How to Claim a Governess’s Heart - Bridget Barton Page 0,104
giggled as he swatted her along up the stairs. She gave him a fleeting smile at the top of the steps before making her way back to bed.
Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined becoming so happy as she was at this moment. She had a wonderful husband, a man just as in love with her as she was with him, a beautiful daughter already growing in wisdom and tenacity, and a bright, wonderful future ahead of her.
THE END
Can't get enough of Bridget and John?
Then make sure to check out the Extended Epilogue to find out…
How will Bridget's life look like while expecting her third child?
In what way will the 16-year-old Betsy help Bridget with her children?
How will John's career as a writer be evolved, and what will his accomplishments be?
(After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from “A Lady's Forever Love”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)
A Lady's Forever Love
Introduction
Lady Margaret Somerville is a nobleman’s daughter cherished by any man seeking a proper wife. Against society, she takes on the child of her deceased poor friend, and she is determined that she will never marry a man who wouldn’t approve of her. When her childhood friend returns home from war, Margaret has no doubt that he is the fairytale prince she has always been waiting for. Little does she know that her father would rather die than see his daughter married to the gamekeeper's son. To make matters worse, she becomes betrothed to a man who craves nothing but her generous dowry. Will Margaret escape the grim future her father has planned for her? Will she find meaning in her life again by Nigel’s side?
Captain Nigel Bateson comes back to Cornwell to discover that his secret crush is engaged to a hateful man, raising a child of mysterious origins. Unable to bury his growing feelings for her and defying all odds, he wishes to marry her at the earliest opportunity. But this is going to be an uphill struggle, as he first has to help her run away from her detestable fiance and prove to her father that he is a respectable man despite his class. Will Nigel rescue the affectionate woman who stole his heart years ago? Or will he have to witness her marry a man that will make her life a living hell?
Even though Margaret and Nigel come from different worlds, their love can overcome the obstacles that tend to keep them apart. But her evil husband-to-be will never accept his defeat, and he is determined to do whatever it takes to make her suffer. Will the two of them find a way to overcome the obstacles that threaten to take away the happiness they deserve? In the end, will their love survive a violent storm and bring sunshine to their hearts?
Prologue
Cornwall, 1811
Nigel Bateson dug his heels into the flanks of his horse, urging it to keep pace with the girl riding alongside him. The wind rushed past his cheeks. It was a wind from the sea tossing below, a wind laced with salt and the smell of the unknown. Nigel was 16 years old, dark and wiry, his muscles hardened from working alongside his father, his heart yearning for adventure.
Beside him, the girl laughed and edged her own horse ahead of his. She rode nearest the cliff. She always insisted that it was so, and when he protested about her safety, she would always point out that she was the lady and he the gamekeeper’s son. It was the only time she ever pulled rank on him – these moments when she wanted to coerce him into some new activity.
They’d grown up together as children, and in many ways they still were. She was only a year younger than him, wild and carefree, her long red hair hanging loose about her shoulders, her leg flung over to ride astride on the horse, her skirts gathered up nearly to her knees and her clothes in disarray.
“Maggie,” Nigel called to her. “You should slow down. The valley is ahead.”
The ‘valley’ was what Margaret Somerville had teasingly named the sudden drop ahead where the cliffs made a sharp cut inwards to allow for a quiet inlet far below. It was easy enough to re-route the horses to go around the upper edge of the inlet, but Nigel knew they were coming to the dangerous spot far more quickly than was safe. He looked over