BLURB:
A REAGAL BEAUTY
When the duchess decides to wed her to a wastrel and a fop,
Ravyn Grahm takes matters into her own hands and declares her engagement to
another man. Instead of fessing up and telling her great aunt what she has
done, she goes through with the pretense. Aric Lakeland is the bastard son of
an earl and has a dangerous reputation. But Ravyn is willing to do most
anything to keep the duchess from discovering the lie.
A DEVIL-MAY-CARE SMUGGLER
He'd bought land in America, looking to put down roots and
end his life of adventure, but Aric Lakeland got more than he bargained for
when he encountered a beautiful heiress who made a promise she didn't want to
keep. But the promise could not be undone and standing between them were more
obstacles than either ever dreamed. Aric had made plans to spend the rest of
his life in America and that was at odds with Ravyn's plan of living in England
and running her father's estate. Now, he'll have to choose between his dreams
and the woman he loves more than life.
EXCERPT:
“No. I
couldn’t explain your absence any more than I can explain your presence,” she
was quick to say. She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “Do you think
the Duchess will see things differently in the morning? No one but us needs to
know you are here--in my bedroom.”
“I doubt she
will see anything different. For whatever reasons, it seems she has her heart
set on this marriage. The Duchess told you the truth. Your father wanted to see
you married. And for some reason you have several suitors but you have accepted
no proposals. Am I wrong?”
She lowered
her lashes for a moment then looked at him. “I refused them all.”
“Why?”
She shrugged
her shoulders. Shoulders he knew would break if they were put to an honest days
work. “I didn’t love any of them. Most, I didn’t even like. They never wanted
me. They wanted my inheritance. What kind of marriage would that be?”
“And you
expected to marry for love?” His smile grew. He was stunned. “Aristocratic
marriages are not usually done that way.” His heart went out to her. Her dream
was a young girl’s dream. Didn’t she know love was made from poet’s verses, not
real life? Love did not exist.
“But my father
promised.”
“Ravyn, this
is the real world. Love is not real.“
“You, sir, are
wrong,” she told him vehemently. “What will happen if we cannot explain our way
out of this mess?” she asked him.
His sigh was
heavy. “Go to sleep.” At the moment, he did not want to think about what might
happen. He did not want to tell her a short and false tale of a miracle that
might happen tomorrow morning. They were not going to explain their way out of
this.
“Aric,” she
sat down on the bed. It was the closest she had willingly been to him since
they’d retired for the night. “What will I tell Christel?”
“Tell her the
truth,” he said quickly. “I’m sure your cousin will understand even if the
Duchess does not.”
A long silence
followed. She stared out the window. Moonlight filtered through sheer curtains
and played with the firelight. Shadows danced on the walls.
“Aric?”
“What?”
“What is it
you want in a wife?” She turned to look at him. Her face was pale, dark circles
underlined her eyes, but he thought he’d never seen her so beautiful.
He rose on one
elbow again, touched a finger to her nose while he grinned. “I want a woman who
can haul water, hoe the land, plant seed and bear my children,” he paused. “And
of course cook.”
She turned a
ghostly shade of pale.
“I could do
none of that,” she whispered, her lips trembling as she spoke. “You must be
joking.”
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