Synopsis
A confirmed bachelor who values his peace, Nicholas, Marquess of Pennington, agrees to his dying friend, Maxwell, Baron Leeming’s request for him to become the guardian of his children, Caroline, Arabella, and Jeremy.
Nicholas doesn’t anticipate having to guide a young beauty safely through her first Season and married to a suitable gentleman, while keeping a close eye on the two younger children who test him in ways he could never have imagined.
Max expresses concern that his younger brother, Simon Leeming, might return from France. He left England’s shores after being implicated in a murder some years ago. Max believes Simon will try to take control of his children and their fortune. As Simon is next in line for the barony, Max has fears for his heir, Jeremy, who could be in danger.
While Carrie is a devotee of poetry and an admirer of Byron, she proves not to be a flighty young miss intent on her first Season. Rather, she is serious minded, and more concerned with the welfare of her brother and sister whom she has cared for during her father’s illness.
While Carrie accepts that she must marry, she views it as a loss of her independence. A controlling husband would see the end to her dreams and might refuse to allow her sister to live with her.
Nicholas nurses a deep hurt from his past. He has no intention of ever placing his heart at risk again. He blames himself for the death of his first love and suffers the loss of his father and his brother, prematurely. As he tries to ignore his feelings for Carrie, he remains determined to honor his friend, Max’s wish to find the right man for her, someone light-hearted who would share her dreams. Someone to share her love of poetry.
Max’s fears prove well founded when his brother, Simon Leeming, and a dangerous Frenchman come to Elm Court with evil intentions, and Nicholas must deal with them.
Once the danger is over, Carrie takes matters into her own hands to shake Nicholas from his deep-seated belief in singledom and his denial of his love for her. She forces him to face the truth. But will he come to terms with his past and open his heart to her?
Never Dance with a Marquess
The Never Series Book Two
Maggi Andersen
A thing of beauty is a joy forever…
Endymion John Keats 1818
Dedicated with loving thanks to my husband, David, who tirelessly reads and offers valuable comments on my work.
Prologue
Leeming Hall, Yorkshire, 1812
The library at Leeming Hall smelled pleasantly of wood, vanilla, musk, and ancient historic tomes. Libraries, especially the Oxford University library, Nicholas, Captain Ambrose, would always associate with Max.
Opposite him, Maxwell, Baron Leeming, sat back in his chair, a glass of brandy held loosely in his hand. Nicholas hadn’t seen him for over two years and was struck by the change in him. His friend’s intelligent brown eyes looked dull, his thin face strained.
“I am told I have a diseased heart,” Max said without preamble.
“Dear Lord, Max.” Nicholas leaned forward with a frown. He couldn’t conceive of his friend being ill. He had always been so full of life. “Is it bad?”
Max shrugged. “I won’t make old bones, it seems.”
Nicholas had joined the army after he left the university. He was about to travel to Spain to join Viscount Wellington in the fight against the French. When he received Max’s summons, he came straight away. “Doctors are not always right. Should you seek another opinion?”
Max’s smile was bleak. “I have consulted a London physician. But one always hears of someone making a liar out of their doctors and living to ripe old age. I hope for my children’s sake, I’m one of ’em.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Nicholas raised his glass and took a deep sip of the brandy. The fine taste soured in his mouth and tasted like ditch water.
“I must ask something of you, Nicholas. Should it come to pass, it is not a small favor, and of course, you can refuse,” Max continued. “But first, let me explain.”
Disturbed but more than a little intrigued, Nicholas crossed his legs and waited. Max was always a careful fellow. He had been Nicholas’s professor of history at Oxford. They’d become close friends after Max had helped Nicholas deal with his depression following the death of the woman he loved. Anything Nicholas could do for Max, he would do willingly. But it was beyond his capabilities to rescue him from a bad heart. He breathed deeply and waited.
“What I am about to tell you must remain in strictest confidence.” Not waiting for Nicholas to add his assurance, he went on. “This means my daughter, Caroline, and the two younger children must not learn of it.” He took a sip from his glass. “My younger brother, Simon, is a gambler. He got into desperate trouble when he was implicated in the murder of a London gaming hell proprietor. Simon apparently owed him a considerable sum of money. With Bow Street on his tail, Simon approached my wife, Annabelle, without my knowledge and asked for money.”
“She gave it to him?”
Max nodded. “She’d always had a soft spot for him, having known him for many years, and he used it to his advantage. She pawned some of her jewels in York. It was enough to set him up in France, where my spies tell me he continues to play the tables.”
“Would he risk returning to England?”
He shrugged. “Once the fuss dies down, and he thinks it’s worth his while, I believe he will. If something happens to me, I suspect he’ll attempt to gain control of the children and their inheritance.” He frowned. “I consider him to be a threat to Jeremy, my heir.”
“Hell’s teeth,” Nicholas murmured.
“I hope to have a few
