“Go on with you now.” Grandfather struggled away, but the tears in his eyes touched her heart. “The pair of ye, be off. Ye have much more kissing to do. It’s Hogmanay still.”
Spencer twined his hand through Jane’s. “An excellent suggestion.”
“And don’t either of you worry about Barnett. I’ve already caught him kissing Miss Pembroke.”
Jane blinked. Miss Pembroke was the daughter of her parents’ friends from Kent. “He is quick off the mark. The wretch.”
“Then he can toast us at our wedding,” Spencer said. He pulled Jane firmly to the door. “I believe I’d like to adjourn to the library again, to continue our … planning.”
Jane melted to him, her anger and exasperation dissolving. She needed this man, who’d come to her so unexpectedly to lift her out of her dreary life. “A fine idea.”
In the cool of the hall, Spencer bent to Jane and whispered in her ear. “You are beauty and light. I love you, Janie. This I already know.”
“I already know I love you too.”
They sealed their declaration with a kiss that burned with a wildness Jane had been longing for, the fierce freedom of her youth released once more.
Left alone in the sitting room, Hamish MacDonald raised his flask to the painting of a beautiful woman whose flowing hair spilled from under a wide-brimmed hat. She smiled at him over a basket of flowers, her bodice sliding to bare one seductive shoulder. Her eyes were deep blue, her hair black as night.
“I did it, Maggie,” he said, his voice scratchy. “I’ve seen to it that our girl will be happy. Bless you, love.”
He toasted the portrait, done by the great Ramsay, and drank deeply of malt whisky.
He swore that Maggie, his beloved wife, heart of his heart, forever in his thoughts, winked at him.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoy sweet Regencies, see Duke in Search of a Duchess, in which the Duke of Ashford never dreams his children will recruit the busybody young widow next door to help him find a new wife.
ALSO BY JENNIFER ASHLEY
Regency Bon Bons
(short, sweet Regencies)
A First-Footer for Lady Jane
Duke in Search of a Duchess
A Kiss for Luck
* * *
The Mackenzies Series
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron
The Duke’s Perfect Wife
A Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift
The Seduction of Elliot McBride
The Untamed Mackenzie
The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie
Scandal and the Duchess
Rules for a Proper Governess
The Stolen Mackenzie Bride
A Mackenzie Clan Gathering
Alec Mackenzie’s Art of Seduction
The Devilish Lord Will
A Rogue Meets a Scandalous Lady
A Mackenzie Yuletide
Fiona and the Three Wise Highlanders
Mackenzies II
The Sinful Ways of Jamie Mackenzie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Ashley has written more than 100 published novels and novellas in romance, urban fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction under the names Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Jennifer's books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have earned starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist. When she isn’t writing, Jennifer enjoys playing music (guitar, piano, flute), reading, hiking, and building dollhouse miniatures.
More about Jennifer’s books can be found at:
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THEN IN A TWINKLING
ANNA BRADLEY
CHAPTER 1
THE PANDEMONIUM PLAYHOUSE, LONDON,, NOVEMBER, 1812
“If you were half as shrewd as you think you are, Dinah Bishop, you’d have secured Oliver Angel before a lady with a prettier face than yours snatched him up for herself.”
Dinah didn’t have to glance into the looking glass to see who’d crept up behind her. No matter where she was or what she was about, her entire body prickled with irritation when she heard that sneering voice.
Florentina Fernside, undisputed queen of the Pandemonium Playhouse stage, darling of the drunken rabble in the pit, and tormentor of every actress doomed to tread the boards alongside her.
Dinah resumed stripping the heavy layer of stage powder from her face as if Florentina hadn’t spoken. The woman had the attention span of a pot of face paint. If Dinah ignored her, she’d soon grow bored and go away.
“Of course, you’re not the first actress here who’s made a mess of her opportunities, but I’d taken you for one of the clever ones.” Florentina sauntered across the room, skirts twitching, and dropped into the chair beside Dinah’s at the dressing table. “Imagine my disappointment at finding you’re as dim as all the rest of them.”
Dinah tossed aside the damp cloth in her hand with a resigned sigh. Florentina wasn’t going to go away on her own, but Dinah was more than willing to chase her off. What a shame she hadn’t thought to pick up one of the rotten oranges hurled onto the stage this evening. Witless as she was, even Florentina knew enough to run when spoiled fruit was hurled at her head.
“Or did you think your own face so alluring a man couldn’t see past it?” Florentina turned her gaze to her own reflection, her rosy lips curling into a smirk as she tweaked one of her dark ringlets into place.
Dinah met Florentina’s narrowed eyes in the mirror. “Is that how you lost Lord Archer? Overestimated the allure of your own pretty face? Pity, but then pride does come before a fall. You should study your Bible more often, Florentina. Book of Proverbs, I believe.”
Dinah didn’t bother to hide her satisfaction as Florentina’s smirk darkened into a scowl. Florentina had lost her wealthy protector to another of the Pandemonium’s actresses, Dinah’s dearest friend, Penelope Hervey. William Angel, the Earl of Archer had fallen madly in love with Penelope last Christmas, and had made her his countess. Penelope was Lady Archer now, and mistress of Cliff’s Edge, a lovely estate situated on the edge of the sea in Essex.
An actress turned countess. Dear me, how shocking! London was still reeling over it, but no one so much as Florentina, who could be relied upon to fall into a fury whenever Penelope’s name was mentioned.
“I suppose you thought you’d enjoy a similar happy fate as your friend.” Florentina tossed her head. “You should have known better, my dear. Lord Oliver is as constant as a child with a shiny trinket clutched in its fist.”
Dinah rolled her eyes. For pity’s sake, this again? Everyone in London believed she was Oliver’s mistress. It wasn’t true, but the truth was far less entertaining than a delicious lie, and no lie was more delicious than a lie about Oliver Angel.
London had suffered a severe blow when they’d lost Lord Archer to Penelope. The ladies might yet be in despair if Archer’s younger brother had been anyone less than Oliver Angel. As it was, Lord Oliver’s dimpled smile set hearts aflutter all over the city. Dinah’s own heart was icier than most, but even hers thawed a degree or two when Oliver grinned at her. There wasn’t a lady in London who could resist those deep dimples at the corners of his mouth.