“With that shock of red hair, she will have to constantly wear a hat lest she be burdened with freckles,” his mother said.
“She will have an assortment of hats,” Gillie assured her. “And frocks and trousers.”
“Trousers?” The duchess sounded truly horrified.
Gillie, wicked girl that she was, did so enjoy the moments when she appalled the duchess with her observations and comments. In the months since her marriage, the two of them had come to an understanding—neither was going to change for the other and so they had accepted, not quite grudgingly, that harmony between them was better than rancor. “She will be chasing after her brothers or they will be chasing after her.”
“You are not so young that you can delay overly long seeing to your duty.”
“You need not worry, Duchess, as I am most eager to welcome my husband back into my bed.”
“And you—” The duchess pointed at her son. “You are not to look elsewhere while your wife is indisposed. She is deserving of your loyalty.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “She is deserving of everything.”
“Still, I do wish you would give up that deplorable tavern.”
In the end, Gillie had moved into Coventry House because she wanted their children to know of their ancestors, and she had fallen in love with the residence. Each morning, she would ride in a coach to the tavern, but was actually spending fewer hours there as she was discovering being a duchess brought with it many duties she truly enjoyed, mostly charitable works and visiting with tenants, ensuring servants were happy. Often Thorne took Robin on outings. They’d discussed making the lad part of their family, but Robin was convinced his mother would someday come for him.
“Gillie enjoys her tavern, Mother, and as long as she does, we will keep it.”
“Actually I was thinking of opening another,” she said.
“Dear Lord. Then you must hire a nanny.”
She stroked her daughter’s cheek. “I was raised without a nanny and I turned out all right.”
“More than all right,” the duchess admitted. “But that is not the point.”
Gillie suspected they’d be arguing the point for a good while to come, but then she and the dowager duchess often argued, usually good-naturedly. “Would you like to hold your granddaughter?”
The duchess pulled back her shoulders. “I thought you would continue to torment me and never offer.”
Ever so carefully, she took the babe. “Hello, precious child. I shall teach you what your mother will not: how to be a proper lady.”
And Gillie’s mum would teach her how to be a survivor. Thorne had sent word to her family shortly after their daughter made her entry into the world, and they were expecting everyone to arrive before nightfall to welcome the newest member into the family.
The duchess moved off to a rocking chair in the sitting area, and Gillie could hear her cooing to the babe.
“What shall we name her?” she asked Thorne.
“Victoria, Charlotte, Alexandria. Something fitting for a princess.” Skimming his finger along her cheek, he turned her face toward his until their eyes met. “She will know the best of both worlds, yours and mine.”
“Unfortunately, she will probably know the worst as well.”
“With you as her mother, she will learn to be a dreamer and realist. But she will always know who her parents are and that she is loved.”
“I have to confess, Thorne, that until I held her, it had never occurred to me that the woman who gave birth to me had loved me. How could she have given me away if she had? But now I know she could not have held me without loving me, at least a bit. I’ll never know why she left me on Ettie Trewlove’s doorstep, but I have to believe she did it because she truly believed it was best for me.”
“I’m sorry she’ll never know the remarkable woman you are. Or how very much I love you.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her tenderly. And she could not help but think that it was a grand thing indeed to be loved by this duke.
Announcement
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Finn’s story
They call her Finn’s Folly, an earl’s daughter who captured his heart, only to betray him. But now their paths have crossed again. Can the sins of the past be forgiven in order for them to have another chance at love?
The Scoundrel in Her Bed
Coming February 2019!
About the Author
LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases, articles, and computer code, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s prestigious RITA®. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.
www.lorraineheath.com
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By Lorraine Heath
When a Duke Loves a Woman
Beyond Scandal and Desire
Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses (novella)
An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
When the Marquess Falls (novella)
The Viscount and the Vixen
The Earl Takes All
Falling into Bed with a Duke
The Duke and the Lady in Red
The Last Wicked Scoundrel (novella)
Once More, My Darling Rogue
When the Duke Was Wicked
Lord of Wicked Intentions
Deck the Halls with Love (novella)
Lord of Temptation
She Tempts the Duke
Waking Up with the Duke
Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman
Passions of a Wicked Earl
Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel
Surrender to the Devil
Between the Devil and Desire
In Bed with the Devil
Just Wicked Enough
A Duke of Her Own
Promise Me Forever
A Matter of Temptation
As an Earl Desires
An Invitation to Seduction
Love with a Scandalous Lord
To Marry an Heiress
The Outlaw and the Lady
Never Marry a Cowboy
Never Love a Cowboy
A Rogue in Texas
Texas Splendor
Texas Glory
Texas Destiny
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
when a duke loves a woman. Copyright © 2018 by Jan Nowasky. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-267604-7
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-267602-3
Cover illustration by Victor Gadino
Cover photography by Image 1st LLC
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