His Lordship's True Lady (True Gentlemen #4)(98)
Hessian withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket. “You are so fierce, and I love you so much.”
Lily leaned against him, his words a greater blessing even than the sunshine and the gift of his trust.
“I love you, Hessian Kettering. I’m sure you have four other names, at least, but the names don’t matter so much, do they?”
As far as society was concerned, the woman on the bench with Hessian was Lily Ferguson, only daughter of the former Lady Nadine Leggett. The Fergusons would learn otherwise, Worth would handle disbursement of any inherited funds discreetly, and neither Lily nor Annie would provide any explanations to the contrary. On that, Lily and her sister had agreed easily, and to blazes with what anybody else thought.
Hessian gestured with the paper. “The name on this special license is your true, honest name, Lily. If you agree to marry me, the ceremony will be legal and binding. Before I could ask that of you, I also wanted you to know exactly who I am, and that Daisy is very dear to me. The boys are older, they won’t be underfoot as much, but my daughter…” He paused, blinked, and put the paper away. “My daughter will always be a part of my household.”
He’d been right—the day had just grown more glorious than Lily had imagined possible. “You’ll tell Daisy the truth?”
“Her mother, in her journal, said I might, when the time is right. Will you have me, Lily? Will you have me and Daisy? I tramp about with my fowling piece by the hour and never manage to bring down any game. I nap in duck blinds, or I used to. I go for mad gallops and pretend the horse got the bit between his teeth.”
Burden after burden rolled away from Lily’s heart. The burden of an uncertain future and a difficult past, the burden of loneliness, the burden of secrets, the burden of loving and not knowing what to do about it.
“I want to be married here, Hessian, in this park, and soon.”
“To me?”
“Of course to you. Only to you, always to you. I want our wedding to be as public and joyous as my past was private and miserable. I want everybody here when we speak our vows—the little girls, your family, the ducks, the dogs. Everybody, even Hannibal. Let there be no mistaking the fact of our union or that the Earl of Grampion, despite marrying an heiress, has found himself a great, passionate, romantic love match.”
Hessian kissed her, a chaste, lingering, smiling brush of lips, but still—a public kiss in a public park, with children, ducks, dogs, and family looking on. Lily was so pleased she kissed him back, rather thoroughly.
Very thoroughly.
The wedding took place the next week, with the Earl of Rosecroft escorting Lily to the service, and Worth and his lady standing up with the bride and groom. Daisy, Bronwyn, Avery, Andromeda, and Scout stood as witnesses as well, and Hannibal looked on from Lady Rosecroft’s lap. When Daisy sprinkled corn all about, the ducks came to join the ceremony, and the situation grew quite messy, also hilarious.
Grampion was beaming as he spoke his vows, Lily recited hers between fits of laughter, and every single guest of every species was smiling too.
And Lord and Lady Grampion lived happily, if not always quietly, calmly, or tidily, ever after.
To my dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed Hessian and Lily’s story, and yes, there will be more True Gentlemen to come. Jacaranda’s many brothers are in my crosshairs, as is Mr. Jonathan Tresham—Yikes, did I just get the eyebrow raised at me!
While we’re waiting for those stories to come out, I thought you might like to read an excerpt from Too Scot to Handle, the second book in the Windham Bride series, which hits the shelves July 2017. I got to write another braw, bonnie Scottish hero in Lord Colin MacHugh, and Miss Anwen Windham is more than a match for him. There are urchins and wastrel lordlings, and of course, Percival and Esther stick the ducal oar in too. Do I have the most fun job in the world or what?
In September, I’m teaming up with writin’ buddy Theresa Romain to publish a novella duet, The Duke’s Bridle Path, which features a pair of stories set deep in the Regency countryside. Legend says the first person you kiss beneath the full moon on the Duke’s Bridle’s Path will be your one true love. The authors say, “Down, fellas. It’s not going to be that easy….” Heroes, heroines, horses, and happily ever afters… mostly in that order. Excerpt below, and I hope you like it!
The third Windham Bride story, No Other Duke Will Do, comes out in November, and in October, I’m also teaming up with Carolyn Jewel, Miranda Neville, and Shana Galen for a novella anthology: How to Find a Duke in Ten Days. Haven’t we all been asking that very question?
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Happy reading!
Grace Burrowes
Read on for an excerpt from Too Scot to Handle!
Too Scot to Handle
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Anwen Windham and Lord Colin MacHugh meet for a dawn ride in Hyde Park, and Anwen’s hat has unfortunately goes missing. Diligent searching behind the hedges reveals something other than a lady’s missing millinery...
Nothing penetrated Anwen Windham’s awareness except pleasure.