“I think it’s time to move back to the house.”
“But you love this ship. You swam naked in the moonlight and sold your fictional virginity for a life on the seas.”
She’d thought the boat the perfect romantic gesture, docked a short way from the main house, their bedroom for all intents and purposes, James’s attempt to keep her happy. Something in which they could escape, every year or two, so she could show him the islands and waters he’d dreamed of as a child; so they could both relish the sun and the wind and the enormous ocean that fed her very soul. But now? “You just want me to say you were right and I was wrong.” The wind howled all around them, each gust causing the ship to pitch and the lantern light to tremble. It wasn’t the only thing pitching and trembling.
“Indeed I do, Lady Trelissick.”
“I won’t do it,” she said, right before the retching started again. The constant rocking of the little ship set her stomach to heaving. Never in her life had she imagined suffering seasickness.
“The sickness will pass. Amelia said hers lasted for around nine weeks at the beginning of her pregnancy. She also said she fared far better on land.”
“She would say that.” Her sister-in-law didn’t share Daniella’s love of the sea. But then she didn’t have to now that she spent her days in the Scottish Highlands in a drafty castle, the only water in sight a loch too cold and deep to enjoy.
“Your father also said your mother spent far too much time vomiting when she was on the ship carrying you.”
“He exaggerates because he wants me in the house and not out here. He’s worried about the gossip.”
“There won’t be any gossip. My staff don’t talk to others about the inner workings of the house.”
“What about the girls?” They’d both quite forgotten about the virgins she had purchased while they gadded about the countryside getting kidnapped. Until they’d arrived home. James’s butler was still having conniptions over it all.
“They still aren’t speaking to anyone but you. Each time I enter a room, they flee.”
“You do have an awful reputation,” she reminded him with a grin, as she leaned back in his arms and let his warmth flow through her. He rarely dreamed of war anymore. Not when he was in bed with her, anyway.
“I do?” He laughed. “What about your reputation?”
“Apparently the rumours about me are wildly unfounded. Not one person seems to be able to find a single witness to any of my supposed scandals. For some reason I am being celebrated as a rescuer of slaves and a matchmaker above reproach.”
“Hmmm,” he murmured in agreement as he placed a kiss on her collarbone. “Not sure how they all came to that conclusion.”
“I think your riches may have had something to do with it.”
“Never,” he said into her hair. She heard the grin in his voice and couldn’t help but grin in reply. Though she had been as sick as a dog for days, he always managed to lift her spirits. His baby in her belly also made her smile every time she thought about it, sick or not. She would live anywhere, in a cave, in a house, on a boat, in a field in the open, as long as he was there with her. As long as he loved her then, as he did now, she knew they could overcome anything they faced. Together.
The End
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If you enjoyed The Road to Ruin, you’ll love the next book in….
The Daughters of Disgrace series
Book 1: The Road to Ruin
View the series here!
Book 2: The Slide into Ruin
Coming September 2020!
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About the Author
Bronwyn Stuart is a multi-published, award-winning author of both contemporary and historical romantic fiction. Her latest Regency series, Daughters of Disgrace, will be released July 2020 by Tule Publishing. She and her shoe collection share a house in the Adelaide Hills with her husband, kids, dogs and cat. She’s a sucker for a love story and a bad boy. You can find out more at www.bronwynstuart.com
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