Regency Romance
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Destined for the hangman's noose, love is a dream he cannot afford...
When Blayne MacNeil agrees to be Miss Charlotte Russell's bodyguard, he doesn't expect her to expand the job description to fake fiancé. After twenty years in hiding, announcing his engagement to a viscount's daughter could prove fatal. For if anyone were to recognize him, he'd be charged with murder.
Determined to keep her independence in order to safeguard her writing career, Charlotte must avoid marriage. After all, no respectable gentleman would ever permit his wife to pen outrageous adventure novels. But when her most recent manuscript disappears, the roguish Scotsman posing as her fiancé becomes her closest ally - and the greatest threat to her freedom.
All Books in the Diamonds In The Rough Series:
Diamonds in the Rough, Book 1
The Duke of Her Desire
Diamonds in the Rough, Book 2
The Illegitimate Duke
Diamonds in the Rough, Book 3
The Infamous Duchess
Diamonds in the Rough, Book 4
The Forgotten Duke
Diamonds In The Rough, Book 5
The Formidable Earl
Diamonds In The Rough, Book 6
Her Scottish Scoundrel
Diamonds In The Rough, Book 7
Coming May 2021
The Dishonored Viscount
Diamonds In The Rough, Book 8
Coming September 2021
Excerpt
Chapter One
London
July,
1821
Blayne MacNeil picked up his glass of Madeira and saluted
his host. Nothing improved his mood as much as a meal at Windham House. The
duke and duchess, Valentine Sterling and his wife Regina, had an incredible
chef whose skill in the kitchen was second to none. Considerably different from
what the two men had known in their nearly two-decade friendship in St Giles.
But now that Carlton Guthrie, former Scoundrel of St. Giles, had taken his
rightful place as Duke of Windham, Val denied his new wife, Regina, nothing,
including incomparable food.
The sweet wine slid down Blayne’s throat, sending a
warmth through his stomach. Truth was, sometimes he missed the old Guthrie—and
the brutal force he and his friend had used to vanquish the vermin of the
world. Now he himself was a businessman with a respectable tavern to
run...well, a tavern, at any rate. And Guthrie still made sure justice was
served, but it was done with more discretion now that he was a duke, and by
accepting help from the authorities.
“I have been
toying with the idea of hosting a ball,” Regina said. She glanced at her
brother, Marcus, who also resided at Windham House, and then at Blayne. “If I
do, I shall expect you both to attend so you can dance with some of the ladies
the marriage mart has to offer.”
The comment was
jovial – teasing even – yet it still caused Blayne’s lungs to strain against
his next intake of breath.
Marcus snorted.
“As if any well-bred woman would dare.”
Blayne met
Marcus’s gaze and slowly exhaled. His insides eased and he forced a wry smile.
“Even if one of the lasses cared to, I’m sure her parents would quickly step in
to prevent it.”
“I could coerce
them into compliance,” Guthrie murmured, a twinkle in his cat-like eyes.
“And into
marriage, I’m sure,” Marcus said with a grin.
“Good lord,”
Regina murmured.
“Without a doubt,”
Guthrie told Marcus. “Shall I?”
“No.” Regina gave
her husband a firm look. “There will be no coercing. I merely thought it might
be nice to offer Blayne and Marcus the means by which to attend a social
function.”
“To the horror and
despair of the ton,” Blayne said
right before he spooned more shortcake into his mouth. “I thank ye for yer
thoughtfulness, Regina, but I think yer ball would be better served if I stayed
away.”
“Nonsense,” she
said. “You are a handsome man, Blayne. Kind, too, and hardworking.”
“Not exactly the
qualities upper-class parents seek in their future son-in-law.” Blayne took
another bite of his dessert. It truly was exceptionally good. “A yearly income
close to five thousand pounds and un-calloused hands would be more desirable.
Preferably a title or two as well. My income is modest though, my hands as
rough as tree bark, and I’ve nae title to speak of.”
More importantly,
he had a past he couldn’t in good conscience chain another person to. And he sure
as hell couldn’t confide it in any woman. So if he did wed, his marriage would
be a sham. He took another sip of Madeira.
“My situation is
similar,” Marcus said. “Worse than Blayne’s, in a sense, seeing as I had a
title and lost it because of our father. No man in his right mind would allow
his daughter to be seen with me, Regina.”
The duchess huffed
a breath. “In my opinion, a man’s character – his very own actions – ought to
be of greater value than what a relation of his might have done.”
“I don’t think any
of us disagrees with you there,” Guthrie said. He gave Blayne and Marcus a
pensive look. “Perhaps I can help?”
“Thank ye, but
no.” Guthrie had offered to give Blayne a handsome sum once before, and Blayne
had turned him down then as well. He didn’t want handouts, not even from a
friend who wished to disguise it as overdue wages. “There is something to be
said for earning one’s own living.”
“I’m of a like
mind,” Marcus said. “Although I might appreciate a loan for the sake of
acquiring a profession.”
“Indeed?” Regina
regarded her brother with a pensive mien. “And what profession do you have in
mind, Marcus?”
“Well.” Marcus
cleared his throat. “Medicine would be an interesting field of study. Certainly
more so than law.”
“I think that
would be marvelous,” Regina said with a smile. “Don’t you agree, Guthrie?”
Guthrie nodded. “I
would be happy to provide you with the necessary funds, Marcus.”
“As a loan,”
Marcus reiterated.
Blayne hid a
chuckle behind his last spoonful of dessert. It was clear Marcus did not want
to feel beholden to Guthrie any more than he did.
“Of course,”
Guthrie said. He turned his assessing gaze on Blayne. “What about you? If you
accept a loan you’ll be able to purchase that property you want a lot sooner
than otherwise.”
“What property?”
Regina asked.
“I’ve been of a
mind to get away from London for a while now,” Blayne said. “With my interest
in plants, I’d like to have a spot of land to cultivate, maybe with a wee house
on it. I dinnae require much in the way of a home, but a sizeable piece of
property would be grand.” It would provide him with the freedom he’d started to
crave since Guthrie had left The Black Swan. Blayne ran the St. Giles tavern on
his own now and saved every hard-earned penny, but the place was different without
his friend there, and with every passing day Blayne could feel himself getting
older. It was time to move on and settle down to a quieter way of life.
“Then I hope you
shall soon be able to acquire it,” Regina said. She raised her glass. “To
Marcus’s medical aspirations and to Blayne’s countryside acquisition.”
Blayne drank and
breathed a sigh of relief when the conversation turned to the recent coronation
of George IV.
It appeared
Regina’s idea of a ball had been forgotten for now, for which he was grateful.
Aside from the obvious reasons he had for not wanting to attend, there was the
more dreaded prospect of being recognized. As unlikely as it might be after
twenty years in hiding, one couldn’t be too careful.
Least
of all when one was on the run for murder.
When she’s not busy dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.
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