Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke - Tessa Candle Page 0,46
in her relation to Screwe than you did.”
“You see?” Rosamond pointed her finger up to testify to the heavens. “This is further evidence of our perfect sympathy. For that is precisely what I thought. But on a more practical note, I also needed someone to look after the property at Brookshire, as I have no plans to live there myself.”
“But I am sure you could have found a suitable tenant who would pay you well, and who did not have such unpleasant associations.”
Rosamond’s face darkened. “I admit I am still uneasy about the possibility of Screwe returning—even though Frobisher insists he is dead. Yet there has been no announcement, no obituary.”
Rosamond lapsed into silent thought for a few moments. She must be terribly fearful, though she concealed it well. Screwe had mercilessly hunted her and tried to kill her. One did not easily get over something like that.
Rosamond perked up again. “Anyway, I am pleased with the care Lady Screwe has taken of the property, even with so little help.”
Eleanor could not resist a quip. “And the wife of your enemy might be your friend—though you are far too new to the institution of marriage to have entertained such a jaded thought.”
“And this from the woman who has never been married. I admit that I once had ulterior motives, but I have since grown to like Lady Screwe for herself. I should be very pleased to assist her, where I can.”
Eleanor’s face assumed the straight demeanour it was accustomed to when she was at her most sarcastic. “Perhaps you are on your way to sainthood after all. But take care, for if you are canonized I may not be able to tolerate you.”
“But you will not be rid of me so easily. If you tire of me, I will only follow you around and plague you with my company like Lord Auchdun.”
“Oh, you could never be as bad as that.” Eleanor shuddered theatrically. “But let us depart before the devil hears his name spoken and appears before us.”
Rosamond tilted her head and gave Eleanor a suspicious look. “Is there more you have not told me about his latest imposition?”
How much of what happened this morning should she tell Rosamond? Perhaps she should speak with Frobisher first. There might be some innocent explanation for what happened in the pirate’s cave, and Rosamond should not be needlessly disturbed while she was still haunted by the memory of Screwe.
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “I shall tell you all about Honey-Dunny on the way. Or perhaps I shall wait until Lady Screwe may hear as well. Make a good story of it. I had a champion, you know…”
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Glossary
acerbic: sour, harsh, biting, Ch. 14.
Arse Poetica: Katherine’s word play on Ars Poetica, a epistolary poem by Horace which gives advice on how to compose poetry and drama, Ch 14.
bacon-brain: Regency era term for a stupid person, Ch. 14.
beef-wit: Regency era term for a stupid person, Ch. 8.
bounder: Regency era term for a person of low moral character, Ch. 7.
complacence: self-satisfaction, Ch. 11.
cuffin: fellow, Ch. 1.
first water: Regency era term meaning top quality, Ch. 3.
gaol: old word for jail, Ch. 16.
get a leg over: British term for having sex with someone—hard to say how old the expression is, but the joke was too tempting to pass up, Ch. 14.
having someone on: pulling someone’s leg, making a humorous deception, Ch. 8.
hiatus: a pause, Ch. 2.
making a cake of oneself: Regency era term for publically embarrassing oneself, Ch. 5, Epilogue.
officious: tending to intrusively interfere in the affairs of others, meddlesome, Ch. 18.
pantaloons: a type of short pants (trousers) worn by gentlemen of the Regency era, Ch. 18.
paucity: scarcity, smallness, Ch. 13.
pernicious: of a malicious tendency to cause serious injury, Ch. 3.
plant someone a facer: Regency era term for punching someone in the face, Ch. 18.
prodigious: unusual or astounding in size, amount or degree, Ch. 18.
sideslip: illegitimate offspring, Ch. 8.
saccharine: extremely sweet, especially artificially so, Ch 8.
smoky: Regency era term meaning morally suspect and up to no good, Ch. 7, 15.
succubus; a type of female demon that visits men at night to seduce them, Ch. 13.
Books by Tessa Candle/T.S. Candle
Three Abductions and an Earl, Book 1 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Get it on Amazon.
Mistress of Two Fortunes and a Duke, Book 2 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Get it on Amazon.
Three Masks and a Marquess, Book 3 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Get it on Amazon.
Parvenues & Paramours Books 1-3 Box Set. Get it on Amazon.
Two Brides and a Duke, Book 4 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Get it on Amazon.
Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke (in a Pear Tree): A Christmas Novella, Book 5 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Get it on Amazon.
One Bourbon, One Scott, One Peer, Book 6 in the Parvenues & Paramours series. Pre-order coming soon on many distributers. Check availability.
Writing as T.S. Candle:
Accursed Abbey, a Regency Gothic Romance, Book 1 in the Nobles & Necromancy series. Get it on Amazon.
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About the Author
Tessa Candle is a lawyer, world traveler, and author of rollicking historical regency romance. She also lays claim to the questionable distinction of being happily married to the descendant of a royal bastard.
Tessa writes steamy historical romances featuring heroines who stand up for themselves, the unsuspecting noblemen who fall in love with them, and all the high jinks involved in getting them together. Sexy times will ensue (doors wide open and very sexy) but not until the characters have earned it.
When she is not slaving over the production and release of another novel, or conducting research by reading salacious historical romances with heroines who refuse to be victims, she divides her time between gardening, video editing, traveling, and meeting the outrageous demands of her two highly entitled Samoyed dogs. As they are cute and inclined to think too well of themselves, Tessa surmises that they were probably dukes in a prior incarnation.
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Acknowledgments
Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke would not have been possible without the hard work, encouragement and support of many people.
If you passed eyes over this book, or its cover, or had to listen to me chatter on, pepper you with hundreds of questions, or bewail my piteous lot, thank you.
You know who you are, and you are wonderful.