скачать книгу бесплатно
Governesses Under The Mistletoe: The Runaway Governess / The Governess's Secret Baby
Liz Tyner
Janice Preston
A Regency Christmas to Remember!When Isabel Morton’s desire to sing leads her from a prospective governess post to a disreputable establishment in London, she’s rescued by dashing Wil-liam Balfour. But when her saviour is accused of being a party to her misfor-tune, it’s Isabel’s turn to save William…by becoming his bride! But can they find a way to live happily ever after as husband and wife?New governess Grace Bertram will do anything to get to know her young daughter Clara. Even if it means working for Clara’s guardian, the reclusive Na-thaniel, Marquess of Ravenwell! Nathaniel believes no woman could ever love a monster like him, until Grace seems to look past his scars to the man be-neath…Could there be a Christmas happy-ever-after for this beauty and the beast?
About the Authors (#u78212290-4284-5ab4-b0a7-d53d12028463)
LIZ TYNER lives with her husband on an Oklahoma acreage she imagines is similar to the ones in the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Her lifestyle is a blend of old and new, and is sometimes comparable to the way people lived long ago. Liz is a member of various writing groups and has been writing since childhood. For more about her visit liztyner.com (http://www.liztyner.com).
JANICE PRESTON grew up in Wembley, North London, with a love of reading, writing stories and animals. In the past she has worked as a farmer, a police callhandler and a university administrator. She now lives in the West Midlands with her husband and two cats and has a part-time job with a weight management counsellor (vainly trying to control her own weight despite her love of chocolate!).
ISBN: 978-1-474-08540-3
GOVERNESSES UNDER THE MISTLETOE
The Runaway Governess © 2016 Harlequin Books S.A. The Governess’s Secret Baby © 2016 Harlequin Books S.A.
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover (#uda9df904-1639-5228-9c98-52615c99693c)
About the Authors (#uc234c35b-21c7-55e8-b89e-1da6a4b6827e)
Title Page (#u9cf059e7-f72d-5b46-a2c0-f3c3034e644a)
Copyright (#u946e41ee-7d34-52b1-9922-3814d5edd7ad)
The Runaway Governess (#ub479e0a6-cbab-514e-a20c-d44a0244f761)
Back Cover Text (#ub4ffc39c-503a-5c61-9afc-f5e2c1f97bc9)
Dedication (#udd978f72-1b64-5d22-839f-5d9918a103f7)
Chapter One (#u2f7a4b6a-7866-57fd-ad5f-24ae44c36001)
Chapter Two (#uc0480566-b7f3-59ad-ac6e-cc67b04cb1db)
Chapter Three (#ufdcb8199-85e8-5dcc-8d90-52cc6c68f50d)
Chapter Four (#ubeed66fc-6b59-5cb0-bb3d-fd0700c0945c)
Chapter Five (#u167f4522-046d-5257-837f-852d945a6e77)
Chapter Six (#u0ba745b4-248a-5c81-b349-4bf388c449ea)
Chapter Seven (#u110976c9-89c4-55d5-86d8-145776125739)
Chapter Eight (#u6a82adcd-63d1-55b8-a13b-a5d8221482b5)
Chapter Nine (#ufbcf42a6-6022-5a0c-be23-a5aa0eceeba4)
Chapter Ten (#uede511a6-0049-5efc-8aeb-18c561a1acb7)
Chapter Eleven (#u1ea4ffd5-843f-5211-be66-5611fc3acb62)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
The Governess’s Secret Baby (#litres_trial_promo)
Back Cover Text (#litres_trial_promo)
Dedication (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
The Runaway Governess (#u78212290-4284-5ab4-b0a7-d53d12028463)
Liz Tyner
In the arms of Prince Charming...
When Isabel Morton’s desire to sing leads her from a prospective governess post to a disreputable and dangerous establishment in London, she’s rescued by dashing William Balfour. But when her savior is accused of being a party to her misfortune, it’s Isabel’s turn to save William...by becoming his bride!
Brought together by fate and now bound by a vow, it’s time for these two strangers to explore the unexpected passion of their new marriage—and find a way to live happily ever after as husband and wife!
Dedicated with gratitude to Laura McCallen who
helped me find the story I wanted to tell.
Chapter One (#u78212290-4284-5ab4-b0a7-d53d12028463)
Isabel watched from the window as the older couple’s driver stepped on to his carriage perch and called to the horses. She’d not believed her luck when she’d spotted the man and woman waiting for their carriage to be readied. It had taken her all of a minute to find out their destination and pour out her sad tale.
She didn’t want to think of what might happen when the other coach arrived in Sussex without her. But the family could find another governess. This was her one chance. Her chance to soar.
Isabel turned to the man whose eyelids almost concealed his vision and the woman who matched him in age, but her eyes danced with life. Isabel clasped her hands at her chest and promised herself she would never again lie, except in extreme circumstances such as this. Taking a deep breath, she let the words rise from deep within herself. ‘You have saved my life.’
A barmaid, hair frazzled from the August heat, stood behind the couple. She looked up long enough to roll her eyes heavenward.
‘Miss...’ the wife patted Isabel’s glove ‘...we just could not bear that your evil uncle was selling you into marriage to a man old enough to be your father—and your betrothed a murderer as well.’
‘Thank you so much.’ She sighed. ‘If my parents were alive today...’ they were, but they’d understand and forgive her once they discovered how famous she’d be ‘...they would fall upon their knees in gratitude for your saving my life.’
The barmaid snorted and Isabel sighed with emphasis, knowing she mustn’t let the couple notice the scepticism.
‘You’re sure if you go to London with us, your family will give you a home?’ the wife questioned.
‘Oh. Yes.’ The word lengthened to twice its usual length. ‘Aunt Anna, my mother’s sister, who has no idea of the tragedy that has befallen me as my great-uncle would not allow me paper or ink, would give me refuge in a heartbeat. I have always been her favourite niece, of course. It is just that my uncle told her I was...tragically killed in a fall from a horse, trampled by hooves and had to be immediately buried because the sight was too exceptionally hideous for anyone to see as I would not have wanted to be remembered as such.’
The woman’s eyes could not have been more kind. ‘Tragic.’
‘Yes. Frightfully so.’
The man arched one brow, enough that Isabel could see the scepticism. ‘We will certainly deliver you to your aunt in London,’ he said. ‘To her doorstep.’
‘I will be in your gratitude for ever.’ Oh, good heavens. That might not end well as she had no aunt in London. ‘It is near Charles Street—Drury Lane.’ She almost shivered, just saying the words Drury Lane. Not that she was going to be an actress. Oh, no. Not something so disreputable as that. Her voice would be her fortune. Her very best friends, Joanna, Rachel and Grace, had told her time and time again at Madame Dubois’s School for Young Ladies that she could sing better than anyone else they’d ever heard. Even the headmistress, Madame Dubois, had commented that Isabel’s singing voice was bearable. Since Madame Dubois had called Grace Bertram ‘passable,’ whom Isabel thought favoured a painting of a heavenly angel—then to have a bearable voice was the highest praise from Madame Dubois.
She’d been so lucky Mr Thomas Wren had heard of her when he attended one of the school presentations. Now he was her patron—albeit a secret patron. She would be the lead of his new musicale. She would sing her heart out. Even though her voice was not perfection itself, something about the way she sang stirred people. When she was performing, others would listen and eyes would water. Nothing made her happier than when someone gave her that rapt attention and they were brought to tears. She loved making people cry in such a way.
She gathered her satchel and linked her arm around the older woman’s. ‘My Aunt Anna will be so grateful.’
‘We must meet her and make sure she will not return you to that dreadful man.’ The woman’s voice oozed concern.
Isabel leaned forward and batted her lashes. ‘Of course. You simply must meet my aunt.’ Easily said, albeit completely impossible.
The couple’s meal was left behind, crumbs still clinging to the man’s waistcoat, and they spirited her to their carriage.
