Dear Reader,
The following report comes from a faithful correspondent who you might find familiar:
Lady P, reporting in with startling news! If you recall, the last time I shared the latest on dits with you, I promised to impart further information regarding a certain viscount and those handsome-as-sin Irishmen who guard the Duke of Wyndmere and his family.
Before I continue I need a restorative sip of sherry. That’s better. Where was I, ah yes those strapping guards. I have it on good authority all has been reconciled and S.F. has not resigned his position within the duke’s guard!
My heart is absolutely all aflutter hearing that the auburn-haired giant of a man fiercely held firm demanding his right to protect his wife. So many men within our social strata give little thought to the women who have born their heir, once they’ve produced their spare. It gives one pause to consider that S.F. loves his wife. It simply boggles the mind.
But I digress, back to my tale. I was at Gunter’s Tuesday last and chanced to overhear a conversation. While formal resignations were tendered, apparently S.F.’s and J.G.’s wives sent urgent missives to Her Grace at the same time—and we all know how the duke dotes on his wife. Meetings were arranged and parties involved came to an agreement. S.F. would join a certain earl’s household guard, and J.G. would be assigned to the viscount.
That is not all. I have more to share. R.F., brother to S.F. and who has vowed never to marry, has fallen madly in love! I am amazed and do so love a romantic tale. Apparently R.F. thought he was chasing down a vagrant, when in fact, it was a widow and her young daughter. You will never guess who captured his heart, dear reader, so I shall not keep you in suspense any longer. I have an important engagement to attend. Apparently, his heart was snared not by lovely widow, but her adorable four-year-old daughter! Now that is a man I simply must meet, though I daresay my husband may have something to say about that.
Do you remember when I mentioned the sixteen men were rumored to have been battered and bled for the those they protect? Well I have it on good authority that R.F. suffered a grievous wound to his face. Poor man will be scared for life, though from all reports, his wife finds him even more attractive. Just the thought of R.F.’s handsome features marred, gouged by a lead ball across his cheek has me reaching for my hartshorn.
Did you know that there are two more brothers that are yet unwed? I do not know if my heart can handle two more encounters with these supreme specimens of manhood. But I shall endeavor to press on and will report further on dits regarding the duke’s guard—I know how you rely on my excellent information. Rest assured, I shall share whatever I hear on this subject with the editor of this unimpeachable daily source of information.
The Duke’s Sharpshooter (The Duke’s Guard, Book 14)
Excerpt:
The Duke’s Sharpshooter (The Duke’s Guard, Book 14)
©C.H. Admirand May 2025
Snippet from Chapter Two
“What do ye mean they’ve gone?”
Scruggs shrugged. “We had a number of coaches arrive at the same time right after I tucked Mrs. Johnson and her daughter in the taproom next to the fire. I passed along your message to the innkeeper’s sister as three carriages pulled in. I offered to let her stay in the barn out of the wet, but she insisted it would startle her daughter to wake surrounded by horses.”
Flaherty had a bad feeling in his gut. “Did she say where she was headed?”
“She mentioned it being too crowded inside, and I can well imagine it with the number of people in the packed coaches. Besides if she and her daughter had finished eating, they would be obliged to give up their seats.”
Flaherty scrubbed a hand over his face. “How long ago did she leave?”
“Half an hour, maybe more.”
Flaherty turned to leave, and Scruggs called out, “She said to thank you for your kindness and headed out of town with Maddy sleeping in her arms.”
Flaherty knew a sleeping—or unconscious—body felt as if it weighed more. The lass looked dead on her feet when he’d had to leave her to finish his rounds in the village. It had taken a bit longer than anticipated. He’d stopped to help one of the tenant farmers’ sons who’d gotten stuck halfway up a tree, unable to climb down.
Gaining his saddle, he prayed, “Lord, I could use Yer help finding them.”
Three quarters of a mile up the road, the heavens opened up. He wiped the rainwater out of his eyes and noticed a copse of fir trees off the side of the road—and deep footsteps—indicating someone was carrying a heavy load. The size of the footsteps were too small to have been made by a tall, heavyset man. It had to be Temperance. Dismounting, he walked his gelding over to the trees. He called her name softly, not wanting to startle the lass. When she didn’t answer, he told his horse to wait for him, brushed the branches aside, and stepped into the small shelter the thick branches provided.
The pair he sought were huddled in a pile of pine needles. Temperance was shivering in her sleep, while her little one slept peacefully snuggled against her. He crossed the distance and knelt beside them. “Wake up, lass, ‘tis Flaherty. I’ve come to take ye home.”
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Author Bio:
If we have not met yet, I’m delighted to meet you. Here’s a little bit about me…
I have been writing romance novels for almost half my life—well, at least for the last thirty years. I’m a die-hard romantic and have to confess the broad shoulders and wicked glint in the brilliant green eyes of a stranger had my breath snagging in my breast, my heart beating madly, and my future flashing before my eyes. At the age of seventeen, I’d met the man I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
I write Historical & Contemporary Romance featuring characters that I know so well: hardheaded heroes and feisty heroines! They rarely listen to me and in fact, I think they enjoy messing with my plans for them. Over the years I have learned to listen to them. I have always used family names in my books and love adding bits and pieces of my ancestors and ancestry in them, too! Visit my website to learn more about my books.
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About the Author