My Lady Coward: An Episodic Regency Romance

By Jaimey Grant

"My Lady Coward" debuted as a serial romance, each installment posted somewhere online as it was written. "My Lady Coward: An Episodic Regency Romance" is a compilation of those ten installments. They have not been changed from the original postings, merely formatted into one file for those who desire to have the whole story in one convenient place. This e-book includes an excerpt from "Heartless."

Word count: 14,000

A lady knows her place, no matter what...

With Maria's vows came a title and security. At her wedding she gained a position amongst Society's elite. With her marriage Maria acquired everything a young woman could possibly desire.

Except love.

Going about her day-to-day activities, all Maria wants is Richard's love, the attentions he lavishes upon his mistress. But can she set aside her ladylike training long enough to tell him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaimey Grant
• Release date: Dec 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781617521478

Jaimey Grant

Jaimey first delved into the Regency time period almost two decades ago and hasn't stopped since. After several years of tapping away at a keyboard for her own entertainment, she finally took the next step and self-published four of her Regency romances in 2008. In 2010, she signed a contract with TreasureLine Publishing.

Book preview

The Complete

My Lady Coward

An Episodic

Regency Romance

by

Jaimey Grant

My Lady Coward

An Episodic Regency Romance

by Jaimey Grant

©2011, 2012 Laura J Miller

Heartless excerpt ©2008, 2012 Laura J Miller

All Rights Reserved.

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the authors, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Cover design by Laura J Miller

www.anauthorsart.com

Published by TreasureLine Publishing

www.treasurelinepublishing.weebly.com

First published online 2011-2012 in serial form.

The following is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, to factual events or to businesses is coincidental and unintentional.

Smashwords Edition License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

A Note From the Author

My Lady Coward started out as a single short story for a Clever Fiction prompt. I never intended to continue the story but readers demanded to know more of Lady Maria. Over the following year, that first short tale grew into ten installments, reaching a total word count of over 14,000.

This complete edition features the original short stories, exactly as they are posted online. It was compiled for those who desire the convenience of having all the installments in one place and for those who want the convenience of having it on their e-reading devices.

Thank you, dear readers, for your support. Please enjoy this compilation of Lady Maria's adventures.

Disclaimer

Though I often refer to Maria as Lady Maria, this is historically inaccurate. As the wife of a duke, she would be Lady [title] rather than Lady [first name]. However, her husband's title is never mentioned, thus I took the liberty of referring to her as Lady Maria upon occasion.

Dedication

For all the readers who took a moment to express how much they enjoyed this story.

Table of Contents

Part 1 ~ In which we meet Maria…

Part 2 ~ In which Maria demands her marital rights....

Part 3 ~ In which Richard bestows gifts upon Maria...

Part 4 ~ In which we meet Maria's family...

Part 5 ~ In which Maria meets the real Lord Derringer...

Part 6 ~ In which Maria forms an ill-conceived plan...

Part 7 ~ In which Maria mourns her loss....

Part 8 ~ In which Maria tries again....

Part 9 ~ In which Maria voices her discontent....

Part 10 ~ In which Maria learns the truth....

Heartless Excerpt

About the Author

Part 1

In which we

meet Maria…

He'd had a mistress for years. She'd known it all along. Heart aching, she'd comforted herself with the thought that it was nothing more than a physical relationship, something he did to save face before his Society friends.

He'd lost so much respect when he'd married her. She was nothing more than the daughter of a Cit, a despised class of people who earned their money from trade rather than inheriting it as any decent sort would.

Lady Maria sighed and sipped her tea. Was marriage to a duke worth the heartache, the loss? With her marriage vows came the acquisition of a title and position in Society. Security. With her marriage vows came the loss of her friends, her family, and everything familiar and comfortable. Love.

Another sigh escaped, one deep enough and long enough to attract the attention of her guests. The ladies only visited to stare at the interloper, the middle class upstart who dared marry a duke, depriving the better bred young debutantes of the prize.

Maria smiled, forced a few polite words from between stiff lips and told herself that she didn't care how much Lady Amelia Cartwright commiserated with her over her husband's behavior.

One cannot expect the gentlemen to remain faithful, Lady Amelia repeated, as if once wasn't enough. "Only women—ahem—ladies are capable of faithfulness."

Bereft of speech at the unsubtle dig, anger shot through Maria. All humans were capable of faithfulness, regardless of rank or gender. The upper class's inability to understand such logic was baffling. Believing Maria to be as unfaithful as her husband just because her father was a man unafraid to work for his wealth was not only cruel, but asinine.

Maria composed herself, determined to keep the anger, and yes, hurt, from her voice. I would not know, my lady, as my breeding has taught me never to meddle in the private affairs of others. She stood as the ladies, every last one of them bearing some title or other, bridled at her insult. Now, if you will excuse me, I must dress for my gathering this evening. She nodded to her husband's butler. "Jasper, please show these—ahem—ladies out."

As she swept from the room, her shoulders straight and elegantly coiffed blond head held high, her fingers clenched her green muslin skirts. She could hear the muffled anger of the ladies leaving, the emotionless tones of Jasper as he ushered them out, and then the blessed silence of a house free of spite. Yet another sigh escaped, a