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Drawn to Lord Ravenscar - Carol Townend - Читать любовный роман онлайн в женской библиотеке LadyLib.Net
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Herries Anne
Drawn to Lord Ravenscar
Аннотация к роману
«Drawn to Lord Ravenscar»
- Carol Townend
BETRAYED BY MARRIAGEWhen her betrothed is brutally murdered Lucy Dawlish looks for comfort from the man who shares her grief–his brother, Paul Ravenscar. Virtuous Lucy has always been secretly drawn to this frosty lord, but is it too late to reveal where her heart truly lies?Paul Ravenscar must marry and produce an heir for the sake of his estate, but there is only one woman he wants. To claim Lucy as his bride risks betraying his brother's memory, but Paul might be unable to keep his feelings hidden….Officers and GentlemenFor duty, for honor, for love
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AUTHOR NOTE
OFFICERS AND GENTLEMEN
For duty, for honour, for love
Bound by honour and family ties, three brave men fought for their lives in France …
Now, back in the drawing rooms of England, they face a new battle as three beautiful women lay siege to their scarred hearts!
COURTED BY THE CAPTAIN Already available
PROTECTED BY THE MAJOR Already available
DRAWN TO LORD RAVENSCAR February 2014
AUTHOR NOTE
This is the third in my latest Regency trilogy about cousins Adam Miller and Hallam and Paul Ravenscar. Both Adam and Hal have found love. Will Paul be able to put the tragedy of his brother’s death behind him and find happiness for himself—or will he be forever cursed with guilt? It should all have been Mark’s—the title, the estate, and most of all the girl Paul believed his brother loved … Lucy.
So here is the last of this current series about Regency star-crossed lovers. Enjoy—and tell me what you think through my website if you wish: www.lindasole.co.uk
Love to you all.
Drawn to Lord Ravenscar
Anne Herries
ANNE HERRIES lives in Cambridgeshire, where she is fond of watching wildlife and spoils the birds and squirrels that are frequent visitors to her garden. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature, and sometimes puts a little into her books, although they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment, and to give pleasure to her readers. Anne is a winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romance Prize. She invites readers to contact her on her website: www.lindasole.co.uk
Previous novels by the same author:
THE RAKE’S REBELLIOUS LADY
A COUNTRY MISS IN HANOVER SQUARE*
AN INNOCENT DEBUTANTE IN HANOVER SQUARE*
THE MISTRESS OF HANOVER SQUARE*
THE PIRATE’S WILLING CAPTIVE
FORBIDDEN LADY†
THE LORD’S FORCED BRIDE†
HER DARK AND DANGEROUS LORD†
FUGITIVE COUNTESS†
BOUGHT FOR THE HAREM
HOSTAGE BRIDE
THE DISAPPEARING DUCHESS**
THE MYSTERIOUS LORD MARLOWE**
THE SCANDALOUS LORD LANCHESTER**
SECRET HEIRESS
BARTERED BRIDE
CAPTAIN MOORCROFT’S CHRISTMAS BRIDE
(part of Candlelit Christmas Kisses) A STRANGER’S TOUCH† HIS UNUSUAL GOVERNESS PROMISED TO THE CRUSADER COURTED BY THE CAPTAIN†† PROTECTED BY THE MAJOR††
*A Season in Town †The Melford Dynasty **Secrets and Scandals ††Officers and Gentlemen
Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
Contents
Prologue
‘Well, Ravenscar,’ the Duke of Wellington said. ‘I regret that you must leave us.
‘I must resign my commission,’ Captain Paul Ravenscar said regretfully. He straightened his shoulders, a tall lean wiry man with an upright bearing. ‘My cousin Hallam has been attending to estate affairs since...the death of my brother, but he has his own duties and cannot continue indefinitely, for he is married and his wife is with child. Besides, it is my duty to care for the estate. If my father dies...’
Paul’s gaze wandered about the elegant room, which was small but tastefully appointed, the doors painted cream and gold. He had become used to working here with his leader and would miss the work and the comradeship of his fellow officers.
‘You are his heir,’ Wellington said. ‘You have my permission to leave. I vow it was easier to defeat Bonaparte on the field of battle than to settle the peace, but it is almost finished. I, too, shall return to England very soon.’
‘Yes, sir. I thought it must be so... I can only thank you for giving me the chance to serve you at a time when I was near to desperation. Had I not been able to throw myself into the work...’
‘No need to thank me, Ravenscar. I was glad to have you,’ Wellington said brusquely. ‘Get off with you then...and remember a man must always do his duty by his family, as he would his country.’
Paul clicked his heels, shook the duke’s hand and walked from the office that Wellington had used these past months. So much wrangling over the peace terms and the settlement of Europe had taken place that these walls had shaken with the ferocity of the duke’s anger, but it was as he said, the peace was settled now and they could all return to England.
Paul was thoughtful as he walked swiftly towards his lodgings. With luck, he would be at Calais within two days and another two should see him back at Ravenscar. He prayed that he would be in time, for Hallam’s letter had spoken of his father as being very ill.
He was struck by guilt, because he knew that he ought to have stayed at home to relieve his father of the burden that his estate must place on him—for even though Hallam had done everything he could, Paul knew that his father might have been easier had his one remaining son been there to shoulder his everyday cares.
He would blame himself if his father died. Yet he’d had to get away.
Paul had felt the death of his elder brother Mark like a crushing load that had almost suffocated him. Mark was the golden one, the hero—the chosen one who should have inherited the estate and title that would one day now pass to Paul. Lord Ravenscar had always favoured his elder son, but Paul could never blame him...everyone had adored Mark from the moment he was born. A big man with strong shoulders and thighs, he was better at everything, outshining his younger brother at every turn. Paul should have hated him or been jealous, instead, he’d worshipped Mark. He had resented nothing that Mark had.
..except for Lucy Dawlish...A swathe of pain made him gasp, for Paul had not been able to forget her. He had tried, God knew, he had tried to put her out of his mind these past months he’d spent in Vienna with Wellington. He had no right to think of her. She had belonged to Mark, would have been his wife had not Mark been foully murdered. She loved him—and for a time she’d suspected Paul of having killed his brother. The memory of that look in her eyes had never left him, for it lay like a dark shadow on his heart.
Lucy had loved Mark. She had grieved for him. The last thing that Paul had heard of her was that she had returned from Italy, where her mama had taken her to recover from her grief, still unattached. He had thought all these long months that she would find someone and marry him, but she had not.
She was clearly still grieving, unable to forget the man who had so cruelly been snatched from her a few weeks before her wedding.
Paul knew he must not think of her. It would be impossible to marry the girl that his brother had loved, wanted as his wife...even if Lucy would look at him. As children they had quarrelled more often than not for even then, Lucy had followed Mark as an adoring puppy. Only once...at a ball in London just before they all went down to the country to prepare for the wedding...Only briefly then had Paul felt that Lucy might like him, might return the hopeless feelings of love he’d had for her.
He was mistaken. He must have been mistaken, for she had meant to go ahead with her wedding... She had been devastated when Mark was killed.
It was useless to repine. Paul could never have taken her from his brother, even if Mark had lived, and now it was impossible. His memory would always be enshrined in Lucy’s heart. She would never look at his insignificant brother.
Paul must put her out of his mind. There were enough beautiful ladies in Vienna to distract him, but apart from a brief flirtation or two with married ladies, Paul had remained indifferent to the female sex. He knew that he had aroused intense interest amongst the young women who had accompanied brothers or fathers to Vienna. Because he showed no more than polite interest in any of the gently-born young ladies, he was thought of as reserved, even cold, but that did not deter their interest. He was the heir to the Ravenscar fortune, attractive if not as devastatingly handsome as his brother had been, and personable. More than one lady of quality had tried to catch him in her net, but Paul behaved with impeccable politeness while remaining aloof...unreachable.
Paul found the attempts of some young women to compromise themselves with him vaguely amusing and took care to make sure that he was not caught behind closed doors alone with any of them. He had no desire to be married for his prospects...indeed, he had no desire to marry at all.
Paul knew that one day he would need to marry to secure the line, but for the moment he could not give serious consideration to the idea. As he shouted to his batman to pack his things, all Paul could think of was whether his father would live long enough to give him his blessing...and whether he could bear to live in the house that should have been his brother’s.
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