The Duke's Christmas Vow: Regency Romance Read online

  She moved towards him, and he met her eyes. All else faded away.

  When she reached him, they turned to the vicar, who smiled, and began. The vicar had known Rafe since he was born, and was overjoyed to marry him now. Perhaps, soon, there would be another small boy for him to baptise…

  Soon, it was done, the words all spoken, and they were married, under God’s sight. They stepped out into the late January morning, and saw the sun drawing glittering sparks from the still frosty ground, and the small icicles which remained on the more shaded parts of buildings and trees. The world was sparklingly perfect, just for them.

  He led Charity to the carriage which would take them back to Oakmoor Chase, where the main ballroom had been opened up and decorated for the Wedding Breakfast. Once they were settled in the carriage, and it moved off, he pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.

  After some time, they stopped kissing, she leant on his shoulder, and her voice came to him, whisper quiet.

  “I never, ever imagined that I would be here, that you would see anything of value in me. No other gentleman ever did. And most women adjudged me awkward and socially inept, as well as plain. Yet you… you see me differently. Thank you.”

  “I never imagined this, either – I had almost resigned myself to a loveless marriage, just to ensure the continuance of the title. But I did not know what I was looking for, what it was about all of those other young women that made them unsuitable for me. Until I saw you – all of those things that you thought were wrong with you – those are the things which make you perfect for me. Thank you for being exactly as you are.”

  He kissed her again, and they did not cease kissing until the carriage rolled to a stop outside Oakmoor Chase.

  The footman opened the door, and let down the steps. Rafe stepped out, then turned back as Charity went to exit – he scooped her into his arms before she put foot to step, and carried her, laughing, into the house.

  The End.

  I hope that you enjoyed

  ‘The Duke’s Christmas Vow’

  You’ll find a preview of another of my books, ‘A Spinster for a Spy’ just after the ‘About the Author’ section of this book.

  About the Author

  Arietta Richmond has been a compulsive reader and writer all her life. Whilst her reading has covered an enormous range of topics, history has always fascinated her, and historical novels have been amongst her favourite reading.

  She has written a wide range of work, from business articles and other non-fiction works (published under a pen name) but fiction has always been a major part of her life. Now, her Regency Historical Romance books are finally being released. The Derbyshire Set is comprised of 11 novels (9 released so far). The ‘His Majesty’s Hounds’ series is comprised of 17 novels, with the last now released.

  She also has a number of standalone novels released, and four other series of novels in development. She lives in Australia, and when not reading or writing, likes to travel, and to see in person the places where history happened.

  Be the first to know about it when Arietta’s next book is released! Sign up to Arietta’s newsletter at

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  When you do, you will receive two free subscriber exclusive books - ‘A Gift of Love’, which is a prequel to the Derbyshire Set series, and ends on the day that ‘The Earl’s Unexpected Bride’ begins, and ‘Madame’s Christmas Marquis’ which is an additional story in the His Majesty’s Hounds series.

  These stories are not for sale anywhere – they are absolutely exclusive to newsletter subscribers!

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  Here is your preview of

  A Spinster for a Spy

  A Duke’s Daughters –

  The Elbury Bouquet - Book 1

  Clean Regency Romance

  Arietta Richmond

  Chapter One

  “You, my dear sister, are a spinster. You cannot deny it any longer.”

  Thorne Gardenbrook, Marquess of Wildenhall, smiled smugly at his sister as he spoke.

  “I am not a spinster! Certainly, I may be older than the age at which most girls marry… but I simply have not yet found a man that I care to marry.”

  Lady Lily Gardenbrook glared at her brother. He shook his head sadly.

  “You delude yourself, Lily. You are two and twenty, and this will be your fourth Season – why do you not choose a man – it’s not as if you have no suitors. I have introduced you to half the ton, in this last few years!”

  “I do not choose any of them, because they are all horrible! They care nothing for me, for who I am – all they see is a Duke’s daughter with a large dowry, and a figure which is not unappealing.”

  Thorne laughed, but his expression was serious when he spoke next.

  “You may well be right, but I do not know that you can hope for the sort of love that our parents have – and you have been hoping for that, haven’t you? Very few are lucky enough to marry someone that they love. And, in the end, better a marriage based on simple liking, than a lifetime alone and lonely.”

  “I have, indeed, been hoping for love. I am not sure that I could live with someone I barely liked – and most of the eligible men I don’t like at all. If you are so sure that I should find someone this Season, then you had best introduce me to some new possibilities – for I refuse to contemplate those I already know.”

  Thorne frowned, and Lily knew that he truly did care what happened to her, and to all of her sisters. As brothers went, he was good – generally helpful, protective, and even willing to join in with mischief at times. And, though she would not admit it to him, he was right – she needed to act soon, to find a man to marry – for her sisters were not married either, and she suspected that they were holding back until Lily married. She sighed, and forced a smile onto her face. Thorne frowned again, shaking his head.

  “I will try – but, truthfully, those you have not met are not of the kind of character that I would have my sister marry. Rakes, gamblers and fortune hunters make up a deplorable amount of society.”

  “Thank you - trying is all that either of us can do.”

  Thorne rose, and left the room.

  Lily leant back into the embrace of the old armchair, staring blankly into the flickering flames in the grate before her.

  The book of poetry which she had been reading when Thorne came into the room still lay on her lap. Her fingers traced its cover, and her thoughts twisted in the never-ending circle that they had followed for three years now.

  For there was more to her refusal of all suitors than simply the fact that none had inspired her to love. Her refusal was grounded in fear – a fear that her closely guarded secret would be discovered, that a husband would take from her the one thing which she most enjoyed. The thing which was, most certainly, not something which a lady of the ton could do, with the approval of society.

  <<<< O >>>>

  Trent Weatherton, Marquess of Canterford, inhaled deeply as he stepped through the door of Bigglesworth’s Books. There was something about the scent of books which spoke to his soul, which brought to mind winter afternoons ensconced in his library, by the fire, with a volume of poetry, or perhaps a history, or even, though he would not admit it to other gentlemen, a novel.

  Mr Bigglesworth greeted him with a smile.

  “Good day to ye, my Lord. I’ve a few volumes I think you’ll like, if you’ve the time after your meeting?”

  “Excellent, Bigglesworth – I always have the
time for books.”

  Bigglesworth waved him past, and he slipped through the dusty curtain behind the counter, and into the dimness of the back corridor.

  The rickety looking stairs were silent beneath his feet, as always, and the ancient looking door at the top was solid beneath his fingers. He knocked.

  “Enter.”

  The room was everything that might not be expected. It was large, clean, and well lit by large glass windows all along one side. A rug of a quality which would not be out of place in a stately home graced the floor, and the couches that surrounded it were exquisitely carved and upholstered. The man who rose from one of them to greet him was of middling height, unremarkable except for his piercing grey eyes.

  Trent went forward to him.

  “Lord Setford. I trust that your summons does not come due to bad news?”

  “No, no. Nothing difficult this time, m’boy. Although you may not be enthusiastic about it. Do sit – the coffee is on the side table, if you’ve a mind to taste it.”

  “Your coffee is always worth drinking Lord Setford.”

  Trent sank onto the couch, and poured himself a cup of the strong bitter liquid from the pot that sat there. He marvelled, again, at how Setford always managed to have perfect coffee waiting, no matter when a man arrived at his door.

  “Good, Good. Now, let’s to business. You understand the scope of the responsibilities you’ve been granted, I trust?”

  “I do, if that is no more or less than you previously told me.”

  “It is. But what you may not have truly grasped, is the way in which you might best achieve what is needed.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes – if you thought that what I asked would allow you to avoid society events – as I know you’ve had a tendency to do for this last year and more, since your father’s death – then you were mistaken. That’s what I wanted to discuss today. If you are going to serve the Crown by managing and preventing civil unrest and treasonous activities within England, then you will need to be always gathering intelligence – not simply through the men I have assigned you, but yourself. For the greatest threats to England have as often come from amongst our own, as from abroad, and from amongst the aristocracy in particular. The poor rarely have the money or the time to stir up trouble, unlike our peers.”

  Trent studied Setford’s face, wondering where this was going.

  “I can see the truth in that. But… what do you want me to do? I freely admit that I am still learning the techniques which you so effortlessly apply.”

  Setford laughed, a full rich sound, and nodded.

  “And that is exactly why I chose you, Canterford. You are willing to learn – you are astute, and observant – and that is exactly what I am asking you to act on. I need you to get about in society more, to become the man who is invited to all of the major hostesses’ events, who is so well known that no one looks at him twice. For when you achieve that, you can move among them, observing everything, and no one will notice you doing so. If you get it right, half of them will even tell you their secrets voluntarily.”

  Trent sat for a moment, staring out of the windows at the rooftops of London, where dirtied snow slowly melted on soot covered slate. He took a deep breath and turned back to Setford.

  “You, my Lord, are quite the most devious man I have ever met.”

  Setford laughed again, and gave a little seated bow.

  “Glad you’ve realised that, m’boy.”

  “You know full well that if you had spoken of this requirement, when we first discussed me joining the ranks of the King’s spies, I would likely have refused you. Instead you played upon my sense of duty, and my need to do something more than manage my estates, to move past my grief at my father’s death. And now that I have fully committed to you, to serving the Crown in this way, you drop this upon me. I shudder at the very thought of endless evenings spent in the ballrooms and salons of London, eyed off, like a prime piece of horseflesh in the ring at Tattersall’s, by all of those husband-hunting young women.”

  “Which is exactly why you are the right man for the job. You’ll be focussed on what needs to be done, not on carousing and flirting.” Trent winced, but nodded. Setford had the right of it, and he would not attempt to back away from the course he had committed to. Honour demanded that he be true to his word. “I will make it a little easier for you – I can guarantee you invitations from quite a few who also have some… relationship… to our work, to smooth your way into it. But it is up to you to appear as carefree as possible – like a man recently released from mourning who relishes the chance to go about in society.”

  “I can act the part, but I can’t promise not to curse you in the privacy of my mind, if I find it all unutterably tedious!”

  Setford laughed that hearty laugh again.

  “I can’t ask more than that m’boy – and who knows, you might even enjoy some of it.”

  Trent nodded, but his expression was dubious enough that it drew another laugh from Setford. Ruefully, he found himself laughing too.

  “Did I really look that horrified by the idea?”

  “You did, m’boy, you did.”

  “Well then, I will need to practise my dissembling, won’t I? We can’t have the hostesses of society realising just what I really think of their balls and soirees.”

  “You will indeed. And you can start tomorrow.”

  Setford lifted an embossed card from the table beside him, and passed it to Trent. Trent took it, hesitantly, as if it might bite, somehow. He felt, in that instant, as if something portentous would be started, simply by the act of reading that card. He shook the whimsical thought aside, and bent his eyes to the card.

  ‘The Duke and Duchess of Elbury would be pleased to welcome the Marquess of Canterford to a Soiree to be held at Elbury House.’

  The direction followed, and the stated date of the event was, as Setford had said, the following day.

  “What did you tell them of me?”

  Setford smiled.

  “Very little – except that you are a friend, recently out of mourning, and wishing to re-establish himself in society. But Marcus, the Duke, no matter how genially blustering he may appear, is as astute as you are – he will understand that I have a purpose in assisting you with invitations, and he will also know not to ask. Just attend, observe, and try to enjoy yourself and look natural.”

  Trent could not prevent the snort of laughter that escaped him.

  “Look natural? I have never, in my life, truly been comfortable amongst crowds of my peers – so perhaps natural is the wrong word. But I will try to look as if I actually want to be there.”

  Continued…

  I hope that you enjoyed this preview – read the rest at:

  https://ariettarichmond.com/go/get-a-spinster-for-a-spy

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

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

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

  Books in the

  His Majesty’s Hounds Series

  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 (Books 1 to 3 as a set)

  To Love a Determined Lady (Books 4 to 6 as a set)

  Love Heals a Lord (Books 7 to 9 as a set)

  To Love a Dashing Lord (Books 10 to 13 as a set)

  Bo
oks in The Derbyshire Set

  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

  The Marchioness’ Second Chance

  A Viscount’s Reluctant Passion

  Lady Theodora’s Christmas Wish

  The Derbyshire Set Omnibus Edition Vol. 1 (the first three books all in one)

  The Derbyshire Set Omnibus Edition Vol. 2 (the second three books all in one)

  Regency Collections with Other Authors

  Books in the Regency Scandals Series

  Books in the Nettlefold Chronicles

  Other Books from Arietta

  Themed Regency Collections

  Other Books from Dreamstone Publishing

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