Charming the Duke

By Rebecca Jones

Anthony Randall, the Duke of Daventry, is in desperate need of a governess for his orphaned niece. The Duke’s niece, the spoiled, seven-year-old Isabella has been through three governesses. The Duke is highly doubtful the young, inexperienced Miss Regina Hopkins could possibly manage his irascible niece but since he is desperate, he agrees to give her a chance.

Much to the astonishment of the entire household Regina succeeds beautifully, bringing the little lady under control and brightening the lives of everyone she comes in contact with, including the Duke.

Unfortunately, the Duke has a reputation as a faithless rake and a heartbreaker. No woman of good character is willing to live under the same roof as him. Apart from the beautiful Regina Hopkins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca Jones
• Release date: Oct 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005388287

Rebecca Jones

Rebecca Jones has a lifelong love of history, especially English and American. Her romances range in setting from Medieval times to the Twentieth Century. She writes entertaining books for her readers to enjoy.She loves walks in the countryside and having afternoon tea with family and friends.When not writing, you can find her trying to keep up with her husband and three kids and exploring the different parts of the world.

Book preview

CHARMING THE DUKE

Copyright © 2020 Rebecca Jones All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

Chapter One

Countryside bathed in brilliant summer sunlight. Regina Hopkins smelled the fresh air around her. The flowers were radiant and beautiful swaying with the wind. The wind, that nice breeze against her face with the wonderful perfume of roses met her nose. She heard the faint sound of chirping above and saw birds soar across the sky. The warm gentle sun shone on her, filling her body with warmth.

The lake mirrored the sky above. Regina closed her eyes. The breeze that ran unchecked over the rippled surface blew her long bangs from her eyes and brought colour to her usually pale cheeks.

Without the distraction of the view she could detect the scent. The moist air was fragranced with the pine trees that circled the lake, growing so close that some had toppled in and others dangles cobra-thick roots into the water.

The sunset threatening to dip behind the horizon, firstly cascading a prim bombardment of colours that were flung over the sky with terrible alacrity. The receding blue and oranges battled the blackness pushing it away with arms.

It shone on the lake below shining its deep depths. The radiant glow scintillated and beamed. A deep sense of serenity overcame her as she stared in rapture at the expanse of blue that lay before her.

I still wish we didn’t have to send her away, Charles. 

Regina heard her mother’s worry clearly in her words. Her parents were discussing her upcoming departure for the county seat of the Duke of Daventry to be governess to his orphaned niece.

My love, her father said, I would do anything to make it not be so, as you well know, but we have little choice, but to send Regina, she is the eldest. Our parish living grows smaller, the parishioners are of meagre means. We must keep body and soul together.

Regina’s heart was torn. She was now getting ready to take herself off for an employment in a stranger’s house. With her in someone else’s home, being housed and fed, her family would be able to maintain an easier living.

Her parents rued the day that things had come to such a pass, but Regina was excited by all the possibilities inherent in such a situation as hers. At the very least, she would avoid a too-early marriage to someone she did not care for as a means of securing her future against poverty.

Instead, she would be able to see something of the world beyond the walls of her home, to meet interesting people, to breathe the air of her betters and learn from them how to advance herself.

She walked past her parents’ bedchamber and slipped into the drawing room, searching until she found the book she had been reading before dinner. Tomorrow would be her last day among the family and friends she had known since her youth. The next day, a carriage was being sent to take her to Brighton House, the Duke’s country home.

She sighed as she put the book under the pillow and pulled up the thin coverlet. She