Earl of Chans - Exklusive Kurzgeschichte

A SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR

Some wounds can only be healed by the one who caused them...

Miss Anne Rose has finally found her place in society. With her sister now the Duchess of Rath, Anne's brilliant mathematical mind is finally being recognized, and her scandalous family history is fading into the past.

The last person she expects to see at the Duke of Pryde's summer house party is Justin, the Earl of Chans—the man who proposed to her four years ago, then vanished without a trace, leaving her heart shattered.

Justin has never stopped loving Anne. Forced to abandon her by his parents' demands, he's spent years secretly championing her work from afar. Now the master of his own destiny, he's determined to win back the only woman he's ever loved.

When a sudden storm forces them to seek shelter together, long-buried passions ignite. But can Anne risk trusting the man who once broke her heart? Or will pride keep her from the love that has always been her destiny?

Earl of Chans is a steamy short story in the Seven Dukes of Sin series, featuring childhood friends to lovers, redemption, and a brilliant bluestocking who finds her perfect match. This tale of reunited lovers delivers all the passion and emotional satisfaction readers of Regency romance crave.

Summer 1814, Pryde estate

“Miss Rose, are you lost?”

As the question jabbed her in the gut, Miss Anne Rose’s gloved hand involuntarily clenched around the skirt of her dark blue gown. Several pairs of eyes stared at her, including those of the lady who had asked the question, Lady Virtoux, a matron in her sixties with an exquisite chignon adorned with silk tulips, ornamental birds, and jewels.

Do not crinkle your gorgeous new gown, Anne told herself and forced her hand to let go of the material. The dress was a gift from her sister, Patience, the new Duchess of Rath, who had sent it along with a dozen more a few weeks ago in preparation for the Duke of Pryde’s house party, which would last for several weeks.

“Am I?” Anne asked, looking around. “Is this not where ladies are due to gather for the hunt?”

Along with four dozen or so very respectable ladies and gentlemen, Anne stood in front of Pryde Manor, the Duke’s country estate house. The sun was shining brightly, and the air felt thick, hot, and humid, making sweat mist her skin under her new corset. A beautiful park, rolling hills, and woods surrounded the palatial, three-story house with its tall columns and large windows.

The gentlemen of the group—there were two dozen of them, including seven dukes who seemed to have a bond thicker than blood, one of whom was the Duke of Rath, Anne’s new brother-in-law, dashing in his crimson hunting coat and with his coal-dark hair—intermingled with the ladies, chatting as they waited for the hunt to begin. He was talking to Patience, who was blonde like Anne, with bouncy curls, big blue eyes, and a short, curvaceous figure. The love was clear in their gazes. Plagued by wrath, Dorian Perrin was a wounded soul, thinking himself unworthy of love, but Patience had transformed him…and she’d grown, too. From a naive and innocent country girl, she’d become a true duchess, a true partner for the Duke...