A Bluestocking for a Baron : Book 3: Rose: Clean Regency Romance (A Duke's Daughters - The Elbury Bouquet) Read online

  A Duke’s Daughters –

  The Elbury Bouquet - Book 3

  Clean Regency Romance

  A Bluestocking for a Baron

  Arietta Richmond

  Dreamstone Publishing © 2019

  www.dreamstonepublishing.com

  Copyright © 2019 Dreamstone Publishing and Arietta Richmond,

  All rights reserved.

  No parts of this work may be copied without the author’s permission.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-925915-43-3

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organisations, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

  Dedication

  For everyone who had the grace to be patient while this book, and every other book that I have written, was coming into existence, who provided cups of tea, and food, when the writing would not let me go, and endured countless times being asked for opinions.

  For the readers who inspire me to continue writing, by buying my books! Especially for those of you who have taken the time to email me, or to leave reviews, and tell me what you love about my books, and what you’d like to see more of – thank you – I’m listening. I hope that you enjoy this new series (which features some appearances by old favourite characters from the His Majesty’s Hounds series), just as much as my other books.

  For my growing team of beta readers and advance reviewers – it’s thanks to you that others can enjoy these books in the best presentation possible!

  And for all the writers of Regency Historical Romance, whose books I read, who inspired me to write in this fascinating period.

  Table of Contents

  A Bluestocking for a Baron

  Disclaimer

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Here is your preview of A Diamond for a Duke

  Chapter One

  Books in the A Duke’s Daughters – the Elbury Bouquet Series

  Books in the His Majesty’s Hounds Series

  Books in The Derbyshire Set

  Regency Collections with Other Authors

  Books in the Nettlefold Chronicles

  Books in the Regency Scandals Series

  Other Books from Arietta

  Other Books from Dreamstone Publishing

  Books by Arietta Richmond

  His Majesty’s Hounds

  Claiming the Heart of a Duke

  Intriguing the Viscount

  Giving a Heart of Lace

  Being Lady Harriet’s Hero

  Enchanting the Duke

  Redeeming the Marquess

  Finding the Duke’s Heir

  Winning the Merchant Earl

  Healing Lord Barton

  Kissing the Duke of Hearts

  Loving the Bitter Baron

  Falling for the Earl

  Rescuing the Countess

  Betting on a Lady’s Heart

  Attracting the Spymaster

  Courting a Spinster for Christmas

  Restoring the Earl’s Honour

  From Soldier Spy to Lord (contains the first three books in one volume)

  To Love a Determined Lady (Contains Books 4, 5 and 6 in one volume)

  Love Heals a Lord (Contains Books 7, 8 and 9 in one volume)

  A Duke’s Daughters – The Elbury Bouquet

  A Spinster for a Spy (Lily)

  A Vixen for a Viscount (Hyacinth)

  A Bluestocking for a Baron (Rose)

  A Diamond for a Duke (Camellia) (coming soon)

  A Minx for a Merchant (Primrose) (coming soon)

  An Enchantress for an Earl (Violet) (coming soon)

  A Maiden for a Marquess (Iris) (coming soon)

  A Heart for an Heir (Thorne) (coming soon)

  The Nettlefold Chronicles

  The Duke and the Spinster

  To Dance with the Dangerous Duke

  A Duke in Autumn

  A Christmas Bride for the Duke (coming soon)

  The Regency Gothic Series

  Lord of the Storm

  Lord of the Darkness (coming soon)

  Lord of the Lost (coming soon)

  Lord of the Shadows (coming soon)

  The Regency Scandals Series

  The Gift of a Christmas Scandal

  Lady Mariel’s Scandalous Love

  Christmas with That Duke (coming soon)

  The Derbyshire Set

  A Gift of Love (Prequel short story)

  A Devil’s Bargain (Prequel short story - coming soon)

  The Earl’s Unexpected Bride

  The Captain’s Compromised Heiress

  The Viscount’s Unsuitable Affair

  The Count’s Impetuous Seduction

  The Rake’s Unlikely Redemption

  The Marquess’ Scandalous Mistress

  A Remembered Face (Bonus short story – coming soon)

  The Marchioness’ Second Chance

  A Viscount’s Reluctant Passion

  Lady Theodora’s Christmas Wish

  The Duke’s Improper Love (coming soon)

  A Gentleman’s Unconventional Courtship (coming soon)

  The Derbyshire Set, Omnibus Edition, Volume 1 (the first three books in one volume.)

  The Derbyshire Set, Omnibus Edition, Volume 2 (the second three books in one volume.)

  Other Books

  The Scottish Governess

  Her Summer Duke

  The Earl’s Reluctant Fiancée (coming soon)

  The Crew of the Seadragon’s Soul Series, (coming soon - a set of 10 linked novels)

  Chapter One

  Evan Shoreham, Baron of Wrenton, looked about the room, wondering why he had come. He did not know Lord Kevin well, and, whilst he had dealt with his father, Lord Chester, a few times, the family were barely acquaintances. Yet he had been invited to this wedding, and had felt, for some reason, the need to attend. Beside him, his brother Hugh nudged him.

  “Choose somewhere to sit, Evan. We’re blocking the doorway.”

  He moved into the room, and chose one of the scattered tables at random. The room filled up around him, and he watched as people filed in. Quite a gathering for this wedding breakfast, for their small part of the country. Not many he knew well, at all. As was inevitable, his attention turned to the long tables against the wall, where a large quantity of food was laid out, and servants waited to deliver it to guests, as required.

  Food fascinated him. Not in the sense that he was a glutton, but in all other aspects – its provenance, preparation, and preservation.

  Mentally, he catalogued the items present, assessing how much was seasonal, and easily available in the local area, and how much had to have been brought some distance, or preserved for some length of time. And how much might have been supplied through the vendors who used the ice houses that he owned.

  Hugh sighed, obviously aware of where Evan was looking.

  “Can you get your mind off business for a while, and actually celebrat
e the man’s wedding, brother?”

  Evan forced his eyes and mind away from the food tables, and turned back to the table he sat at. Opposite him, hazel eyes met his, from the most beautiful face that he had ever seen. Everything else faded away but that face. Softly rounded, with rosebud pink lips set below a small nose, that face was impossible to look away from. Topped by wispy pale gold hair, which was determinedly escaping its pins, it was enchanting. He felt an intense urge to reach out and touch that soft hair.

  He resisted, swallowing hard. At that moment, two other people sat down at the table. He forced his eyes away from that beautiful face to see who had just taken a seat. It was Lady Maria, Lord Kevin’s sister, now Lady Wareham, and her new husband, Charles, Viscount Wareham. Maria smiled at him, and indicated him with her hand.

  “May I present to you, Evan Shoreham, Baron of Wrenton, and his brother, Mr Hugh Shoreham. Gentlemen, this is Lady Rose Gardenbrook, a sister of the bride.”

  Evan swallowed, wetting his lips.

  “Delighted, I’m sure.”

  It was all that he could manage to say. Beside him, Hugh nodded.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Lady Rose. Your sister looks truly the picture of a happy bride.”

  “Oh, she is – very much so.”

  Lady Wareham smiled again, and looked at Evan.

  “How are your business interests progressing, Lord Wrenton? I gather that some of the delicacies we have today, we would not have without your ice houses?”

  “That is true, Lady Wareham. Nearly all of the merchants who supply specialist foods in the area use them now. I am looking to expand, and add more locations.”

  “Wonderful! There are so many things that my mother particularly loves, which we could never get when I was a child.”

  Lady Rose made a little noise, and he turned back to her, caught again by her clear hazel eyes.

  “You are in the business of ice houses, Lord Wrenton? How fascinating!”

  Evan was shocked – fascinating was not a term that any woman had ever before used, with respect to his business. Generally, they were completely ignorant of the existence of ice houses, and had no wish to discover more.

  “Errr, yes, I do find the whole process of preserving and storing food fascinating. That is what led me to investing in the business to begin with. My father thought me mad, then, but it has proven to be most profitable.”

  Hugh nodded beside him.

  “Yes – at least our father saw that success, before he died. I think he was proud of what you’d achieved.”

  Evan paused a moment – their father had been gone two years now, but there was still a whisper of grief in him, when he thought too closely of the man.

  Lady Rose regarded him a moment, a little hesitantly, as if making a choice, then she sat a little straighter, and spoke.

  “My Lord, might I assume that you are following, with great interest, the research of those men who are attempting to create effective mechanical or chemical refrigeration techniques? If they succeed, the impact on food preservation will be enormous – think what you could do, with an ice house that did not require the collection of huge blocks of ice each year!”

  Evan’s head spun. This picture of feminine beauty before him knew about refrigeration research! And found it interesting! He must, of a certainty, be dreaming, for the improbability of it was beyond belief. But she was looking at him, waiting for an answer. He swallowed, hard.

  “Yes, Lady Rose, I am very aware of it. I am hoping to invest at the first opportunity to create a commercial product from that research. That is, sadly, some years away, I believe. But the implications…”

  “…are enormous. I can imagine a world in which food can be kept far longer, in a far better state, and in which things that currently cannot be kept more than a day or so, might be preserved for weeks!”

  Her eyes were bright, and her face animated. Lady Wareham watched her with an expression of fond amusement. Apparently, Lady Rose was known to be rather a bluestocking on the matter of food related science, if that expression was anything to go by. But Lady Wareham then surprised him – she turned to him with a question of her own.

  “Lord Wrenton, do you believe that such devices for refrigeration might one day be small enough to be installed in the larger homes, rather than being restricted to commercial ice houses? For I must admit that I would find such a thing most wonderful, for storing medicinal tisanes and possets.”

  “What a wonderful idea!”

  Lady Rose positively beamed. Evan found himself smiling at her in return, completely captivated.

  At that moment, a servant came to the table, carrying a plate of cream filled, pink iced, tiny cakes. He offered the plate to them, and Lady Rose reached out immediately to lift one from the plate, popping it into her mouth. She sighed – a sound of intense pleasure, closing her eyes for a second, and her tongue slipped out to lick the last of the icing from her lips. For an instant, Evan’s imagination inserted that tongue, and that sound of pleasure, into an entirely different scene. Shocked at his response, he turned his eyes away from her. But the image was burned into his mind.

  They allowed themselves to be distracted by food, as more was brought around, and the conversation shifted to more mundane things, but somehow, always kept coming back to his business plans. He permitted himself to indulge in the pleasure of speaking of his interests, with no need to simplify things.

  The afternoon passed in the most pleasant conversation that he had enjoyed, ever. He was excessively glad that he had accepted the invitation to the wedding celebration. Lady Rose Gardenbrook was not only the most beautiful woman that he had ever met, she was the most intelligent, and intriguing.

  And she had exquisite taste in cakes.

  <<<< O >>>>

  The long summer twilight had slipped into evening, and still they sat, talking. Rose was in heaven. Finally, she had met a person who not only cared about the details of food, but who understood the technicalities of it all. A man who owned businesses which were dedicated to food. She had never had such a wonderful conversation in her life. And beside her, Maria had brought ideas to it as well – things that Rose had never considered, in the application of the same tools and preservation methods to medicines.

  Her head spun. And, making it all the more perfect, the person involved was a man, not too many years older than her – a man so handsome that, when she had first seen him, it had quite taken her breath away. When she had arrived at the table with Charles and Maria, Lord Wrenton had been staring at the food tables, a small crease in his brow, as if he was puzzling something out. It had endeared him to her, instantly.

  And everything had simply got better from there. When Maria had mentioned that his business was in ice houses, Rose had barely been able to conceal her excitement, and all thought of ladylike decorum had deserted her. It was only once she had asked him that question about refrigeration research, that she had paused, suddenly afraid that she had gone too far.

  For, if a young lady showed too much interest in science, or studiousness in any way, she was like to be labelled a bluestocking, and avoided by the men of the ton. Rose had worked hard to avoid that label, by restricting her comments on any matters which might lead others to suspect just how much time she spent studying the things that intrigued her. Even her family were not completely aware of the depth of her interests.

  Yet this man had, within moments of her meeting him, so disarmed her, and fascinated her, that she had forgotten all caution, and simply spoken. After her question, he had paused, and her heart had near stopped as she waited for his reaction – but then, he had answered her, seriously, with no sign of horror at the fact that a young woman even knew of such things.

  From there, the conversation had become a thing of its own, and she had found herself finishing his sentences, and he hers, as they spoke of all of the remarkable discoveries of the last thirty years, and of the potential they held for the future. There were short pauses to eat, as vari
ous foods were brought around, and she had found his obvious conscious appreciation of the food as utterly intriguing as his intellect and scientific knowledge.

  Now, the twilight sky slipped into the cobalt blue of evening, and they paused, as Maria yawned, then looked embarrassed.

  “Oh, I am sorry! It is not that I find our conversation uninteresting – it is simply that I am most tired, after all of the preparations and the long day. And I do believe that most people have departed, or are preparing to do so. We have been so caught up that I had not noticed until now.”

  Rose looked around – it was true, few people remained.

  Lord Wrenton and his brother rose from their seats, and the others followed their example. He came to Rose, and took her hand, bowing.

  “Lady Rose, I can categorically say that this has been quite the most intriguing conversation of my life. Whilst we must take our leave now, and allow our hosts and their house guests their rest, I do hope that I might see you again, soon. For I would very much enjoy continuing this discussion.”

  His fingers had held her hand a little longer than was appropriate, and then tightened a moment, before he released her. Her heart beat a thunderous tone, and her body seemed to have forgotten how to breathe for a moment. Then sense reasserted itself, and she drew a deep breath.

  “Lord Wrenton, nothing would give me more pleasure. We will be staying here at Chester Park for at least a week – as you reside quite close by, I believe, perhaps we will have the opportunity to speak again, in that time.”

  “I will be certain to call, Lady Rose. Thank you, again, for a wonderful day.”

  Chapter Two

  By the second day after Lord Kevin’s wedding, Evan could no longer stand it. He wanted to call at Chester Park, to speak with Lady Rose, and Lady Wareham, again. Ever since that remarkable conversation at the wedding breakfast, his mind had been exploring the ideas which they had discussed. He particularly wanted to know more of Lady Wareham’s ideas with respect to refrigeration of medicinal compounds, for it had come to him that, if there was a value to her, then there was likely a value to every apothecary and midwife in England. The business potential was staggering.