for several moments.

  In the end, Gabriel chose not to break that silence but simply rose to his feet and crossed the room to stand before the Duke of Horndean. As he fixed his eyes upon Richard Cunningham, Gabriel held out his hand to receive the handshake that he could never have thought possible.

  * * *

  The End

  Scroll down for a Sneak Peek of my upcoming novel “A Governess for the Brooding Duke”

  A Governess for the Brooding Duke

  Sneak Peek

  Chapter One

  “Are you telling me, Mr Wharton, that there is really nothing at all? My father left me nothing?” Georgette Darrington was so shocked that she felt nauseous.

  “I am afraid not, Miss Darrington. It is not that he chose to leave you nothing, my dear. Rather the sale of the house will barely cover the debts he accrued in his lifetime. In truth, he has made it clear that you shall be the sole beneficiary of whatever the residue is after the debts are cleared. Unfortunately, there is no residue.”

  “But he will have known this, Mr Wharton. My father would have been very well aware of the size of his debts and the value of his house. He would have known very well that he was leaving me destitute, and yet he chose to say nothing. He chose to give me not one moment’s grace to gather my thoughts and work out what I ought to do next.”

  “I daresay things feel awfully raw at the moment, Miss Darrington. It is only a week since you buried your father, and this must be a most distressing time for you.” Mr Wharton delivered what Georgette thought was truly the biggest understatement she had ever heard.

  Georgette had mourned her father as much as it was possible for her to do given the relationship they had. His passing had distressed her and had rather given her the feeling of being an orphan, despite being almost one and twenty years of age.

  The reading of the will, however, was truly equally as distressing. In many ways, more so, because it was tinged with fear. Of course, when the reality of it finally settled itself within her mind, Georgette Darrington knew that she would no longer be simply afraid but would be rather terrified. Because, if what the attorney was telling her was absolutely true, then she was not simply homeless, but also penniless.

  “Raw?” Georgette said, surprised by how calm her voice sounded. “Yes, I daresay.”

  “And you have no family to go to?” Mr Wharton was asking a question he already knew the answer to.

  The reason Georgette Darrington was the sole heiress to her father’s estate, albeit a non-existent one, was because there were no male heirs, even in terms of extended family. In truth, Georgette was the very last of the Darringtons, and her father had no other family to speak of. If she had any relations remaining on her mother’s side, then Georgette did not know it. And, in any case, nobody, man or woman, would have inherited in Georgette’s maternal family anyway.

  In truth, she rather wished that her mother had come from a bigger family. If she had, then Georgette would not be entirely alone and without options at that moment. She would have had, if nothing else, at least a few relations to whom to write and beg for shelter. And it would have been begging in every sense of the word, for it would seem that she would not even have a few pounds a year with which to keep herself. Georgette’s father had spent every last penny and more besides.

  Edward Darrington had neither been an easy father nor a hard one. He was simply incredibly detached from his only child, presumably disappointed that she was not a male. It had always struck her that he was further disappointed that she was the one and only child he and his wife had managed to produce in the fifteen years they shared together before Georgette’s mother had died.

  Whilst he had not particularly showered the motherless Georgette with affection, he had not specifically made many demands of her either. In truth, she had been rather left to go her own way and, if she was entirely honest, had quite liked it.

  Georgette had not especially thought much of marriage beforehand, rather thinking herself to have a good deal of time in which to contemplate the matter. And her father, seemingly having no ambitions for her in that sense, simply left her to herself.

  Edward Darrington had not urged her to find a man of wealth or title, nor even one who had neither of those things. In truth, Georgette had been quite grateful for it, for she had known many a young woman with a rather determined family forcing her into the path of a man she did not want.

  “Mr Wharton, I have no family,” Georgette said, bleakly. “I have no family; I have no money, and now I have no home. I truly have nothing, do I?” She looked up at him with sorrowful, dark brown eyes.

  “Did you have no notion whatsoever of your father’s spending?” Mr Wharton said, although his tone was in no way judgemental.

  “I knew that my father liked the card tables and the drink; I just did not know how much. What I mean is, I had no idea how much he was spending on the card tables. It must have been the card tables, after all, for a man could not spend an entire house on drink and live to be fifty, could he?”

  “No, indeed.” Mr Wharton shook his head sadly. “Your father, I am afraid to say, is reputed to have developed the habit of bidding rather large amounts. Perhaps he was simply trying to win back enough money to save himself and thought the larger amounts might do it.”

  “No, I know my father a little better than that. He liked the thrill of such things. He would bet on anything, as long as there was something to be gained from it. I daresay that, in the end, with the thrill lessening, the only way to get that same excitement back would be to gamble larger amounts.”

  “Whatever the reason, my dear Miss Darrington, it would appear that he has left you in rather a sorry sort of a state.”

  “I simply cannot imagine, nor do I really want to hear, the figure that my father owed. Our townhouse in London, when it is sold, would certainly fetch a tremendous amount of money. If that barely pays my father’s debts, then I feel truly ashamed of him.”

  As she spoke of their London townhouse, Georgette felt her throat tighten. For the first time since the terrible news had been delivered, she rather feared that she might cry. In her mind’s eye, she was looking up at the huge house with its white stone frontage and great columns either side of an immense black door. There were four floors to the great house and windows everywhere. She could hardly believe that it would very soon no longer be her home.

  And what of the staff? Her father had kept a butler and housekeeper, a valet, a cook, and two maids. Not to mention a stable-hand.

  “Oh, my goodness, I am going to have to tell the staff, am I not?” Georgette’s voice trembled audibly. “And really, I have no idea what I am to say to them. They will have to find work elsewhere and at such short notice.”

  “Just be sure to promise them all a very good character reference. If they are good staff and are provided with a good character, then they will manage perfectly well. They will find work very easily in London in another home of good standing,” the attorney said kindly. “You have other concerns, Miss Darrington. It is time to think of yourself and only yourself.”

  “I do not know where to begin.”

  “Forgive me for asking, nay intruding, Miss Darrington, but do you have an understanding of any sort with a young man? Is marriage a possibility at this juncture?”

  “You need not ask for my forgiveness, Mr Wharton. It is clear that you are simply trying to help me,” Georgette said, blinking hard. “And no, I do not have an understanding with anybody. And I daresay that now, that would be quite impossible.”

  “Perhaps not impossible,” Mr Wharton said, but Georgette could tell from his tone that he was simply trying to soothe her.

  For George
tte knew that it was impossible. Even if she had hoped to marry for love, still there would have been certain expectations of finance, status, and class that any future husband would expect. Of course, had she already been well on her way to marriage, it would likely not have been an issue. However, to actually tempt a young man into matrimony when she had nothing to offer but her homeless and penniless status would be impossible. Not only that but where was she to meet such a young man now?

  Despite the fact that she was the daughter of a minor baron, the Honorable Miss Georgette Darrington, no less, still, she had nothing. And her title was so minor that it would not matter to anybody, and she would probably do well to forget it. In truth, it was barely a title at all.

  “Mr Wharton, you know as well as I do that invitations are not going to come quite thick and fast to me anymore. After all, where would they be sent? I have no home.” Georgette felt thoroughly miserable. “I suppose this shall be the test of my friends, shall it not? Let us see, when all is known, and everybody has heard of the downturn in my fortunes, just how many of my friends and acquaintances are keen to see me.”

  “You are looking into the future already, Miss Darrington. You will upset yourself even more than is necessary with thoughts of friends and acquaintances. They are, as are the staff, much further down your list.”

  The ageing attorney rose from the seat behind his desk and strode towards the door of his office. When he opened it, Georgette could hear him speaking to the housekeeper and asking for some tea to be sent in. In truth, Georgette thought that she would hardly be able to swallow the tea, even if she tried.

  For a few moments, Georgette simply looked around the austere office. She wondered if she would ever see inside it again, or ever need the services of an attorney. After all, the very poorest would hardly expect such things, would they?

  Feeling almost as if she had slipped into a dream, Georgette stared hazily around the room. She let her eyes fall upon the two walls which were lined with shelves. There was not a spare space on any of the shelves, each and every one of them crammed to capacity with great leather-bound legal volumes and stated cases.

  The remaining walls were painted a rather dark and unappealing green colour, a sort of brownish green which, added to the fact that the windows were really rather small, made the whole room seemed cramped and somewhat airless.

  “I have asked for some tea to be sent in, Miss Darrington. I realize what a dreadful shock you have had, and I cannot imagine quite how you must be feeling.”

  “You are very kind, Mr Wharton. In truth, I cannot say for sure that I shall be able to drink the tea, but I shall try nonetheless.” Georgette realized that she was being incredibly polite and wondered quite where she might need such manners in the future. Would she ever be in good society again?

  “It rather feels like the only comfort I can offer you, my dear,” he said and, judging by his expression of sad helplessness, he clearly meant it.

  “Mr Wharton, what on earth should I do?” Georgette said, just as the housekeeper bustled into the room carrying a laden tea-tray.

  Mr Wharton waited until his housekeeper had set their tea things and left the room before he spoke again.

  “In truth, there are very few options for a young lady of breeding who has fallen on hard times. However, you do have an exemplary education and the wit and intelligence to make good use of it.”

  “By teaching?” Georgette said. “But surely, to open a dame school, one needs to at least have a house in which to teach the children.”

  “I was not talking of setting up a school, my dear. As you quite rightly point out, you shall have no accommodations for such a thing. No, I was rather thinking of your perhaps taking up a position as a governess.” The moment he had finished speaking, the old attorney looked down into his teacup.

  “A governess?” Georgette said, unable to hide the mixture of surprise and disappointment in her voice. “I could not possibly become a governess. Really, I could not.”

  “But it would be a most suitable method of overcoming your particular struggles at the moment, Miss Darrington. You would be provided with food and board and, assuming you are able to procure the right position in the right household, you would be paid quite reasonably.”

  “I had never thought that my life would come to this. I had never for one moment imagined that I would become a governess, a stranger in the home of others, no prospects nor even security. I can hardly bear it, Mr Wharton.” And, finally, Georgette Darrington began to cry. “I am terribly sorry, do forgive me,” she said between sniffs as she drew an immaculate white lace handkerchief from the long sleeve of her gown.

  “I realize that this has all come as a terrible shock, and for you to have to make a decision about your future so very quickly is truly appalling, Miss Darrington. But make a decision you must, my dear, because you have so little time. Please believe me that I would not have suggested such a position had I not thought of everything else possible. In truth, there is no respectable job for a lady of genteel upbringing who has suddenly found herself impoverished. No respectable job, that is, except governess. I am rather afraid that so many young ladies turn to the profession because they have found themselves suddenly as you have, in dire financial straits and with no other options. I really am most terribly sorry.”

  “Then that is it, is it not? My future is set.” She shook her head in disbelief. She looked at the clock on the wall and could hardly believe that only twenty minutes had passed since first she had heard of her terrible circumstances.

  Only that morning, as she had prepared herself to visit her attorney for the reading of her father’s will, Georgette had found herself wondering quite what the future would hold. She knew that she would not miss her father a great deal, even though his passing had saddened her. He had never been a particularly warm man, and since her mother passed when she was but fifteen years, he had taken very little notice of her at all.

  But he had provided for her and provided well. He had ensured that she was as well-educated as her mother had always wanted her to be, and she truly wanted for nothing. Whilst she was not an ostentatious young lady, she knew that she had only to ask for a new gown and a dressmaker would be sent for. It was not a thing that she took great advantage of, but it had always been rather a comfort to know that she was well looked after.

  If only she had known the truth. If only her father had told her long ago of their troubles, then at least she would have had time to plan. She would not have so easily dismissed out of hand the attentions of many a suitable young man. Had her father been honest with her, Georgette would have realized the importance of being realistic, rather than carefree and most exacting in her wants concerning a husband.

  If only her father had given her that one thing. If only he had given her time, for surely that was not something he had gambled away also.

  Chapter Two

  “Do take a seat, Miss … Miss …?” Mr Shelford Winstanley, proprietor of the Winstanley Employment Registry, had clearly forgotten her name the moment she had given it.

  Had she described herself as the Honorable Miss Georgette Darrington, then perhaps he might not have forgotten it quite so readily. However, Georgette knew that when one was penniless and homeless, to describe oneself in such a way was simply ridiculous.

  “Darrington. Georgette Darrington,” she said, a little impatiently.

  “Yes, of course,” he said and smiled at her. He had rather a long nose, and his small, beady eyes were quite close together. All in all, Georgette rather thought that he looked like some sort of bird of prey. “And please do take a seat, Miss Darrington,” he insisted again, this time holding a chair out for her.

  “Thank you, Mr Winstanley.”

  Georgette had only ever heard of employment registries because that was where her father tended to procure servants for his own household. And he had always referred to such establishments as servant registries because, in truth, that was exactly what they were. Eve
rybody of her acquaintance referred to them as servant registries, and she could not help thinking that Mr Winstanley was somehow trying to give himself airs or at least give his little establishment airs, at any rate.

  When she had first told her dearest friend, Henrietta Sheridan, of the dreadful circumstances in which she found herself, she had barely been able to speak the words. When she had finally come to tell Henrietta that she intended to find a good servant registry and offer her services in the hope of employment, she had simply cried. And Henrietta had cried also.

  “Is it really so very bad, Georgette?” Henrietta had said, dabbing at her eyes with a crisp white handkerchief as Georgette herself did the very same.

  “It is as bad as it can possibly be, Henrietta. The house in which we now sit in is soon to be sold to the highest bidder so that my father’s gambling debts might be paid off.”