Reese engaged to be married? It couldn’t be true. Could it?
Theresa stared in astonishment at the couple seated on the threadbare divan across from her, hands clasped together and beaming with happiness.
She’d been certain that she and Reese would formalize their understanding before the year was out. She was twenty-four and he twenty-eight, and he’d confided recently that after several seasons in London, his father was urging him to marry and set up his nursery. Why, she’d thought—assumed—that he was signaling his intention to make her an offer of marriage. Particularly when she’d received his note indicating that he had something of importance to tell her when he came to call later that morning.
She’d dressed with especial care for the occasion, assuming, as her father had when she’d shown him the message, that their good friend and neighbor would be requesting Theresa’s hand in marriage. Even Molly, the one remaining housemaid, had a silly smile on her face as she struggled with the comb and hot iron to produce a more elegant coiffure than the simple chignon Theresa normally sported.
And she hadn’t done a bad job at all, Theresa decided, considering her lack of experience. It wasn’t all housemaids who could double as a lady’s maid when the household staff was reduced.
In the end, it didn’t really matter. Because Reese, when he’d arrived, wasn’t alone. He’d brought with him his new fiancée, one Eugenia Sedgely, a pretty redhead who couldn’t be more than seventeen years old.
Theresa struggled to maintain her composure. If there was anything worse than having ones hopes for the future dashed to pieces, it had to be allowing the originators of her pain to see it.
“Uh—congratulations,” she said, swallowing hard. “When is the… uh… happy event?”
“June,” broke in the blushing bride-to-be. “Mama likes a June wedding, and well—“ she broke off and her face turned scarlet.
“We see no reason to delay,” finished Reese. Good heavens, was he blushing as well? Theresa couldn’t recall ever seeing his face so red, not even after a hard day’s work in the summer sun.
“The betrothal ball is to be held in three weeks,” volunteered Reese’s fiancée (Fiancée? How could this be happening?) “Mama is off her feet day and night with the preparations. It’s to be quite a splash.”
“The Sedgelys have a ballroom at their London home,” explained Reese. “Father is over the top delighted, of course.”
Of course, thought Theresa vacantly. Were Reese and his father, Squire Bromfield, the only ones in Hertfordshire who hadn’t expected the two of them to make a match of it? Inseparable since childhood, she and Reese had done everything together, had so much in common—farming, estate management, fishing, the gamut. Not to mention the countless assemblies and parties they’d attended arm-in-arm. How was it possible that Reese, at the very least, had not comprehended Theresa’s expectations? She could not fathom it.
“It is our fondest hope that you and your father will attend,” he added. “And perhaps… Lord Clinton would consider honoring us with his presence also?”
Lord Clinton? Oh, Damian Ashby, her father’s distant cousin and heir to his estate. It took her fuzzy brain a moment to recall the title he’d assumed at his father’s death several years ago. So he was a viscount now. No doubt he’d become even more puffed-up with his own worth than ever before.
His fiancée’s face lit up. “Oh, do you think he might?” she asked excitedly. “Mama will be in alt if London’s foremost Corinthian were to attend her ball.”
Reese gazed at her fondly. “To be sure, he should do, my sweet, since one day he will be our closest neighbor.” Then he flushed as he realized the implications of his statement. “That is, many years from now when he becomes the next earl.”
The petite Eugenia looked as though she might swoon at the thought of the lofty Lord Clinton residing on the next estate over from theirs.
“Indeed,” said Theresa drily. “Father will write to urge him to make an appearance. And we will both be honored to attend, of course.”
She glanced up at the Gainsborough over the mantel and sighed. It would have to go the way of the other household treasures to the art dealer in Hitchin. Surely it would bring enough to finance a trip to London and perhaps a new suit for her father. She still had the marine blue gown that hadn’t seen much wear in the past year.
But as for how she would manage to endure the agony of dancing at the betrothal ball of the man she always thought would be her husband… she could think of no strategem for dealing with that particular problem.
About Treasuring Theresa
Lady Theresa despises London society. What’s worse is that she has to attend the betrothal ball of the young man she expected to marry. To deflect all the pitiful glances from the other guests, she makes a play for the most striking gentleman there—who happens to be her Cousin Damian, who is everything she despises.
Damian, Lord Clinton sees a desperate young lady with no social graces, and it solidifies his opinion that country folk are beneath him. But it so happens that he is the heir to that young lady’s father’s title and estate, and the time comes when he finds himself obliged to spend some time there.
Thrown together, both Damian and Theresa discover each other’s hidden depths. But are their differences too much to overcome to make a successful match?
Treasuring Theresa is Book 1 of The Hertfordshire Hoydens series. Originally published in the Blush Cotillion line at Ellora’s Cave, Treasuring Theresa has been re-released with a brand new cover by the fabulous Mari Christie. Book 2, Cherishing Charlotte, will be coming in the autumn, and Book 3, Valuing Vanessa, will appear in the Bluestocking Belles’ next holiday anthology.
Treasuring Theresa was a finalist in the 2013 EPIC Awards.
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About the Author
Susana has always had stories in her head waiting to come out, especially when she learned to read and her imagination began to soar. Voracious reading led to a passion for writing, and her fascination with romance and people of the past landed her firmly in the field of historical romance.
A teacher in her former life, Susana lives in Toledo, Ohio in the summer and central Florida in the winter. She is a member of the Central Florida Romance Writers and the Beau Monde chapters of RWA and Maumee Valley Romance Inc.
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