Dominic (58 page)

His
lor
d
ship ca
m
e
into
the
room and
raised
h
is
h
and
to fore
stall
hi
s
father’s
actions,
and
with
a
fai
n
t unfatho
m
ab
l
e
s
m
ile
on
his
cou
n
tenance,
he
held
his
hand
out
to
Sophie
and
drew
her
forward.
“Mother,
Father,”
he
announced
with
great
pride
,
“
I
have
the
pleasure
of
introducing to you the
C
ountess of Vale,
m
y wif
e
!”

For the bri
ef
est
m
o
m
ent there was co
m
plete sil
e
nce in the
room be
f
ore
the
d
u
chess
r
o
se
h
astily
f
rom the
s
e
ttle and
rushed forward
to e
m
brace
them both,
the
d
u
k
e following close behind to grasp his son’s hand.

“
W
hen we e
m
barked on this journey I never drea
m
ed we would be returning with a daughter,” s
m
iled the
d
uchess
, taking Sophie’s hand and drawing her apart
.
“
W
e could not have wished
for bet
t
er. Indeed, I am prodigiously
pleased
to
wel
c
o
m
e you into the fa
m
ily.”

“
W
hat of your London wedding
?
” asked the d
uke.
“
W
ill you
n
ot regret its los
s
?
”

“Not in the least sir,” s
a
id Vale, grinning. “Sophie had no
desire
for
cere
m
ony
and
neit
h
er
had
I.
Besides,
why else co
m
e to Gretna if n
o
t for a
m
arriage?”

“
Exactly,”
a
g
reed
t
h
e
d
uke.
“By
Gad,
what
an
outco
m
e.
Who would have believed it
?
”

The End

About the Author

Hazel Statham began writing at the age of fifteen, finally committing to paper the stories she spun as a child. Writing has been her passion ever since, although marriage, motherhood, and career left time for little else. Once she retired, however, she was able to devote herself to writing full-time, publishing her first novel in 2007. A longtime student of history, she writes mainly in the Regency and Georgian eras, though she has been known to dabble in the medieval as well. She lives in Staffordshire, England, with her husband, Terry, and their beloved yellow Labrador, Mollie.

Website:
www.hazel-statham.co.uk

Blog: http://hazel-statham.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hazel.statham.1

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