Lucky in Love

By Ellie Thomas

Sequel to Lucky John

After years of exile during Commonwealth rule following the English Civil Wars, Owen Montgomery is home to stay in his Monmouthshire with John, the rescued kitchen lad who has become the light of Owen’s life.

Owen has enjoyed eighteen months of peace since his tenure as an official envoy on behalf of King Charles II. In the autumn of 1661, Owen is torn from his comfortable life by a summons from his brother Lewis, a courtier close to the king. Owen is reluctant to take John to London, concerned about the impact of corruption and temptations of court life on such a well-meaning innocent. But how can he refuse John anything?

Owen reluctantly fulfils his duty to his brother while John gets to grips with the palace and its hazards. Can Owen continue to protect John from harm? Or might his constant vigilance stifle the man he loves?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Apr 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9781685507176

Book preview

Lucky in Love

By Ellie Thomas

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2024 Ellie Thomas

ISBN 9781685507176

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Thank you, Addison, for being such a wonderful beta reader!

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Lucky in Love

By Ellie Thomas

Chapter 1

Monmouthshire, Autumn 1661

Owen Montgomery received a letter from his brother Lewis one morning at breakfast. He and his labourers had been engaged in harvesting, with the bulk of the crops cut and left to dry in stooks, but there was still much to do. Owen had been in the fields since dawn. He almost put the missive aside until later, imagining it was yet another barely veiled request for funds the estate could ill afford to supply.

Yet, before heading out of doors again, some presentiment made him retire to the study to peruse Lewis’ letter. As usual, Owen was shadowed by his faithful servant John, undersized for his twenty-odd years, with an uncanny ability to discern when Owen might need him.

Owen sat at the solid oak desk where his father and grandfather had presided over their modest domain. John stood by the door, apparently awaiting his master’s orders. At night, out of sight of the manor’s other inhabitants, Owen acknowledged John as his constant companion. During the day, they were more circumspect. Only the concern in John’s wide grey eyes betrayed their bond.

Owen broke the wax seal and began to skim the contents. There were the usual flowery phrases with which Lewis liked to embellish his occasional correspondence. He peppered his letters with a piquant sprinkling of gossip, usually concerning the king’s many mistresses.

Owen was so accustomed to the florid pattern of Lewis’ writing that he almost skipped over the paragraph summoning him to London.

You are required to report to the Palace of Whitehall by the twenty-third of this month at the latest.

That was less than ten days away. Given a journey time on horseback of four or five days, it left Owen very little time. His face, tanned by the summer sun, set into grim lines, recalling the hardened soldier he used to be. He read through the crucial paragraph more slowly, not wanting to miss a detail in case Lewis allowed him some excuse to refuse his request.

From Lewis’ previous letters, Owen was aware that the king was in the process of selecting a royal bride, whose chief role, apart from begetting an heir, was to fill the empty coffers of the House of Stuart.

A Portuguese princess had been settled on, and now there were delicate negotiations about acquiring a portion of her dowry in advance of the wedding. Within less than a fortnight, a Portuguese ambassador would be stopping off at Dover for a limited period, and a few of the king’s entourage, including Lewis, would meet him and persuade him to part with the promised funds.

Owen was required to be in London in Lewis’ stead. His brother managed to gloss over the exact reason for this necessity. Owen might hazard a guess that his presence was required for Lewis’ benefit only. Yet his brother had cunningly phrased this to imply that Owen’s presence was required by the king himself.

In frustration, Owen sprang from the chair, rounded the desk, and flung down the letter. He let rip with a string of foul soldier’s curses that he could indulge in away from the ladies of the house.

What ails you? John asked, startled by Owen’s rare outburst.

My brother, Owen growled, is intent on dragging me away to London when I have better things to do.

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Chapter 2

Perched against the desk, Owen was already mentally planning the most immediate route to London. A year earlier it would have required no effort to recall the fastest course. The unscheduled disruption to his settled existence filled him with impotent anger.

King Charles’ triumphant return in the spring of 1660 heralded Owen’s release from the task of carrying missives the length and breadth of his sovereign’s land. His dearest wish was granted by royal decree before his twenty-eighth birthday. Since then, Owen