Not every happy-ever-after begins at
“I do.”
When the hero of her dreams rescues
Lady Juliet Ferrers from the man claiming to be her husband, she is
sure she has found her one true love. But is she free to marry him?
Not to be deterred, Juliet arranges for her hero, Captain Amiable
Dawson, to escort her to her family estate, hoping that along the way
she can win his love.
Amiable is charmed by the sweet,
beautiful woman he rescued, and although he has grave reservations
about her marital status, he allows himself to be swept up into
Juliet’s romantic spell and the promise of a happy-ever-after.
The spell breaks when legal questions
arise and Juliet faces the horror of not knowing if she is married to
her knight in shining armor or the cruel viscount who is determined
to have her at any price.
London
July 2, 1761
The brass lion-head knocker under Amiable Dawson’s hand sent a sharp rap through the dark walnut door of Dunham House for the second time. The hot July sun hadn’t done his temper any good as he waited on the marble stoop for entrance to the Marquess of Dalbury’s townhouse. He’d been in a foul mood ever since the news of his beloved Katarina’s marriage to the marquess had reached him. Blast it to hell, the girl had accepted his proposal. At least he could make sure she was well and well taken care of by this man she had married.
At last a short, dark-haired maid opened the door. She took one look at him, gasped, and stepped back into the house. Her eyes widened and she glanced to her right, wringing her hands. “Who may I say—”
A man shouted from within. “No, I do not believe you.”
“I do not care what you believe. I told you the truth.” A woman’s voice, raised and sharp with terror, sent a chill through Amiable.
Katarina. What in God’s name?He barged past the stunned girl and strode down the hall toward the commotion. He burst through the doorway, expecting to defend the woman he loved, only to stop dead at the sight of a man lunging across a sofa and grasping a woman by the wrist. Amiable had half drawn his sword before he realized the woman was not Katarina, but a complete stranger. He dropped it back into its scabbard. None of his affair after all.
The young man, foppishly dressed in a robin’s egg blue satin coat dripping too many layers of frothy lace at throat and wrists, looked at Amiable, a snarl on his lips.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the woman wrenched her arm from the man’s grip. “Praise God. He has arrived at last.” She staggered as she righted herself. “Now you will have to believe me, Philippe.”
The fop scrambled back off the sofa and groped for a black lacquer walking stick that lay on the floor. Lips pressed together, he glowered at the woman. “That remains to be seen, ma chère. In any case, I have shown you the papers. They speak for themselves.”
The woman ran from behind the sofa to Amiable’s side, grazed a kiss over his cheek, and whispered, “For God’s sake, help me. I am alone and he wants to force me to go with him. Please, agree with whatever I say.”
He smiled into her pleading face, then grasped her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze to signal his acquiescence. “Whatever is the matter, my dear?” Hell if he knew. However, he could play his part, even with little information. Let the lady lead and he’d follow as well as he could.
The woman swayed toward him, then took a deep breath. “My dear, may I present Viscount St. Cyr?” She nodded toward the fop. “Philippe, my husband, the Earl of Manning.”
Jenna
Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary
romance. She has been reading and writing historical romance since
she was a teenager. A romantic herself, she has always loved a dark
side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to
incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She lives in
Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not
reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working
with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing
her characters on their own private stage.
Jenna
is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as President of
Chesapeake Romance Writers, her local chapter of RWA. Her debut
novel, Only Scandal Will Do,
is the first in her House of Pleasure series, set in Georgian London.
Only Marriage Will Do,
the second book in the series, is set to release in June 2015 from
Kensington. Her medieval serial novel, Time
Enough to Love: Betrothal, Betrayal,
and Beleaguered,
is a Romeo & Juliet-esque tale, set at the time of the Black
Death. The next book in that series, a short story called Beloveds,
will release in May 2015.
She
has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she
starts she just can’t stop.
Find
Jenna Jaxon online:
TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon
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