My Favorite Major (Heroes Returned Book 1) (25 page)

“
No,” Amelia said before Philip could answer. “I’ll wait here with my husband.”

The Runner looked to Philip as though to make certain that was all right, then he said, “I trust you won’t harm the man while I’m gone?”

“
And miss seeing him sent off to Newgate?” Phillip scoffed. “I would never deprive him of that fate.”

“
Very well.” Mr. Blackaby turned on his heel and started back for his horse, while Amelia glared at Geoffrey Mason.

After his attack on her coach, her parents couldn’t continue to disbelieve her. Not with a Bow Street Runner as a witness to all that had transpired that morning. She wished the thought brought comfort, but it only made her think about the number of people who had been hurt by the man. The number who had lost their lives. She might never even know the magnitude of all his crimes “What will happen to him?”

“
Most likely he’ll be sent to Australia or have his neck stretched in Newgate. Either way, you’ll be safe. I’ll see to that.”

Amelia gazed back at her husband. “You’ll be safe too.”

A sad smile landed on his face. “I have served in the army for a decade, Amelia. I can take care of myself.”

“
But that’s my role now, Major Moore – to care for you, now and always.”

“
And I look forwards to it, my love.”

Leverton Park, Nottinghamshire – December 1815

Amelia paced the length of Philip’s study, unable to sit still. If her parents would only arrive, she could breathe a sigh of relief. “We should have gone to Kidwelly,” she muttered more to herself than to her husband, but he heard her all the same.

“
Your father wanted to see Leverton Park. And imagine his eyes when he sees for himself that I’m
not
a fortune hunter,” Philip said, a bit of humor lacing his voice.

He most certainly was not a fortune hunter. Amelia could still remember the surprise she’d felt when she first saw the estate. Leverton Park was easily two or three times the size of her childhood home. Still… “Papa has not thought you were after his fortune for quite some time.” And though her parents still didn’t adore Philip the way Amelia did, they did like him well enough these days. Of course, the fact that he had done his part to make them grandparents had gone a long way to winning them over to his side.

Philip leaned back in his chair, a blissful smile on his face. “I’ll still enjoy watching him stumble over his words. Did you have Cook prepare crow for dinner, by chance?”

Amelia couldn’t help but laugh. Crow? What a ridiculous thing to say. “You know, you are full of surprises, Major.”

“
Am I?” His grin widened.

“
Indeed, sir.” She skirted around the edge of his desk and plopped onto his lap, eliciting a grunt from her husband. “You don’t resemble that humorless major I met all those months ago at all anymore.”

Philip wrapped his arms around her. “Well, of course not.” He nuzzled her neck, letting his lips linger on her sensitive skin. “You make me smile everyday. It’s become quite difficult to be so serious walking around wearing a constant grin. You’ve completely ruined me.”

Tingles raced across Amelia’s skin and she burrowed closer to him, her honorable and brave husband. “And now you’re simply perfect.”

Philip’s warm laugh echoed off the dark study walls. “I would hardly say that.”

She pulled back slightly to look in his eyes. “And that is what makes you perfect,” she said with all sincerity. His honest, noble nature. How lucky she was to get to spend a lifetime with him. “I love you, Major Philip Moore.”

“
Not half as much as I love you.”

She would have argued that fact, but a scratch came at the door and their footman, Murphy, cleared his throat. “The Pritchard coach has just arrived.”

Amelia scrambled from Philip’s lap. “Well, come along, Major, you’ll want to serve my father a bit of crow.”

Philip rose to his feet and retrieved his cane from the side of his desk. “I suppose I’ll settle for just wishing him a Happy Christmas.”

The author of several Regency Noir Romances, Ava Stone first fell in love with Mr. Darcy, Jane Austen and Regency England at the age of twelve. And in the years since, that love has never diminished. If she isn't writing Regency Era romance, she can be found reading it.

Her best-selling Scandalous Series is filled with witty humor and centers around the friends and family of the Machiavellian-like Lady Staveley, exploring deep themes but with a light touch. A single mother, Ava lives outside Raleigh NC, but she travels extensively, always looking for inspiration for new stories and characters in the various locales she visits.

Ava loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:

www.avastoneauthor.com

You can email her at:

[email protected]

There’ll be more from the HEROES RETURNED Series coming in 2012 and 2013…

The English Lieutenant’s Lady

&

To Catch a Captain

The Scandalous Series available now…

A Scandalous Wife

© 2011 Ava Stone

Looks can be deceiving, the same is true for reputations

As the head of his family, Robert Beckford, the Earl of Masten, was accustomed to dealing with various problems his siblings had caused of one sort or another.  However he wasn’t prepared when his cad of brother ruined and then abandoned a young lady.  To right the wrong, Robert married the girl himself; but his chivalry only went so far.  He didn’t want a wife, and most certainly not a scandalous one.  So after repeating his vows, he sent her packing, off to a secluded estate and expected her to stay put. 

After years of mistreatment at the hands of her family, Lydia was prepared to be an accommodating wife; but her rigid and unforgiving husband asked too much of her. After languishing for years in her opulent prison, Lydia leaves her country estate for the glamour and excitement of London—and unfortunately her husband’s path. 

A Scandalous Charade

© 2011 Ava Stone

When fire meets ice

Handsome ladies’ man Lucas Beckford has agreed to help his friend, an impoverished baron, win the affections of an icy heiress. It should be a simple task, especially for a seducer of his reputation. However when Luke catches sight of the enchanting lady, he is captivated with her pretty brown eyes, quick wit, and sharp tongue; and his desire to see his friend marry the girl quickly evaporates. Now he just has to find a way to convince the penniless lord to turn his attentions elsewhere—leaving the Ice Princess to him.

Lady Juliet St. Claire has always believed that her fortune would protect her from ever having to relinquish her freedom in marriage. Though fortune hunters endlessly hound her, Juliet’s outwardly cold demeanor keeps most of them at bay, licking their wounds or patching up their pride. However when Luke charms his way into her life, he easily melts more than just her heart. Unfortunately, the rogue is of the love ‘em and leave ‘em variety, and leaves Juliet’s tender heart in pieces. But when her fortune lands her in danger from an unscrupulous foe, Luke returns to her side, offering his help and protection. Now Juliet has to decide if her heart is strong enough to trust the rogue a second time.

A Scandalous Secret (novella)

© 2011 Ava Stone

Is the second time the charm?

Chester Peyton, the Marquess of Astwick, has never forgotten his first love. Nor has he ever gotten over her. But now thirteen years later, time has come for him to finally settle down and do his duty as far as both his title and his dragon of a mother are concerned. Everything would be so much easier if Chet’s heart didn’t still belong to the enchanting Scot he gave it to once upon a time.

After following her late-husband’s regiment from one end of the continent to the other, Lady Hannah Campbell returns to London a very different woman than the naïve lass she once was. With her two sons in tow, she now has to navigate the waters of the ton, which seem more foreign than the lands she has traversed the last dozen years. And all the while, she has to keep hidden the scandalous secret that made her flee England so very ago.

A Scandalous Pursuit

© 2011 Ava Stone

When the best made plan goes awry

Even the most ruthless of rogues live by their own code of honor, and for Alexander Everett, the wicked Duke of Kelfield, his includes not seducing the ward of his oldest and dearest friend. However for a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, the lure of the forbidden fruit is enough to drive him wild. When he finds himself under the same roof as the enchanting Olivia Danbury at a summer house party, he discovers the temptation of the lady is more than he can resist.
Olivia, on the other hand, has the rest of her life all mapped out. When her fiancé returns from the Peninsular Wars, they’ll get married, settle down in the country, start a family, and live happily ever after. The sinfully sexy Duke of Kelfield was not in her plans. But when she stumbles headlong into a compromising position with the passionate duke, her carefully constructed live quickly begins to unravel. In no time, Olivia must choose between the life she’s always planned and everything she never knew she wanted.

A Scandalous Past

© 2011 Ava Stone

At cross purposes

After years of abuse at the hands of her mother, Cordelia Avery knows the only way out is marriage to the perfect man. A man who will allow her all the freedom she has ever craved. And she has the perfect man picked out. The scandalous Marquess of Haversham might not be perfect to anyone else, but taking the man’s black reputation under consideration, Cordie believes she’ll enjoy all the freedom she’s always wished for in his disreputable arms. If only she could get her heart to go along with the plan and to stop leaping whenever Lord Adonis…er…the Earl of Clayworth is nearby. But the very proper earl is most assuredly the wrong sort for her purposes.