All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used/copied/lent in any form whatsoever without the
written consent of the author.
All character, names and events are from the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to persons alive or deceased is entirely coincidental.
You can contact Jackie at anytime to give feedback, check out any offers and keep up with new releases.
Please email her at
Jackieromanticsuspensebooks
To my wonderful daughter Natalie, without whose continual support and endless encouragement none of my books would have been possible.
Thank you, Sweetheart Xx
While each of my books is a standalone read, due to the reappearance of the characters, it is advisable to read them in order.
Please take a look at
Silence of Scandal
A Regency Mystery Romance
romanticsuspensebooks.org/silence-of-scandal/
With blackmail and scandal chasing him constantly, will the new Duke of Ormond be able to save his pride, his home and the family jewels?
A Murderous Masquerade
A Regency Mystery Romance
romanticsuspensebooks.org/a-murderous-masquerade/
Can Giles Denvers ever win Lady Anne or will the greed and petty spitefulness of her young brother see him swinging at the end of a hangman’s noose?
Chapter One
Pride and Petticoats
“Easy now, girl, don’t fight it. Just let your body tell you what to do, eh. I’ll be as gentle as I can.” Geoffrey stroked the soft cheek beneath his fingertips as he pressed his forehead against hers. A puff of heated breath warmed his naked chest as he adjusted his position and reached past her neck. He slid the palm of his hand down her body and across her quivering stomach.
He groaned as he felt her hot, silky skin and frowned into her neck as her belly trembled under his touch. She let out a long whimper of distress and Geoffrey pulled back slightly to look into her frightened eyes. This wasn’t going as well as he had planned and he had no idea of how to comfort her.
He lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder as a door behind him opened on well-oiled hinges. Quiet footsteps hurried towards him and he pulled his expression of despair into one of quiet confidence that he certainly didn’t feel. He took a step backwards and waited for the woman to appear.
Radiant blonde curls and the most beautiful face on earth appeared over the bottom half of the door as his friend’s ward poked her head inside the stall. She gave him a swift, gut-wrenching smile and he bit down the surge of feelings that leapt so easily into his heart.
Her huge, summer sky eyes glowed as her small hand opened the lower half of the door and Lady Charlotte Denvers stepped inside the stall. She gave him another heart-stopping smile before she spoke in quiet tones.
“I tried to come earlier, but couldn’t get away. Alexander’s mother had three portions of dessert! I don’t know where she puts it all. The woman is tiny. If I ate half as much as she did, I would be the size of Jenkins prize pig. They’re only just starting the port now so I sneaked out of the side door...How’s she doing?” She whispered into the dusky room.
Geoffrey shook his head as his eyes wandered over Charlotte’s perfect figure. She was small, barely reaching his shoulder in height, but only a year since he had first met her and the waif she had been back then had put on a little weight. All of it in exactly the right places. He dragged his mind out of the mud and back to the present situation. Although he didn’t want to worry the woman, he couldn’t deceive her.
“It’s taking too long. She should be much further along than this.” He noticed Charlotte’s eyes travel over his half-naked body and he glanced down as he recollected that given the task he was about to perform, he had removed his shirt some few minutes earlier. Charlotte’s eyes had darted back up to his own and he heard her pull in a tiny breath of air. Though what he had done had been necessary, she was clearly embarrassed by his state of undress. He reached out to the rail, grabbed his linen shirt and dragged it over his head as a flush rose to his cheeks at his lack of propriety. It was far too easy to forget that she was a Lady, what with her open, friendly manner and with her being around the stables all the time.