The Duke's Gamble: Clean Regency Romance (The Peers of Eton) Read online

  “Your Grace,” the Baron replied, apology still in his eyes. Even after a month’s time, Grayson knew the older man still felt ashamed for all that had happened. “Tis a happy day for both families.”

  “Indeed it is, Baron, indeed it is.” Grayson was grateful that he and his father-in-law had come to an understanding that his own father had never achieved with his father-in-law.

  The Baron had given up gambling, and had insisted that the Duke retain the winnings from that fateful game. Both the land in Scotland and the cash. The Duke would, in exchange, ensure that the costs were paid on the Baron’s estate, where he would remain living close by his daughter and her husband for the rest of his days.

  With no son to pass down his title nor entailed property, once the Baron died, the title and estate would pass to a distant nephew. Therefore, the Baron was quite happy to leave the money and property in the hands of the Duke so it would remain with Louisa and his future grandchildren.

  Grayson smiled. “I am anxious to marry your daughter. She makes me happy, indeed. Shall we join the others?”

  The Baron nodded, a slight smile on his weathered face. “I wish you a lifetime full of happiness.”

  Rebecca stood beside Louisa smiling broadly, overjoyed for her friend’s good fortune. She had another reason to be smiling, as she herself had become betrothed to the Earl of Danbury’s son only the previous week. The two lifelong friends glanced at one another, knowing smiles on their lips. They were starting new lives but would be there, through tears and joy, to support one another for the rest of their days.

  Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God…

  The wedding ceremony had begun, the Baron and the Duchess both looking on with pride at their children. They knew it would not always be easy and there would be obstacles to overcome, but having both been married to their true loves, they recognized it in Grayson and Louisa, so had little concern about their future.

  With this Ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

  Grayson slipped the ring onto Louisa’s finger and after being declared man and wife, they signed the chapel registry to formally record their marriage.

  The guests left the chapel to gather in the sunlight for a light breakfast after the ceremony. Before joining them, Grayson saw an opportunity for a moment alone with his new bride.

  Louisa smiled up at him and his lips descended on hers, both of them feeling the swirl of emotions that always came when they kissed.

  Cheers went up as they emerged from the chapel and joined their guests in the garden, Louisa nestling her head against Grayson’s wedding coat, blushing. She was unbelievably happy at this moment.

  “So, my darling,” Grayson said, “How does it feel to be a married woman?”

  “It feels lovely,” she remarked as he lifted her hand to kiss it before escorting her to join the Duchess and Baron for a slice of wedding cake. “I am a truly a blessed woman.”

  “Ah,” he said, a grin tugging his lips. “I would argue that I am the lucky one.”

  The End

  Bonus: An Excerpt from The Duke’s Deception

  Chapter 1

  Sarah Godwin shoved her long blond hair under a cap. She slipped into brown leather breeches, intent on heading to the stable to be with the horses. Her father didn’t approve of her mucking out stalls when the grooms could do it. She didn’t mind. Spirit was her thoroughbred and she wanted to be the one responsible for him. She’d raised him from a foal, trained him, and she would be the one to exercise him, brush him and feed him. She loved the fresh air and closeness to nature when she was riding. It was the only time when she wasn’t Lady Sarah. She was herself.

  Her father, Philip Godwin, the Baron of Carlisle, was a military hero whose lands were strategically placed near the border of Scotland, an advantage that was not lost on the King and Prince Regent. It was a wise decision to have a military man in place on the border, just in case there should be a future invasion. Although the most common treacherous event these days involved young men and women racing through the land on route to Gretna Green to elope, angry fathers or jealous jilted suitors in hot pursuit to stop them.

  Sarah always enjoyed hearing about the latest chase and secretly cheered for the young couple to win the race. Not that she was keen on the idea of marriage, but rather liked the idea of the young people making their own decisions about their lives rather than having their fate dictated to them by their parents.

  No, Sarah was not anxious for marriage. Her father was forever parading her in front of the few suitable single men who came to visit, hoping one of them would make an offer of marriage that she would find acceptable. Offers had been made, but she’d yet to entertain a single one.

  What interested Sarah were her books, her horse and the vast area of fertile land her family owned. She’d never found the idea of getting married appealing. While her father had loved her mother dearly, she’d seen how their traditional roles had left her mother dependent. She wanted freedom to make her own decisions. A husband would interfere with that more than her father did.

  “Godwin, my offer is more than fair.” The Earl of Barton could see the deal slipping through his fingers and was not amused. “You and Sarah could be settled in London already for the new season, living in luxury on the amount I’m willing to pay.”

  “No doubt, my lord.” Philip Godwin, Baron of Carlisle, crossed his arms and rubbed his chin with his right hand. “But I must think of what is best for Sarah, what will make her happy.”

  “What is best for her and what will make her happy are most likely two different things,” said the Earl. He and Lord Godwin had known each other their entire lives, allowing the Earl to speak so boldly about the Baron’s headstrong daughter.

  Godwin smiled and nodded his head. “Too true, my friend, too true.”

  “Then let us draw up the papers and complete the sale today.” The Earl could hardly contain his composure, he was so close to achieving his goal.

  “Not … quite … yet.” Lord Godwin was hesitant, never one to make important decisions in haste, he spoke with deliberation. “A new option may present itself this week that will give me what I have always wanted for Sarah and make her happy as well. I owe it to us both at least to consider it.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” said the Earl, shaking his head in disappointment. “My next offer may not be as generous.”

  Sarah tucked the last stray curl under the cap and looked at herself in the mirror. With the loose shirt and tight breeches, she looked like a young groom as long as she kept her head down. She knew she was far too pretty, and her features too delicate, to be mistaken for a boy. The staff knew she did it, and so far, no one had betrayed her by telling her father. She appreciated that and made sure she acknowledged birthdays and special occasions for all the servants. She brought them food if they or their family grew ill, and because of her kindness, they adored her. Protecting her secret was the only way she’d been allowed any freedom.

  If her father found out, he would never tolerate this behavior from his only daughter. She rode side saddle when she joined him to call on the tenants throughout the property, but when she was alone, she rode astride and allowed her horse to break into a gallop.

  Recalling that her father was expecting visitors this afternoon, and had demanded she be on her best behavior, Sarah’s brow furrowed. Lord Godwin’s closest friend from his years at Eton was sending his son to confer with her father about some potential business activities. She wasn’t privy to the information — to her dismay, her father did not find it appropriate to share such things with her because she was a woman — so she did not know what the meeting was about. Just that her father had told her he expected her to be a cordial hostess.

  He frequently hosted members of parliament, peers and military generals who would visit the estate where they spent their d
ays hunting and shooting, their evenings strategizing, eating and drinking, and talking about the business of the land.

  Today’s arriving visitor was the eldest son of the Duke of Rockford, Lord Noah Blackmore. Lord Noah had a reputation for being a lady’s man amongst the ton. She hadn’t seen Noah since she was a child but she remembered him being a black haired, blue eyed devil, five years older than her. When he was thirteen he had broken the head off her favorite doll. That was the last summer she’d seen him. She was sure he’d grown into a good-looking young man as rumored since he’d been a handsome youth. Sarah had even had a bit of a childhood crush on him until he’d broken her doll, Petunia. He had refused to apologize and had teased her about her spindly legs and thin arms. He’d called her a twig and mocked her for crying over the doll. She found she was strangely discomforted by the thought that he now had business with her father.

  Sarah finished tying her riding boots and quietly tip-toed out of the house to the stable. She had named her stallion Spirit for his lively demeanor even as a colt when he’d first been brought to the estate. Her father wanted her to select one of the fillies as her own horse, thinking the colt would be too much for her to handle.

  “He’s far too spirited, Sarah,” Lord Godwin had said. And that was that. She had found her horse and his name. And since it had been the first time he’d seen his daughter truly happy following her mother’s death, he couldn’t deny her and capitulated to her choice.

  When she arrived at the stable, she gave Spirit a carrot which he took eagerly from her outstretched, flattened hand and reached for the pitchfork to begin mucking the stall. Afterwards, she would saddle him for a ride and brush him before returning to the house to play hostess to her father’s guests.

  As if on cue, the men who would be dining with her and her father approached the stable, walking their horses. Sarah recognized Noah immediately. His dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, and he was dressed in tailored riding clothes with a jacket that accentuated his lithe physique. His blue eyes hadn’t changed a bit. His aristocratic nose and chin had become more defined over the years, and he had a slight tan to his cheeks, showing he spent a good amount of time outdoors.

  If she didn’t remember what a rascal he’d been as a teenager, she might have swooned. The rumors of his good looks had not been exaggerated. He was joined by another less handsome man who appeared to be about the same age, and by his posture, was also of the peerage.

  "The land here is quite stunning, so green, and the rolling hills are quite a contrast to the land in the south of England." Lord Noah Blackmore gestured with his hand in a 180 degree sweep to signal to his traveling companion the area he was referring to.

  "I see why you agreed to your father's proposal," his traveling companion responded.

  Proposal? Could it be …? No, she could not think of it. Of late, Lord Godwin had been speaking of selling some of his property to the neighboring Earl of Barton and buying a townhouse in Mayfair where they would move and seek a suitable husband for her in London. He had been stalling the Earl recently though, a good sign, or so she had thought, assuming her protests were having the desired effect on him.

  As a woman, she could not inherit her father’s title or entailed property, but she could legally inherit the unentailed lands which she had counted on, convinced she could be self-supporting, whether or not she ever married. She had begged her father not to sell any of it and yet here he was, making arrangements to do so to the Duke of Rockford and his son, against her wishes.

  The men were walking directly towards Sarah as they entered the stable so she lowered her head and turned back to Spirit’s stall.

  With a toss of the reigns in her direction, Noah instructed, “Take care of Excalibur. He’ll need watering, feeding and brushing.”

  Noah barely gave her a second glance, leaving Sarah standing there stunned, with his horse’s reigns in her hands. She looked up at the tall horse towering over her, his eyes dark chocolate and his coat shiny and as black as a velvety night sky. When the horse looked down at her, he snarled his lips in a grimace, and she had to jump back to keep him from biting her.

  She heard Noah chuckle and jerked her gaze over to where he stood at the exit to the barn. “Oh, and be careful, sometimes he bites.” Noah’s dismissive comment as he left the barn had her seething. He could have warned her before she almost lost a chunk of flesh. She could hear the two men chortling as they headed toward the estate.

  Apparently, Noah hadn’t changed a bit. Imagine, an ungrateful rogue like him taking over her land.

  “You better be nice to me, Excalibur, because I bite back,” she told the horse as she took his saddle off and brushed him. When he turned his head quickly to nip at her, she smacked him on the nose and gave him a stern look.

  Excalibur snorted but behaved himself once he realized he wasn’t going to be able to push her around.

  “Seems like you take after your master,” she muttered as she put him in a stall and gave him some hay to eat.

  Sighing, she realized that taking care of Excalibur had used up any free time she might have had with her own horse, and she put Spirit back in his stall. She had little time now to clean up and dress for dinner and find out exactly why Noah Blackmore was here.

  “I promise that as soon as I can, we’ll go for a nice long ride.” Sarah rubbed his nose and then pulled the second carrot out of her pocket that he’d been patiently waiting for and fed it to him.

  Heading back to the house, she knew she’d have to dress the part and go meet Noah formally. He hadn’t realized who she was and took her for a stable boy, so for now, her secret was still safe.

  Read more . . .

  About the Author

  Catherine Windsor writes clean Regency romance.

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  Also by Catherine Windsor

  The Peers of Eton Series

  The Duke’s Deception

  The Earl’s Desire

  The Duke and the Lady’s Maid - part of a box set of stories from eight best selling Regency romance authors

  Trusting the Earl - part of a box set of stories from five best selling Regency romance authors