A Lady To Redeem A Rakish Lord (Historical Regency Romance) Read online

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2019 by Lucinda Nelson

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Get Lucinda’s Exclusive Material

  A Lady to Redeem a Rakish Lord

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

  The Extended Epilogue

  A Preview of my upcoming Novel

  Chapter 1

  An Unforgettable Night with the Duke A Preview

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  A Short Note About Starfall Publication

  Also By Lucinda Nelson

  A Lady to Redeem a Rakish Lord

  Chapter 1

  The Campbell’s Cottage, Havenswood, the Outskirts of London, Early December 1836,

  Miss Ophelia Campbell

  “Do you think father will come back early, mother?” Ophelia asked, pausing her needlework.

  “I suppose he should,” replied her mother. “Either way, I’d rather we not expect him so soon.” It was just the two of them in the parlor, busy knitting. Ophelia hated knitting, but this was a task her mother said every lady was supposed to know.

  Ophelia sighed. “It will be a shame if he is to miss the Christmas fair,” she sulked as she continued her needlework. She wanted to be done with her embroidery before Emily, her best friend, came for it.

  She had been working hard on it and wanted to impress Emily. Her mother had said on several occasions how talented Emily was at just about everything and how much Ophelia could learn a thing or two from her, much to Ophelia’s annoyance. It was no wonder that Emily got engaged in a timely manner.

  “It would not be the first time and neither will it be the last,” replied her mother. “Surely, you have grown used to not having your father around during a time like this?”

  Ophelia sighed, knowing how right her mother was. Having a merchant as a father was one challenge Ophelia had always battled with, especially since she and her father were so close when she was younger.

  And even though she had grown accustomed to him not being around during festive times, she could not stop herself from hoping that he would be around more.

  “Has he always been this way, even during your courtship?” Ophelia asked with a slight smile. She loved hearing about the story of when her parents were still courting. She believed she would never get tired of it. To her, it was quite interesting.

  Her mother threw her a frowny look. “There you go again, asking about your father and I. Do not you think it is high time you created your own love story?”

  Ophelia expected that. “I certainly know, mother. But, I would not mind hearing about you two over and over. I’ve learned a lot from it.”

  “What is there to learn from?” retorted her mother. “Your father was a merchant right before I met him, and even during courtship, I hardly saw him. That was why marrying him was easy. I knew he was not going to be around all the time, and I was alright with it. I knew what to expect.”

  Ophelia looked surprised by this new information but then smiled. “I hope father knows how lucky he is to have you?”

  “Oh, trust me, he does,” replied her mother and they both chuckled.

  “At the same time, mother. I do not think I would want my husband to be far away from me all the time,” Ophelia stated, not looking up at her mother.

  “Are you certain of that?”

  “Yes, mother,” she replied, now looking up. “My father is hardly at home. Having a husband who follows the same pattern will be an everlasting torture. I’d rather stay single.”

  Her mother smiled. “Well, that is a good decision. You need to know what you want before going for it,” replied the mother. “At the same time, once you marry him, I do not think anything else matters. You just have to get along with whatever he does.”

  Ophelia smiled and looked up. “Did you love father before marrying him?” she asked again. She had never asked her mother this question.

  “Love was not really necessary during that time. He was always away tending to business and I took care of the home as expected by society. We balanced each other out. That is all that matters”

  “I do not wish to go into a loveless marriage,” Ophelia replied with a solemn tone. “It will make a lot of things easier when you love each other.”

  Her mother frowned. “You amaze me, child. Most girls of today only care about wealth and status. You seem not to care about these things.”

  Ophelia shrugged with a sigh. “No, mother. I believe girls who seek wealth are just greedy and they do not know what’s best for themselves. And as for those who seek status, the same thing applies to them. I believe in love.”

  Her mother gave her an amusing smile and shook her head. “You are so wrong, my dear. Love is not a necessity for a lasting marriage. I never loved your father before I married him. But as time went on, I grew to love your father.”

  Ophelia shook her head. “I have heard that love is a beautiful thing and it makes a lot of things easier.”

  “That is naïve thinking. Society does not have time for that, Ophelia. You have to do the right thing at the right time!”

  “Well, society is wrong,” said Ophelia. “I shall not marry someone I do not love.”

  Her mother shook her head. “What about Emily?”

  “Emily,” Ophelia said, thinking for a while. Emily was engaged to be married in the next four months. “Well, it’s difficult to say,” she replied. Emily and her fiancé had an arranged marriage and it was the last thing that Ophelia would succumb to.

  Her mother inhaled. “Love or no love, Ophelia. You are twenty. You need to find yourself a suitor.”

  Ophelia knew where this was heading and immediately regretted starting the whole conversation.

  “I shall, mother!” she replied while trying hard not to groan.

  “Surely you shall not find a man by staying indoors all day. Thankfully, this fair shall provide you a chance to meet good lookin
g gentlemen, and you better put that whole idea of love at the back of your mind.”

  Ophelia grimaced. “I shall marry, mother. But on my own volition, and I insist that I shall not enter a loveless marriage.”

  “You are running out of time and if you delay too much, your father and I might have no other choice than to find one for you.”

  She looked up sharply, stopping her needle work. “I understand, mother and I thank you for your patience,” she replied. That was the only way to keep her mother from talking about it any further.

  “Have you heard from Peter lately?” her mother asked shortly after.

  Ophelia shook her head and continued knitting. Peter was the son of one of her father’s close associates and she detested him. She believed he had too much pride and thought highly of himself. He had recently proposed to her, but she had no interest in accepting. Ophelia did not give her answer but rather asked for some time to think about it. She could have turned his proposal down but decide to keep him waiting. To her, he was just her last resort if she could not find love.

  “You should give him an answer soon, Ophelia. I do not quite understand what you propose to do with keeping him waiting for so long.”

  Ophelia gasped. “He had only proposed to me last week, mother. I do not think that is too long. If he indeed loves me as he claims to, waiting for me to decide should not be such a difficult task for him. Should it?”

  As they were talking, Martins, the butler came in. He was a man in his early fifties yet still looked spry for his age.

  “My lady,” he said, bowing slightly to Ophelia. “Miss Allen is here.”

  “Oh! Emily is here!” said Ophelia eagerly. “Do let her in,” she said, heaving a sigh of relief. She was tired of the conversation with her mother and was grateful for the distraction.

  Martins bowed and left only to return with Emily a few seconds later. Both Emily and Ophelia were of the same age and had been friends since childhood.

  “Mrs. Campbell,” said Emily, walking over to Ophelia’s mother and bending to kiss her on both cheeks. “How do you do?”

  “Very well, my darling. How are your parents?” asked Ophelia’s mother.

  “They are very well, thank you,” replied Emily before sitting beside her friend.

  “I shall excuse myself ladies,” said Mrs. Campbell as she took her leave from the parlor.

  “Is everything alright?” Emily asked, looking at Ophelia with a concerned look.

  She sighed. “Mother was just reminding me that I needed to marry,” Ophelia replied.

  “Well, that is the bitter truth,” Emily joked. “You do need to marry, friend.”

  “I know,” Ophelia said. “Truly I do, and I would appreciate if I were not constantly being reminded of that.”

  “Well, someone needs to remind you.”

  Ophelia sent her friend a scowl and Emily laughed. She was only trying to frustrate her.

  “Do you hear from Francis often?” asked Ophelia.

  “Yes, he wrote to me yesterday. He might not be able to make it to the Christmas fair.”

  “Oh! That will be a shame,” replied Ophelia. “But, I am happy to be spending the day with you.”

  They both chuckled and seconds later, Martins came in again, this time holding a bouquet and a letter.

  “My lady,” he said, bowing slightly to Ophelia before handing to her the items.

  “Who are these from?” Ophelia asked with a deep frown creasing her brows.

  “Mr. Pyke’s footman came to drop this off,” Martins said.

  “Well, thank you. You may leave,” Ophelia replied with a lack of interest.

  “Oh, goodness! Who are those from?” Emily asked, grinning from ear to ear as Martins left.

  “I am about to find out,” Ophelia replied as she tore out the letter from the envelope. After reading through the first two lines, she scoffed and stood up to discard the letter into the roaring fireplace.

  “What did you do that for?” shouted Emily in horror. “You could have at least allowed me to read it!”

  “It is from Peter. Who else would send me these if not him?” Ophelia said in disgust. “I detest him so much. I cannot tolerate his continuous pestering. It is becoming quite burdensome. I’m afraid, I may have to turn down his proposal afterall.”

  Emily sighed. “Be reasonable, Ophelia. You barely go out these days and if you do not go out, how will you find a suitor? You need to go out more often. Thankfully, we have the fair to prepare for. Be patient; do not discard him so soon. If you let him go now and fail to find someone that matches your taste at the fair, you will be left without your last resort.”

  “He is lesser than my last resort. He is too pompous. I wish I had allowed you to read the letter. He was asking if he could chaperone me to the fair and made it seem as if I were a lucky woman to accept his offer. He stated how other women were clamoring for him to take them to the Christmas fair but he, being the ‘kind hearted’ person that he is wanted to take me instead. As if to pity me. He also wanted me to dress in similar colors so that we matched because he does not want me to embarrass him. I must reply to his request promptly for he has ‘little time to wait for my reply’. Such impoliteness is intolerable!”

  Emily shook her head. “I do agree with you but be more patient. Go to the fair and then afterwards, if you still feel like turning down his proposal, you may do that.”

  Ophelia nodded. “I shall do that, Emily. Thank you.”

  Emily leaned back on the couch. “What was your mother saying before I came in? I could not help but notice some tension as I walked in.”

  “Oh! We were talking about marriage as usual. I wanted to seek her opinion on something, and we ended up talking about my marriage situation. She said that if I do not hurry with my decision, they may have to find a suitor for me.”

  Emily shrugged. “That is how it is, Ophelia. I honestly do not understand why this seems like a difficult task for you.”

  Ophelia glared daggers at her. “Just because you were lucky in getting yourself engaged to your distant cousin, whom you have had a crush on, does not mean it is going to be that easy for the rest of us.”

  Emily straightened up. “I do not mean it like that. I apologize if it seems a bit proud, but have you simply asked yourself what would happen if you found no suitor?”

  “Is it not obvious that this is the reason why I chose to keep Peter around?”

  “Then you are willing to live a life of everlasting pain, because I know you will never be happy with him.”

  Ophelia shrugged. “Society determines what choice we have, Emily. Once I marry him, I would not have any expectation. I already know him to be the arrogant peacock that he is.”

  Emily was quiet for a while. “What is it that you seek in a man, Ophelia?”

  She looked up all of a sudden. “Well,” she started putting down her embroidery work. “I do not want a man who will not be around and who always travels, leaving me to an empty house.”

  Emily smiled. “You are still worried that your father might not make the fair?”

  “Oh! Yes, I am. This Christmas fair is just preparation towards Christmas and if father can not even make it to that, what are the odds that he will make it home for Christmas?”

  Emily smiled. “Well, I know you are used to it and knowing how close you both are, I am certain that you will forgive him if he does not make it. But you honestly would not settle for a man like your father?”

  “A man that does not stay around like my father. And we are not as close as we use to be, though I wish we were,” Ophelia corrected her and continued. “However, if that is the case with Peter if we finally marry, I honestly would not mind not having him in the house at all.”

  Both ladies laughed.

  Chapter 2

  Barrington’s Estates, Westborough, London.

  Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington.

  The only noise that could be heard in the Crampton’s dining room wa
s the noise of cutleries as the family, excluding the father, ate their breakfast.

  Christopher looked up at his father’s empty seat, sighed and then continued with his meal. His father had been sick for weeks and nothing seemed to be improving his health.

  Different physicians had come to treat him but there was little they could do. While they ate their breakfast, his father laid in his sickbed, in his room.

  He glanced at his mother, seeing the look of sadness and exhaustion on her face. He knew of her worries but understood that he could never feel the way she felt about her beloved husband during this troubling time. He looked at his older sister who trying her best to keep the solemn atmosphere a bit more cheery as she ate her food quickly. She was just twenty-nine years of age and was already married. Since her husband was away on business and they had no children of their own to care for, she had decided to stay with them to help take care of the him while their mother tended to their father. She was quite capable of taking care her parent’s estates as well as her and her husband’s.