The Secret Letter

By Joanne Austen Brown

Cora Fitzgibbon appears cold and uninteresting except To Thomas Wright.

He foolishly agrees to be part of a Secret Letter plan invented by his brother.  Cold Cora is his match.

But she is not cold or distant and he is very much attracted to her. How can he win her love and keep his promise to his brother.

Love is in the air as Christmas approaches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joanne Austen Brown
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215582350

Joanne Austen Brown

Joanne loves to write and she loves to travel. She is married to Andrew and lives in Central New South Wales Australia with him and their two cats Arthur and Oscar. (Meet them on Joanne’s webpage) She has two grown sons and four beautiful granddaughters. Her imagination loves to take her on various trips but mainly in the area of the regency romance. She also loves meeting new people so do drop a line to her on: webpage or Facebook page.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

S o dear brother, explain it to me again.

We are all looking for a wife.

Some of you are, I for one am not.

Do not get picky, brother. The majority are and we want to find out more about the young ladies being presented. We can only do that if we all present a united front.

Thomas Wright, Viscount of Huntly, sighed. His younger brother had way too many leadership skills. He looked at some of the young men that his brother had organised to go along with his scheme. He shook his head, trying to fathom what his brother was able to do. But he had, list in hand, with the agreement of all twenty to follow the rules. Signed by each one. He could hardly say no after his younger brother, Jasper, had arranged the whole thing. He had even got his twin brother, Edmond, who usually had his head buried in a book, to go in for the crazy idea.

Before I agree, please read out the rules again.

"Gladly. 1. You must always remain anonymous.

2. You must not hint at your identity in your missives.

3. You must watch and listen to your young lady to see if they can guess your identity.

4. You must keep the secret of all the men.

5. You must stop writing when you have determined if the young lady is for you or not. You must keep up the pretence until all are ready to reveal themselves."

Interesting, I must admit. And each man has chosen a potential bride from the young ladies? But what of me? I do not wish to marry. What part do you want me to play?

We have the perfect match for you. Miss Cora Fitzgibbon.

You are joking. Cold Cora? It is out of the question. He shook his head.

Why? You said yourself you want no woman for wife. She wants no man for husband. All you need to do is write the letters that she will probably ignore. But we believe she will be intrigued. Then you will need to keep her occupied so that I may have a chance of capturing her sister’s heart. Lillian’s. His brother sighed and he watched his eyes glaze over as he thought about the lovely Lillian.

After a moment Jasper continued, Besides, as a renowned London rake, we thought you of all people could be the one who unfreezes Cora. And it is summer, so the weather is on your side.

That is a challenge I believe most men would pass on…

But Thomas you will not, will you? You love a challenge.

Thomas looked around at the gathering of young gentlemen. Not all twenty but a large number. Each were watching and waiting for his response. He shrugged.

Very well. Tonight, I will watch my prey and tomorrow we will all send the first letter. Agreed?

Agreed. Thank you, Thomas. You will not regret this.

We shall see. He looked at all the smiling faces and shook his head.

The Upton ball was a big squeeze. The first major ball of the season. For the last week small introductory balls had occurred but this one was the major event and would kick off the season. Tonight, he would watch Miss Cora Fitzgibbon. Cold Cora. He could not understand why she displayed such disdain. She was beautiful to be sure but did not allow any man to obtain a foothold around her. What was her problem?

Thomas took out his pencil and a small notebook. He jotted down some of his observances and thoughts.

. Beautiful

. Cherry coloured lips, probably make up.

. Black raven coloured hair

. The deepest of blue eyes

. Tall and slender

He stood nearby her to listen to her conversations. He was surprised at the numerous conversations about the weather and politics. She was more intelligent than most young ladies. She seemed very serious, and he wondered if he could make her laugh

. Intelligent

. Make her smile and laugh

Perhaps she was cold. Or perhaps she just did not want to deal with fools. He understood that kind of thinking. He rarely attended these events because he could not stand the matrons who attempted to catch him for their simpleton daughters. He was careful to avoid most of them. But he now watched the most well-known making her way straight toward him. Lady Sarah Pinkerton.

Viscount Huntly, Lord Thomas Wright. What an honour to have you attend the ball of the season. On the prowl, are we?

He bowed.

"Lady Pinkerton, what a pleasure to see you. No, I am here giving