Once Upon A Regency

by Samantha Grace

  “Avonlea?” The mention of that name appeared to surprise the captain, but he said nothing more. “Go on. Forgive the interruption.”

  Harmony withdrew a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe the tears now falling on her plump cheeks. “Winnie, your mother was killed just before your first birthday. You see, your father had been receiving strange little love notes from someone unknown that he never took seriously until he married and those missives became lurid and disquieting. He continued to receive those notes after your mother’s death, so fearing for your safety when those notes began to mention you, he asked us to take you in.”

  Prudence also had her handkerchief out. “We willingly did so, and when he suddenly died a few months after he’d buried your mother, we got scared and packed up. We lived in Dover at the time and thought it best to move us all north to Grasmere.”

  Harmony nodded. “We wove a tale about your father being a baron to throw the killer off the scent, should he... or she... be looking for us. We hoped this unknown person would not think to look for a child who was a lady. We thought our plan quite clever. Even your father had been careful in making the arrangements to deliver you to us. No one knew you’d been sent to us, or so we thought.”

  “We were all distraught and still reeling from the loss of your mother,” Serenity said, picking up the conversation, “and suddenly, your father was gone. Protecting you became our only concern. I still don’t understand how that madwoman found us.”

  Prudence sighed. “We’ve been in hiding since your first birthday.”

  Winnie’s hands were now curled into fists, and she was struggling to control her anguish. She wanted to bury her head against the captain’s shoulder and cry until all her tears were spent, but she didn’t know what he was thinking and could not bear to be spurned by him after everything else that had happened today.

  She’d regain her strength by tomorrow and could pretend that her heart wasn’t breaking when he walked away. “How did my mother die?”

  Serenity continued the story. “She had been sitting with you by the pond near the vicarage on a lovely spring day when your father and several parishioners heard her screams. By the time they reached her, she was dead. Stabbed... and you were floating in the water, somehow still alive.”

  The captain leaned forward. “Did they not investigate Miss Allenby-Falk at the time?”

  “No,” Serenity said. “Nobody knew who Peter Avonlea’s secret admirer was. The person was like a ghost, an evil specter swooping down upon the Avonlea family.”

  Prudence shook her head and tsked. “I wish we had discovered Miss Allenby-Falk’s identity sooner.”

  Harmony sniffed. “Though how did she find us? She couldn’t have followed us all the way from Dover.”

  Winnie wiped a tear that had fallen onto her cheek. “Obviously, she did. But didn’t you find her arrival here suspicious at the time?”

  Harmony shook her head. “No, indeed. She moved here about five years after us. Rumor had it that she’d inherited the tumbledown house on the outskirts of town from an uncle, so no one thought it odd when she suddenly appeared and took up residence there. She went about her business quietly and seemed nice enough, although she was always a bit eccentric.”

  Serenity cleared her throat. “But so are we, dear.”

  Winnie exchanged a grin with the captain.

  The shared jest felt intimate and helped to ease the pain she was feeling.

  “As the years wore on,” Prudence continued with a sigh, “we dropped our guard and thought you were safe. So much time had gone by, you see, and all was well.”

  “Until that horrid witch tried to kill you,” Harmony concluded.

  Winnie was suddenly too overcome to speak. Captain Mariner had more questions, and she was glad he had the voice to press on when she could not. “What is the significance of Winnie’s birthday?”

  “Her father wasn’t a wealthy man by any means, but he had a little bit of money tucked away. He left it in trust for Winnie until she came of age. That will happen tomorrow. The trustee is a brother-in-law of Vicar Avonlea. His name is Jason Pivens. He’s managed the trust quite wisely and built it up so that Winnie shall never lack for funds so long as she manages her inheritance prudently.”

  The captain shifted in his chair. “Sir Jason Pivens, vice-chairman of Lloyds Bank?”

  Winnie’s eyes rounded in surprise. “You know my uncle?”

  “Quite well. He’s my banker and a good friend. His sister is married to one of my cousins. It was at his request that I met him in Windermere. And at his request that I—” He scowled at Winnie’s godmothers. “It was on his advice that I stayed at the inn where I met you three. You’ve known all along who I am.”

  Winnie looked from him to her godmothers and back to him, her brain too clouded to absorb all the information coming at her in quick succession. “Are you saying that you trust my uncle? That you don’t believe he was secretly scheming with Miss Allenby-Falk to harm me?”

  Her godmothers appeared shocked at the suggestion that he might have been involved. “He has a sterling reputation,” Prudence assured her. “That madwoman used only the Darkwells for her evil purpose. Sir Jason is wonderful. We can’t wait for you to meet him.”

  Winnie leaned forward eagerly. “Tomorrow? Is that my surprise? I’m to meet him on my twenty-first birthday?”

  Harmony hemmed and tittered and finally groaned. “Oh, Prudence! You’ve ruined the surprise.”

  “No,” Winnie said softly, tears now spilling down her cheeks. “I think I’ll have sweet dreams for the first time in years.” But she hastily wiped them away and turned to Captain Mariner. “There’s one mystery still left, although I appear to be the only one who isn’t in on your secret. Who are you?”

  He raked his fingers through his hair and frowned. “This doesn’t change a thing about me.”

  Winnie shook her head. “Why do I suddenly think it will? Who are you?”

  “Ardaric Sinclair, fourth Duke of Blantyre.”

  WISH UPON A KISS

  CHAPTER NINE

  A duke?

  Her Viking warrior-pirate was actually a duke!

  One who’d walked out of her bedchamber shortly after the family discussion had ended. She’d heard the front door swing open and then close shut and knew he’d disappeared into the evening.

  Everything had now changed.

  He wasn’t coming back.

  A knot formed in her chest and her lungs felt squeezed in a vise. It had nothing to do with her almost drowning and all to do with losing the man she loved.

  Winnie slept fitfully that night, hoping that she would see her Viking warrior-pirate again and knowing he had no reason to stay. She had nothing to offer him, for she was no one of consequence. She wasn’t a princess. She wasn’t even a lady.

  She was Miss Aurora Winifred Avonlea, a vicar’s daughter.

  Winnie slowly made her way downstairs the following morning and walked outside to clear the mist of confusion from her brain. There were tables and benches scattered around the garden in preparation for her birthday. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue, and the breeze was crisp but just gentle enough to keep hats from flying off the heads of the guests who were due to arrive shortly.

  Amid yesterday’s commotion, Mrs. Halloway had managed to bake a lemon cake and an assortment of tasty treats, so that the heavenly aroma of lemons, cinnamon and chestnuts, and warm apples wafted from the kitchen.

  Winnie was ready for her party. She had done up her hair in a simple bun and dressed in her finest gown, a pale green silk that brought out the green in her eyes and managed not to clash with the ginger of her hair. She’d been up for hours and eager to talk to her captain, who wasn’t actually a captain at all, but a duke.

  He was nowhere to be found.

  She began to fret that he really would miss her party. Her captain had promised to stay, but dukes did as they pleased and answered to no one but the royal family.

  Sh
e swallowed her disappointment as the first guests arrived and there was still no sign of him. She greeted her well-wishers cordially but left conversation to her godmothers, who never tired of recounting how Duke Ardaric had fished her out of the water and brought her back to life. They’d embellished the tale so that she had now been revived by the duke’s kiss, which she supposed was far more romantic than her lungs being pumped.

  He’d promised to come to her party... but Duke Ardaric hadn’t. She owed him an apology for her own family’s schemes. Her uncle and godmothers had tricked him into meeting her. Didn’t they realize that the possibility of a match between them was out of the question?

  He didn’t blame her for it, but he must have been angered by their attempt to manipulate him. “No one likes being played for a fool,” he’d told her godmothers.

  A proud duke was no exception.

  Her family had unwittingly put his life in danger, too. Of course, no one could have expected Miss Allenby-Falk and her dogs.

  More guests arrived.

  Winnie decided to walk down to the gate where she’d first met him. The guests wouldn’t miss her. They were still chatting about the adventures of the past two days and her godmothers were still embellishing their tale, so that Winnie had not only been saved by love’s first kiss but was now a missing heiress.

  Indeed, everything had changed.

  But she hadn’t. In her heart she was still Winnie.

  Just Winnie.

  She reached the gate and was surprised to find Duke Ardaric standing beside it. She clasped her hands behind her back so he would not notice that they were shaking. One of her hands was bound in bandages from the bites she’d received, but those had been superficial and few stitches were needed. “Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

  He bowed to her. “Good afternoon, Princess Aurora.”

  She shook her head and laughed lightly. “You still look like the Viking warrior–pirate of my dreams.” But he was dressed as a duke... almost. He had on buff breaches, a white lawn shirt, and gray vest shot through with blue silk thread. No elegant jacket or silk cravat.

  “And you still look like the May princess who almost knocked me down on her way to the fair.”

  She blushed. “I was in a hurry and not watching where I was going.”

  He reached behind her for her hands and took them in his, studying her injured one a moment. “Winnie,” he said, carefully drawing it to his chest. “I was angry yesterday when your godmothers revealed who you were. I felt manipulated by them and Sir Jason. He knew I was returning to Blantyre intending to decide upon a wife for myself. He was to meet me in Windermere… at the inn where your godmothers were staying. We were to ride on to Blantyre together, but instead of finding him there, I received a note apologizing for his slight delay and asking for a small favor, to look in on his young ward. You.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He laughed softly. “I was irritated and had no intention of stopping by Kingsley Hall until I met your godmothers and found out they were waiting for Sir Jason as well. There was something in their manner, the way they spoke about you.” He laughed again. “I thought you were a child.”

  She nibbled her lip as she strained to come up with a suitable apology. Her hands were in his and resting on his heart so that she could feel its steady beat. Her heart was leaping like a rabbit playing in a carrot patch. “I’m truly sorry. You must know that I would never have agreed to lure you here.”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  “I appreciate your staying for my party. It means the world to me.”

  “I promised you that I would.”

  “You did when you were merely a pirate. I wasn’t certain that you, as the duke, would. I’m glad you did.” Tears welled in her eyes and she sniffled. “Drat. I’m trying very hard not to cry, but I owe you so much, and I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “No repayment necessary. We’re even. Remember.”

  She shook her head and couldn’t help but join him in a chuckle. “Ah, yes. You saved me and I saved you. But I didn’t really. You’re too easily pleased.”

  “Quite the opposite,” he said with a small frown. “I’m cantankerous and difficult. Just ask your uncle. No doubt he was worried about me and the choice I was about to make in a wife. The bad choice he feared I would make. He hoped that giving a purpose to my life, even if it was simply to look in on a child, would help me out of my doldrums. He’ll be here soon. I’ll introduce you to him.”

  “I’d love that.” So many feelings flooded through her in that moment—the joy of meeting her uncle and the pain of parting from Duke Ardaric. He’d saved her life and captured her heart. “Thanks to you, I finally know who I am. Thanks to you, I’m safe and alive. Thanks to you, I experienced my first kiss. The best first kiss ever given to a young woman in peril who was trapped in her home alone with a stranger shortly before her twenty-first birthday.”

  He groaned. “That is no compliment at all. I don’t think there’s another young woman in all of England who was kissed under quite those circumstances.”

  “Very well.” She tilted her face upward and cast him a heartfelt smile. “How about I try again? It was the best kiss ever given to a young woman by a stranger with a dragon painted on his shoulder. No, that’s still not quite right. How about, it was simply the best kiss ever. It was magical. Divine. Exquisite. Splendid. My entire body turned soft as pudding.”

  “Much better.” His smile reached into the rich blue depths of his eyes, and he caressed her cheek. “And now I shall tell you what I’ve been thinking now that I’ve calmed down and figured out what I’m to do with my life besides being an arrogant and insufferable duke.”

  “Who hates wearing jackets or cravats.”

  He nodded. “I’ve made a list of the three most important things I must do in my life. First, is to waltz with you today.”

  She opened her mouth in surprise, but before she could thank him or assure him that it wasn’t necessary, he put a finger to her lips. “Second,” he continued over her meager protest, “is to teach you how to swim. We’ll start your lessons tomorrow.”

  “My godmothers will never recover from the scandal. But I’m willing to risk it just to see that dragon on your shoulder.”

  “Which leads me to the third item on my list, because I will not allow a twenty-year-old woman who was trapped alone in her house with a stranger while wild dogs were breaking through her windows—”

  Winnie burst out laughing. “Get to the point, Your Grace.”

  “Very well.” His laughter faded, and he suddenly turned serious. “Third, is to marry you... if you’ll have me, Winnie.”

  Was she dreaming?

  Was she still breathing? She didn’t think so. “That’s quite a list. I think my godmothers will approve.”

  “But do you?”

  She wanted to laugh and cry and shout with joy and make a perfect goose of herself because she was happy and scared and excited and so desperately in love with this man that she thought her heart might burst. “I love you Captain Ardaric Mariner, also known as Ardaric Sinclair, fourth Duke of Blantyre,” she began, her hands and voice now trembling. “I’ve loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you, which feels like a lifetime ago but was only two days ago. I love that you look like a Viking-pirate. I love your bravery and valor. I love the way you make my heart soar. But you don’t have to marry me. You don’t owe me that.”

  A seductive grin spread across his lips as he said nothing for a long moment. “Well, Lady Winifred Aurora Kingsley also known as Miss Aurora Winifred Avonlea and Princess Aurora and just plain Winnie to her friends, of which I hope I’m one.” He paused to take a breath. “Since you’ve been honest with me, I can do no less in return. I’ve loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you, which does indeed feel like a lifetime ago but is only two days ago. Did you ever wonder why I hardly spoke when we first met?”

  “No,” she replied, her eyes
widening in surprise. “I simply assumed you were the strong and silent manly type of gentleman.”

  “Well, I am that.” He cast her another seductive grin and slipped his arms around her waist. “But I fell under an enchantment the moment I set eyes on you. I was standing alone and suddenly I was looking at a beautiful sunrise for the first time. You were this brilliant array of colors about to crash into me, the pink of your lips, the ginger of your hair, the soft green of your eyes. Everything about you stole my breath away. Did I mention your costume and the way those veils were barely clinging to your outrageously beautiful body?”

  He kissed her on the nose. “Princess Aurora, radiant daughter of light. I think the precise moment I fell in love with you was when you tripped over my pouch and landed on your shapely derriere. You were flailing like a turtle trapped on its back. Your imitation was impressive.”

  “I think you’ve digressed. You were saying that I filled your heart with sunshine and that you will love me into eternity.”

  “Did I just say all that? I suppose I did.” He bent his head and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. There was a dark, smoldering gleam in his eyes that set her heart aflutter. “Yes, Princess Aurora. I do love you. Will you marry me even though you’re a princess and I’m a mere duke?”

  She rose on tiptoe and kissed him in return. “I’ve never received a lovelier birthday gift. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He lifted her into his arms and gave her a kiss that was hot and deep and endless.

  He gave her the best kiss a princess could ever wish for.

  A DUKE WORTH HIS SALT

  ALLISON MERRITT

  A DUKE WORTH HIS SALT