The Substitute Heiress: The Ashcombe Heiresses, #1

By Juliane Karlis

She never meant to take her mistress's place.

Anna Bond sails to Jamaica with her new mistress, the timid heiress Arabella. Everything Anna has ever dreamed of in her orphaned life—family, fortune, status—and handsome suitors!—will soon be Arabella's.

Anna chafes at the thought of living the rest of her life as a lady's maid, but when a twist of fate puts Anna in the heiress's place, she discovers that dreams aren't always as sweet as they seem!

Will Anna be able to tell Arabella's arrogant Grandfather the truth about who she is? More importantly, can she admit to herself that her dreams have changed, thanks to a certain tall young first mate with sea-green eyes?

This sweet and clean historical Regency romance will keep you entertained and leave you satisfied with a delightful happily-ever-after!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mint & Romance
• Release date: Apr 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386452522

Juliane Karlis

I like my romance the way I like my mint tea: Pure and refreshing, warm and sweet... yet with that special, invigorating something that keeps you coming back for more. I invite you to join me in my quest for Mint & Romance!  ♥ Juliane

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Juliane Karlis. All rights reserved.

For more information, please visit the author’s website.

1

Portsmouth, England

April 1817

Now that I’m alone I don’t know what I’ll do! Miss Arabella Ashcombe said fretfully. Anna Bond sighed. She couldn’t tell if her mistress’s voice only trembled with the rumbling of the carriage over the rough cobblestones, or if she was almost on the verge of tears. Again.

You’re not alone, Miss, Anna reminded her. I’m here with you.

But I’m an orphan! Arabella sniffled. It’s so lonely to be an orphan.

What? Anna thought with a tinge of amusement. In the last month you’ve discovered what I’ve felt like all of my eighteen long years? I know it’s lonely to be an orphan, thank you very much! With an effort, she bit back the words and took a deep breath. I must not do anything to jeopardize my position, she reminded herself. I’m lucky that Arabella is willing to take a chance on me, even though I have no experience as a lady’s maid. I have nowhere else to go, and I can’t—won’t—go back to the Foundling Home!

You have a grandfather waiting for you in Jamaica, Anna said in a soft, soothing voice, the one she’d used at the Foundling Home on very small and unreasonable children. Goodness! And here she thought that when she took the position of lady’s maid she had left behind such tiresome duties forever! She felt a tiny, rueful smile creep to her lips. It turns out I’ve just exchanged the care of small helpless creatures for the care of an older one.

I haven’t seen Grandfather since I was three, Arabella sniffled, dabbed at her honey-brown, black-lashed eyes with a finely embroidered handkerchief. The scrap of lace and silk was soaked through almost immediately. A Grandfather one does not remember is not a great comfort.

Here, take a new one, Anna said, reaching into the traveling bag she held and producing an equally minuscule and belaced scrap of silk.

Of course I know I have no choice, Arabella continued. When the letter came from Grandfather, I thought I could never go so far away from England. I told Mother so before she—before she— Arabella paused again to dab her eyes. Beneath the concealing brim of her plain, rusty-brown bonnet, Anna rolled her own eyes, the same honey-brown as her mistress’s. Beyond that, however, there was no resemblance between the two young ladies. Anna was tall, with a graceful, athletic build and unruly, mousy-brown curls, while Arabella was small and blonde, with the delicate frame and pink-and-white complexion of a china doll.

But she had been ill for so long, and the money dried up, so when Grandfather wrote me such a friendly invitation even though he’d never paid us any mind since Father died… Arabella trailed off miserably.

It must have been very hard for you. Anna said the words automatically. Of course, the girl had just lost her mother, sold her childhood home, and let all her life-long servants go, but really! She had been talking about nothing else for the whole fortnight that Anna had been employed by her! It was a never-ending circle of conversation: her mother’s long illness, her grandfather’s letter, the anxieties of the prospective trip, her rather wild sounding and now long-dead father—which brought everything back to her mother again. Is this what the whole voyage to Jamaica will be like? Maybe Arabella will be seasick and confined to her bed, Anna thought hopefully.

Suddenly Anna sat up straighter. Miss! she said, I think we’ve arrived. See the ships?

Arabella timidly peered out the carriage window. Ooh, she said faintly, and Anna thought she looked a little green already. Was she really going to be seasick simply by looking at the ship they’d call their home for the next several weeks?

The carriage halted and the two young ladies alighted, Arabella clutching her delicate embroidered reticule, and Anna holding a larger, more practical bag stocked with all the necessities her mistress might need. The coachman put their trunks beside them—rather, three trunks of Arabella’s and one small wooden crate that contained all of Anna’s few possessions—and tipped his hat.

There you be, Miss, he said, and drove off.

The two girls stood alone on the cobbled street, looking about them in uncertainty. Busy sailors and untidy women working up and down the docks, while seagulls shrieked derisively overhead. The whole place stank of fish and seaweed and tar.

Oh…oh…Anna, Arabella faltered. She clutched at Anna’s sleeve and looked as if she were going to be sick. Her pale skin had taken on almost a ghostly whiteness, making her honey-brown eyes all the more striking in her finely featured face. What do we do now? I—I don’t think I can go through with it. I think I shall just have to write Grandfather a letter and tell him that I can’t come, after all—I—I think that—

Nonsense, Anna said briskly. You sit here and watch the luggage. I’ll arrange everything.

Arabella sank onto a trunk and Anna hurried down the dock towards the ship that would take them to Jamaica. The Indescribable, had it been called? Yes, that was it, and there it was. Anna stopped a moment, staring at it. She was no seaman, but there seemed to be something…old…about this ship. "Indescribable, indeed!" she murmured to herself.

Excuse me, she called. Men moved about on the deck, most too busy to notice her, but a few cast curious glances at the tall girl who stood with her gray cloak whipping about her in the fresh morning sea breeze. Excuse me, please! she called again. Still, no one acknowledged her. Anna stamped her foot and cupped her hands to her mouth. Ahoy!

A tall figure near the railing of the ship turned towards her. Ahoy? he repeated, his deep voice heavy with amusement. Is that what the landlubbers say in greeting these days?

Anna felt herself blushing furiously. How dare this man try to make her look ridiculous! She lifted her chin defiantly.

And is that how sailors greet their paying passengers these days? she countered.

The man held up his hands in a sign of truce, then jumped lightly to the dock and strode towards her. Up close he was an even more imposing figure with wide, square shoulders, unruly, sun-bleached brownish hair and a decidedly determined set to his jaw, though his lips quirked in amusement. Although Anna was a tall girl, she found herself forced to tilt her head back to look into his piercing, sea-green eyes when he stopped before her.

The captain told me to expect two passengers, but I didn’t realize you would be so young, Miss…Ashcombe?

Miss Bond, Anna corrected. Miss Ashcombe is waiting near the luggage. I’m her traveling companion.

Oh, the lady’s maid, you mean, the man said, his attitude again relaxing into lazy familiarity. He grinned at her, an infectious, conspiratorial smile that made the corners of Anna’s own mouth twitch before she caught herself.

What I am to her is no concern of yours, sir, she said coldly. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we’d like our things to be brought aboard so we can get settled for the journey. My Mis—that is, Miss Ashcombe is fatigued and wishes to rest.

Is there anything I can possibly say to convince you that you should not go to Jamaica with us? the man asked.

What? The unexpected question caught Anna off guard.

Can I convince you that you should not—

I heard what you said, but why did you say it?

He motioned towards the ship. We’re not exactly a passenger ship. Built for hauling goods in safety, not transporting young ladies in comfort, and certainly not in style.

We have to go to Jamaica, Anna said, and this is the ship Miss Ashcombe’s solicitor has secured for our journey. That is final. Anna knew that Arabella’s funds were all but depleted. If they had to secure lodgings and find a different ship, her funds wouldn’t last a fortnight, to say nothing of covering the price of another passage.

Her determination must have gotten through to the man, for he shrugged and said, All right, Miss I-am-not-a-lady’s-maid, take me to your Mis—I mean, Miss Ashcombe. He whistled to a few men who followed him down the dock to where Arabella sat with the trunks.

Anna hurried to keep up with his long strides. Insufferable man! she muttered. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a man like that, who can’t be relied on—except to take everyone and everything as a joke!

Arabella watched anxiously as the men approached. Anna! she called, her voice thin with strain as she peered between the men for a glimpse of her maid. Anna hurried forward, pushing past the tall, rude sailor and taking Arabella’s hand to help her rise from the trunk.

It’s all right, Miss, she said soothingly. They’re just here to carry our things aboard.

Miss Ashcombe, the tall man said, sweeping her a bow. Is there anything that I can say to convince you not—

Ahem. Anna cut him off, wishing that she could strangle the man. Trying to get to her mistress like that! That was all Arabella needed—more fear and doubt about the upcoming voyage! I believe we’ve already discussed this. Miss Ashcombe and I are in complete agreement as to our course of action, so please do not waste any more of our valuable time.

What I meant to say, the man said, ignoring Anna completely and putting on a charming smile, is that we will be delighted to have you on board, and hope that your journey will be comfortable.

Oh, I hope so, too, Arabella said fervently, but I do not believe it will be—even the sight of the sea is enough to make me feel giddy and ill. She shivered, but then remembered her manners and gave the man a polite smile. But I do thank you for your welcome. She timidly motioned towards the trunks. If you will be so good, these are my things.

And mine, thought Anna, though that tiny crate is almost lost behind the great, brass-hinged trunks of Arabella’s.

The sailors stacked two of the trunks on top of each other and heaved it between them by the leather handles. The tall man easily swung the third trunk up onto his shoulder, then looked at Anna with a gleam in his eye.

And is this—um, trunk—the property of the traveling companion?

Yes, Anna answered stiffly. Odious man! He effortlessly perched her crate on his other shoulder and walked toward the ship with easy, swinging steps.

Oh, Anna, Arabella said breathlessly, I’m so frightened now that we’re here—I don’t think I can—

Come on, Anna interrupted, taking Arabella by the arm and steering her briskly toward the gangplank where the two sailors were now hauling the chests to the deck. The tall man had passed them and already disappeared on board, but just as they neared the foot of the gangplank he came back and stood on the deck to welcome them.

Oh, Anna! Arabella started to moan again, clutching Anna’s arm. I—I’ve never told you this, but the truth is that I’m deathly afraid of water!

I was beginning to suspect as much, Anna said dryly.

I think I shall die of terror before I can make myself get on that ship! Anna continued, her voice high and quavering. Anna had only been with her for a fortnight, but already she knew the signs preceding a fit of nerves which all too easily could turn to hysterics as Arabella let her imagination—always full of dreadful possibilities—work on her weakened emotional state following the death of her mother and the breakup of the household.

It will be all right, Anna said with a soothing patience she didn’t feel. You’ve sailed to Jamaica before, remember? You survived then, didn’t you?

But I was only three, and I had my mother and father with me! Arabella protested wildly. I think I was dreadfully seasick, and I know I will die of it if I must go on board that ship!

Nonsense! Anna snapped, her facade of patience wearing thin. People don’t die of seasickness!

You’re so unfeeling, Anna! Arabella moaned, almost in tears.

You’re so unreasonable! This whole scheme is your idea, and your only option, too, I might add! If you don’t get on that ship, you really will die a penniless heiress—now come along! Anna began pulling her mistress toward the ship. Arabella tried to resist, but she was no match for her tall, determined maid.

No, I can’t, I just know I can’t, Arabella whimpered.

Yes—you can and you will, Anna replied through gritted teeth.

Ladies! A deep voice interrupted their struggles and Anna looked up, flushed and annoyed. It was the tall young man, standing at the top of the gangplank and watching their little tug-of-war with barely concealed amusement. Can I be of any assistance? he inquired.

Arabella was still too distraught to answer, but Anna replied decidedly, No thank you. We’re doing quite well and will be on board soon. She gave Arabella’s arm a surreptitious tug and Arabella unwillingly staggered half a step toward the gangplank.

Come on, Anna muttered under her breath, acutely aware of the tall, amused figure observing them from the deck. Suddenly he bounded down the gangplank and stood at Arabella’s other side.

Miss Ashcombe, he said, his voice soft and concerned, the boards can be treacherously slippery, and I wouldn’t want to see you fall. Would you permit me the liberty of carrying you aboard? Without waiting for a reply, he swung Arabella up in his arms as easily as if she were a small child, and like a small child she clasped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her head in his broad shoulder. He carried her up the gangplank, leaving Anna staring, open-mouthed, on the dock. When he reached the ship’s deck he turned, motioning to her with a sideways nod of his head.

Come along, Miss Traveling Companion—or do you want me to come back and carry you aboard, as well? His sea-green eyes smirked at her over the top of Arabella’s bonnet. Anna was speechless with indignation and stalked aboard with her head held high, resolutely ignoring his laughing gaze.

What a disappointment that my services won’t be necessary! he said, and Anna clenched her hands in annoyance. Come on, then, I’ll show you where your cabin is. He strode across the deck and down a steep stairway to a low, cramped room furnished with a narrow bunk bed and a small table. Arabella’s trunks