A Reluctant Bride

By Roxie Brandon

Amazing value Regency two-story collection.

Charming dukes with attitudes and kind hearts. Lovely ladies who want to find love. You'll find all of this and much more in this collection.
This Regency romance collection is a sweet read with a guaranteed happily ever after.

The full collection includes:
1.A Reluctant Bride
2.Rescued by the Duke’s Brother

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roxie Brandon
• Release date: Jan 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005792824

Roxie Brandon

Roxie Brandon is an author of historical and contemporary romance, beauty and fashion books.Her romances range in setting from Medieval times to the Twentieth Century.She loves walks in the countryside and having afternoon tea with family and friends.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Georgiana put her hand up to shield her eyes and watched as the maid that her mother had sent came hurrying across the lawn towards her. Hengrave Hall had quite wide, sloping lawns and so it took the maid quite some time to reach Georgiana. She tucked a lock of her long, honey-brown hair behind her ear. Georgiana had tied it up earlier, but the wind had plucked some strands out of her braid and they fell in soft waves past her shoulders.

Georgiana knew that, most likely, the maid was coming to summon her to see her mother, and she began to try to put her hair in order before the maid arrived. It didn't surprise Georgiana that her mother had sent a servant instead of coming herself. Her mother almost never came outside unless it was for a planned activity and simply summoning her daughter was something that Elizabeth would have naturally delegated to one of the servants. The girl, a redhead who looked to be about fifteen years of age, stopped in front of Georgiana and dropped a small curtsey.

Miss, Lady Elizabeth has requested your attendance in the office. She said that you should come right away, no matter what activities you were currently engaged in.

The girl's eyes flicked down and glanced quickly at the newspaper that Georgiana was holding in her hand.

She said that I was to bring you directly to her without haste.

The girl dropped another curtsey and waited patiently to see what Georgiana was going to do next. Georgiana sighed and followed the maid across the lawn and into the house. She was taller than the maid and had a long, slim frame but she made sure to walk slowly like her mother required her to do.

As she walked, she continued to tidy her dress and put her hair back in order. For all she knew, her mother was watching her from the windows of her office. From the pace at which the girl was walking, Georgiana gathered that Elizabeth had heavily stressed the importance of Georgiana's immediate attendance. She hoped her mother was not about to give her a lecture about being outside or about Georgiana's interest in reading newspapers, something that her mother considered to be unseemly.

Georgiana loved scanning the daily papers. Although her mother tried to limit her reading materials to those sections that concerned themselves with the social season in London and which family was up to what, Georgiana still managed to get her hands on other sections. She had a keen mind and topics such as business and politics fascinated her immensely.

Years ago, she had loved debating with her father whenever she got the chance. It was not uncommon for her father to call Georgiana into his study and have her go over the lessons that her governess had set for her. In early days, the topics had been simple ones. Now, though, the conversations that she enjoyed were few and far between.

Edward, the Baronet Gage, had been ill for quite some time. At first, the illness had manifested itself in a weakness of his legs but, as time progressed, he had become increasingly weak and had eventually taken to his bed on a permanent basis. Elizabeth had taken on a larger and larger role in managing the household, even though it was something that she had been uncomfortable with in the beginning. As time progressed, though, she had settled into the role and had proved herself an able manager.

Georgiana entered the manor house and walked down the hallway, heading for the office where her mother spent a great deal of the day. Georgiana knew who would be in the room with her mother, her father's business manager, Charles Blunt. Charles was a tall, spare, pale skinned man with a thick mop of dark hair that always looked unkempt.

Elizabeth had worked with Mr. Blunt to keep the family's finances in order as long as possible, but doctors and medicines were not cheap. They had tried numerous things to try and help Edward recover but, over time, bank accounts had been drained and no cure had been found. Then, some of the properties that the Gage family owned had fallen into disrepair and had needed expensive work done. Georgiana was not sure of the exact nature of her family's financial situation, but she had overheard enough discussions between Elizabeth and Mr. Blunt to know that money was in short supply.

Georgiana entered the study and looked at her mother. The office was dim even though the large windows to let in light. Elizabeth clearly had something important that she needed to discuss with her daughter but she made Georgiana wait, instead choosing to finish going over one of the ledgers with her manager. Finally, though, Elizabeth looked up and waved Georgiana forwards. Georgiana walked forward and stopped in front of her mother.

She waited patiently for Elizabeth to let her know what was going on. She knew better than to try and coax her mother into speaking what was on her mind. Elizabeth believed that a woman who could hold her tongue was one to be admired and so she never started a discussion until she was completely ready to. It was a trait that Elizabeth had tried to instill in her daughter but she had not had much luck.

Finally, though, Elizabeth looked her daughter up and down and then explained what had brought her out of doors at a time when she would normally be closeted with the business manager.

Your father has taken a turn for the worse, said