Back in the Headlines
Page 14
‘Um, I think you may have to fork out for a replacement uniform, Titus.’
EPILOGUE
ROXY would have liked a quiet wedding in the Valeo chapel, followed by an unconventional picnic on a stretch of their own Norfolk beach. But she knew that it didn’t work like that. Not now. That as the new Duchess of Torchester, she would have to make certain sacrifices. That duty would often have to come before desire—but she knew it was a duty she would perform gladly, and with pride. Not that it seemed much of a sacrifice to marry Titus in the glorious space of Norwich Cathedral—with its Norman architecture and famously long nave.
Once the rather hysterical press coverage of their engagement had died down, there had been a lot of speculation about who would be on the guest list. Titus’s stepmother had already given a ‘tell-all’ interview to one of the tabloid newspapers, cataloguing the new Duke’s cruelty towards her. Titus Left Me Homeless! ran the rather pathetic headline in the Daily View. Which, as Titus pointed out to Roxy, was blatantly a lie, since he’d bought her a sturdy manor house in the heart of the Cotswolds as well as a mews house in London. But it was her comment about Roxy’s unsuitability to be a Duchess which gave him the perfect reason not to invite his stepmother to help celebrate their nuptials.
And in complete contrast, Titus’s mother had welcomed Roxy into the family with instant warmth. A tall, striking woman with dark copper hair, she took Roxy walking over the wild Scottish moors near her home one weekend, and thanked her for making her son so happy.
The wedding day dawned bright and sunny—a perfect example of English springtime at its most glorious, with hyacinths forming a fragrant white arch around the cathedral doors. The crowd of photographers who were waiting to see if the other two Lollipops would turn up had a field day when Roxy’s father arrived. He was wearing a crumpled linen suit and a hairstyle which was much too long for his years—and he was clutching the hand of a woman who was two years younger than his daughter.
‘And did that bother you?’ Titus asked her, much later.
She shook her head as she began to unbutton his shirt and smiled. ‘I can’t change him,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘I just have to try to love him.’
‘You’re good at that,’ he said softly.
‘Am I?’
‘Mmm.’ He leaned forward, his lips grazing against the curve of her jaw. ‘The best.’
But loving Titus was easy, Roxy reflected as he began to kiss her. The easiest thing she’d ever done. Because to her he was not a Duke with centuries of tradition behind him and riches which most people could only dream of.
He was her love. Her man. He was her very heart and soul.
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All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
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First published in Great Britain 2012
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Sharon Kendrick 2012
ISBN: 978-1-408-97460-5
Table of Contents
Cover
Excerpt
About the Author
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Copyright