Rake walked slowly to her side and pulled out the book she had just placed on the shelf. “Promise me you won’t go to Gretna Green with Thomas or any other man.”
“You can’t ask me to promise you that. I don’t know what lies in my future, and such a promise is impossible to make.”
“Then promise me you won’t go to Gretna Green without telling me, so I have a chance to stop you.”
She laughed outright. He was hilariously outrageous sometimes, this Lord Richard Darling.
“You want me to tell you if I’m about to elope, so you can stop me?”
“Yes. I want you to promise to inform me beforehand, so I have a chance to interfere.”
“If I ever do elope, my reputation would be destroyed immediately, and the only thing to save me then would be a marriage. Do you really think I would then want you to interfere and make sure a marriage never takes place?”
“I might marry you myself, to save you.”
She laughed again. “Then I promise to never elope to Gretna Green, if only to save you from a fate worse than death—marriage.”
Rake chuckled as he ambled toward the door. “With the right woman, marriage would not be a complete waste.”
Praise for Jennifer Wenn
“This was a fantastic book! The plot, the characters, the love, loss, pain, and just everything about life that we know is out there is blended into the pages almost seamlessly as though they were born there. I have no idea what more I can say about this book? Why are you still sitting here! Go and get it, you will not be disappointed!”
~Valkyrie Fatality, Rockin’ & Reviewing (5 Stars)
“I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. Fanny's family is fantastic and it was fun to see how a family of all men deals with the only girl in the family line. I loved the basic plot…a fantastic novel, and I would definitely re-read it.”
~Victoria Lane, The Romance Reviews
~*~
NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE
is a sequel to
A FAMILY AFFAIR,
Both are included in The Royal Family series.
Never Had
a
Dream Come True
by
Jennifer Wenn
The Royal Family, Book Two
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2014 by Jenny Wennergrund
Originally published by Wild Rose Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by AmazonEncore, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and AmazonEncore are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
eISBN: 9781503986398
Cover Designer: Tamra Westberry
This title was previously published by Wild Rose Press; this version has been reproduced from Wild Rose Press archive files.
Dedication
Molly, Max, Wilmer and Emma ~
You are my dream come true
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
A word about the author...
Chapter One
August 1813
“Having a nice swim, are we?”
Lady Penelope de Vere closed her eyes in horror as she heard the too-familiar voice.
Unfortunately, surprise made her forget her current floating position in the lake at Chester Park. As she stiffened in response, she sank like a stone.
Sputtering, she reappeared from the lukewarm water, silently hoping her imagination was playing tricks on her. Please, dear Lord, don’t let Rake be there when I open my eyes, she prayed, but in vain.
Lord Richard Darling leaned, relaxed, against the trunk of a willow by the shore. With his arms crossed over his broad chest and his normal amused grin in place, he looked just as handsome and rakish as ever.
She had never felt more mortified, but, too proud to let him know, she only bowed her head slightly in greeting while ignoring the water that ran from her hair across the corner of her eye.
“My lord.”
“My lady.”
His amusement was even more apparent as he returned the somewhat misplaced greeting with a highly arched eyebrow. His grin deepened, letting her know without words how hilarious he found her.
“I hope all’s well with you?”
She murmured a polite answer, not able to come up with something witty and intelligent. All she wanted was for him to go away and leave her alone, but to her chagrin it seemed he had no such intention.
“And how are your parents?”
So, he was going to have some fun as she was in this awkward position? She straightened her back, as much as the water treading allowed her, and gave him the small polite smile she saved for persons she couldn’t wait to get rid of. “They are fine, thank you.”
“And your sister fares well?”
“Yes, thank you. Charmaine and our parents are still in London but will be returning soon.”
“It must be hard being the youngest and having to stay behind while your family is off to London for the Season.”
“Not really.” She shrugged, and just managed to save herself from ending up under the surface again. “I would have been much more miserable caught all alone in our townhouse than I am here in the countryside, enjoying life under the guardianship of your parents.”
Unconsciously he glanced toward the magnificent castle hovering above them with all its towers and pinnacles. His eyes lost their usual arrogance for a short second and the love he felt for his home and his parents was evident.
Penny caught herself from sighing in awe. He was such a handsome man. His dark brown hair framed his strong face lovingly. He was tall and broad shouldered, opposite of the gracious and slender wisp that was the height of fashion these days.
Not that his unfashionable looks made him any less popular among the opposite sex. He was a devoted libertine, infamous for his affairs with more women than anyone could count.
But strangely enough that didn’t matter in the eyes of the loving mothers of society. Even though he was the seventh and youngest son of the Duke of Berkeley and not once had hinted that he wanted to change his lecherous lifestyle, he still was one of the most eligible bachelors of society.
“I cannot thank your parents enough for inviting me to stay here with them and Francesca. They have made sure I had the most wonderful time.”
He nodded absentmindedly, still gazing at the castle. “They are the best.”
Love filled her heart as she thought about his parents. They were indeed the best; she would never disagree with him about that.
Her own parents were not the most affectionate, and she had more than once wished they would grant her just a little of the love the duke and duchess showered upon their loved ones.
It was saddening to think Rake’s parents of
fered her more love than her own did.
Lord and Lady Nester had not been able to hide their relief when the duchess asked if Penny could stay with them at Chester Park during the Season.
To them it was the perfect solution.
They didn’t want their underaged daughter with them in London needing to be entertained somehow when all they wanted was to show off their gem, the beautiful Charmaine, and thrive in her popularity as the incomparable queen of the ton.
“We were told you all were going to arrive tomorrow.” Penny changed the subject shyly, and he woke from his thoughts.
“Ah yes.” His usual arrogant face was firmly in place again. “It was the plan, but then I had some friends who were passing here, and so I took the chance of getting here earlier. I haven’t seen my parents for a couple of months now, and selfishly I wanted them to myself for a few hours. As soon as all my brothers return, there is hardly any chance for a private talk, you know.”
“Your parents will love having you all to themselves, if only for a mere day.”
“Well, not all to themselves, I presume.” He grinned. “You, Fanny, and Charles are also crowding Chester Park.”
She looked up at the enormous castle that contained hundreds of rooms and shook her head mentally. “Crowding?”
When she met his smoky grey eyes again, they were laughing at her, and she blushed, mortified over her own stupidity and that she offered it to him so easily for his teasing.
“We’ll try to keep ourselves out of your way,” she murmured, and couldn’t stop a small shiver.
The water felt much colder under the willow than out in the sun, even though it was August and summer still ruled. She glanced longingly at the blanket which she had left in the sunlit grass. The mere thought of covering herself with its dry warmth made her shiver even more.
If only Rake hadn’t been there.
She knew she looked a mess, with her hair wet and tangled and her chemise completely soaked. It shouldn’t bother her, as this was only Rake, her best friend’s uncle, whom she had known for her whole life, but it did. And all because her silly heart had decided many years ago that it was madly in love with him, and she knew by experience there was nothing she could do about it.
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders for strength. This was not the time to let her awkwardness toward him get her sick. She swam closer to the shore until her feet touched the sandy bottom, and before she could change her mind she started to make her way out of the water.
Not until she had passed the muddy part of the shore and regained her balance and posture did she look up at him. To her surprise he had lost his mirth and instead was frowning at her, as if something bothered him immensely.
“Do you mind?” she asked, with a gesture toward her blanket at his feet, but he only blinked at her, as if his thoughts were miles away.
“I would like to change my clothes without an audience,” she advised, and finally she caught his attention. He lifted his head and met her eyes, and this time it was she who unwillingly frowned.
Something was different.
She had never seen him look at her like this. His eyes were all dark and smoldering, and something warm started to build up inside her in response.
“I don’t mind at all.” A lazy grin grew upon his handsome face. “Please don’t let my humble person stop you from getting warm and dry.”
She frowned at him again, not wanting to change into her dress in front of him. The mere thought of him watching her squirm out of the wet chemise while hiding behind the blanket made her groan.
“Was that an agreement?”
She decided wisely enough to ignore him, and instead she crossed her arms over her chest, bracing herself against his constant teasing. “Could you please just go away, so I can change my clothes in private?”
“No.”
“No?”
He took a step closer to her, forcing her to bend her head backwards to be able to look into his eyes. “No,” he breathed, and something in his voice made her heart skip a beat.
She had never met this Rake before.
Being his niece’s best friend since she was a little girl had made her as interesting to him as a piece of furniture. If he hadn’t any use for her, like fetching him his book or getting him a scone, he mostly ignored her.
She, on the other hand, had stayed as close to him as she possibly could, just in case he would talk to her. Fetching a book was a small price to pay if the man of your dreams noticed your existence for two whole seconds.
But even then he had never looked at her like he did now. It was like she was the scone he wanted to eat.
The cold damp chemise made her shiver, and again his eyes darted downwards. “Bloody hell,” he muttered, and her frown deepened.
What on earth was making him groan like this? She followed his gaze and gasped as she realized the source of his interest. The damp cloth didn’t hide anything. Her breasts were just as visible as if she had been standing naked in front of him.
She immediately lifted her arms higher, concealing her bosom from his eyes.
“That’s too bad.” He grimaced disappointed.
“Take your eyes off my person,” she ordered, outraged, and when he looked up into her eyes the raw need in his dark gaze made her blush intensely.
“Why?” he asked, with a pout worthy of a small child.
“Why?” she gasped again.
“I must admit I like it when you gasp.”
“W-what?” she stuttered, not knowing how to handle this strange Rake.
He gave her a slow smile which made her forget to breathe. “Your gasps make you even more enchanting, as your cheeks turn such a pretty pink out of embarrassment.”
She did not know what to say. Or more importantly, she did not know what to think. Was she dreaming? Had Rake, the secret love of her life, just called her enchanting?
Her treacherous heart rejoiced, but this was not the time to celebrate. With a whimper, she reached down, scooped up the blanket from the ground, and held it in front of her.
“G-go away from here.” She was too embarrassed to care about how impolitely she addressed him. All she wanted was for him to disappear and let her collect the scattered pieces of herself again.
“Can’t say I want to,” he drawled softly. He lifted his hand and let a finger lightly trace the edge of the blanket covering her chest.
“Oh, my God.”
His smoldering gaze burnt her as he leaned even closer to her, until his lips almost touched her ear.
“You may call me Rake,” he whispered softly.
His teasing woke her up from her stupor. With another gasp she stumbled backwards until she had put enough distance between the two of them.
“Coward,” he whispered softly, and she glared at him in a desperate attempt to intimidate him, but it only gained her another slow smile and a beckoning with his finger asking her to come closer again.
“No, thank you,” she said icily. “I would prefer for you to remove yourself from this area now. Please.”
“Are you sure?” he grinned, and she nodded most haughtily.
“Yes I am.”
“I don’t mind you changing your clothes in front of me, as I have already seen your entire beautiful person.”
She blushed again but didn’t answer his rakish teasing; instead she nodded toward the lake.
“It seems you have missed that Fanny is in the lake, too. As you can see, she is closing in on us, and as she is dressed just as I am…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but he got her meaning anyway, and he visibly blanched at the thought of seeing his niece practically naked. His eyes darted to the lake, where Francesca swam with her usual strong strokes toward them.
“Tell Fanny I’ll be waiting for her in the library so she can tell me how much she has missed me.”
He gave the very efficient blanket a disappointed look before he turned and walked toward the castle.
B
efore she could stop herself, she called out after him, “Coward.”
He stopped mid stride and looked back toward her over his shoulder with one of his perfect black eyebrows arched.
She offered him her best look of feigned innocence which obviously didn’t fool him for a second.
“So, you are trying to play my game?” It wasn’t hard to see he was quite amused. She could tell by the way his left eyebrow arched even more upwards.
He took a step back toward her, and she gasped, horrified. She gave a quick glance at Francesca, who now had reached the shore, and he hesitated.
He obviously didn’t want to see his niece with as little clothing as Penny, and with one last lingering look toward her, which she ignored blushingly, he continued on his way toward the castle.
“Was that Rake?”
Francesca’s voice, filled with joy, cut through Penny’s thoughts, and she gave her friend a nod and a reassuring smile. Her friend squealed with delight and hastened to dry herself. After diving into her dress, she rushed off toward the castle, where her uncle had promised to await her.
With shivering fingers Penny put her own dress back on, ignoring the still damp chemise. Slowly she walked toward Chester Park, her head filled with irrational thoughts, none of which made any sense.
Her deep sigh echoed as she walked through the portal leading into the grand courtyard. For as long as she could remember, she had lived for the day Rake would finally see her as the woman she had become. Every night she had dreamt about how he would come to her vowing to die if she didn’t give in and make him the luckiest man ever by marrying him.
And today he had seen her. He had told her exactly how attractive he found her.
And all she wanted to do was cry.
Why did he do this to her? Why?
His timing couldn’t be worse, as she finally had decided she couldn’t waste her life and happiness on a dream that would never come true. Francesca had nagged her about this for years, and in the end Penny had to give in. She too realized Rake would never be hers. At least not as she wanted him—desperately in love with her.
And that was the sole reason why yesterday she had accepted Thomas Bedford’s wish to court her.
Never Had a Dream Come True Page 1
