Her earls promise a hist.., p.1
Her Earl's Promise: A Historical Regency Romance Novel, page 1
HER EARL’S PROMISE
A HISTORICAL REGENCY ROMANCE NOVEL
HANNA HAMILTON
CONTENTS
A Thank You Gift
Before You Start Reading…
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
Epilogue
Extended Epilogue
Preview: Beneath the Duke’s Icy Heart
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Also by Hanna Hamilton
About the Author
A THANK YOU GIFT
Thanks a lot for purchasing my book. It really means a lot to me, because this is the best way to show me your love.
As a Thank You gift I have written a full length novel for you called A True Lady. It’s only available to people who have downloaded one of my books and you can get your free copy by tapping this link here.
Once more, thanks a lot for your love and support.
Hanna Hamilton
BEFORE YOU START READING…
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ABOUT THE BOOK
“Love only leads to heartbreak. I will never let that happen to me.”
After taking over the earldom, Oscar has shouldered all its burdens, including caring for his grieving mother. His only escape from the ton's claws and his means to aid his mother is to court an intriguing young lady…
Despite her best friend's attempts to change her mind, Lady Alicia has resolved to remain a spinster. Until a mysterious Earl shows interest in her, and a newfound flutter in her heart takes hold…
As they spend time together, he can’t stop thinking of her. Yet, Alicia seems haunted by something that prevents her from loving him. But, Oscar never backs down from a challenge and is determined to do anything to win her heart…
CHAPTER 1
The sun barely hid behind the white clouds on a beautiful afternoon. Its effect was gentle on the flesh and promising to the young blooming flowers. Two bosom friends occupied themselves, seated majestically on a stone bench, absorbed by their books with their delicate hands flipping the pages. Neither paid any attention to the birds chirping around them, the calm whispers of the wind blowing away the heat, or anything else happening around them.
The redhead had her hair worn ever so tightly that stray curls dared not fall any time soon. Her purple dress complemented her sentimental eyes as she was engaged in the words in her book. Gently, her fair and slender fingers flipped the leaves of the book, as if they were the delicate petals of a flower. She fretted that mishandling the book might ruin their leaves and smudge the ink, thereby shattering her heart. She was Lily, the significant illustration of the remarkable flower.
However, Alice, the other friend, had curly brown hair, which was often a mess when she wore it over her shoulders or a bird’s nest should the wind be ungentle. Her fingers flipped the leaves of her book noisily as her shoulders shuddered and her face flushed, stifling a giggle that came out as throaty grunts. If only she could hear how she sounded or see how she looked. Comical yet unruly. Many would judge her and, if she was truly unlucky, compare her to a farm animal.
In the sanctuary of a quiet place in the Cornwall estate, surrounded by the shades of the oak trees and green grass warm beneath their shoes, a few empty stone benches surrounded them. No one could bother them.
It was where they chose to speak and gossip. If Alice’s snide remarks should chime with Lily’s fuss about ladies their age going to extraordinary lengths to find themselves eligible bachelors.
Certain words couldn’t be spoken within the house walls because they might be overheard by the servants. Mothers indulged in the act of eavesdropping when they were concerned about their children. Should a mother be aware of all the secrets told about her children, her heart might never be eased.
However, neither of the ladies desired to be disturbed as they saw another world in their books. One they wished to live and believe entirely. Like different flavors of pies, these two were nothing alike in appearance, and neither shared a similar taste in literary works and ideas.
While Lily was prim and well-mannered, one couldn’t always say the same for Alice, who, at the cost of her best interests, would easily forget her manners and clothing. Lily aimed to be a social success, while Alice had her own ambitions.
“Fascinating!” Alice gave yet another throaty giggle at her scientific findings without looking away from her book. Every day was a new discovery for her.
However, Lily snickered rather softly, her shoulders shuddering while buried deep in the odd encounter between the heroine and hero in her book.
Their families had developed a feud over the years, passed on from generation to generation, so that the great-grandchildren of both families despised each other very much. The rules of society throttled their intentions. Suspense stories like this kept her on her toes and her spirit alive.
Lily raised her head from her book ever so slightly to glance over at her friend, who didn’t seem to notice anyone, since she seemed so absorbed in her book. But might Lily be wrong that Alice only would read about discoveries and facts she wished not to dwell on?
Just look at her, how forgetful when her face is between those books. Dusk could be near, and she wouldn’t even notice. How might she be buried in a bore of a book? Just look at the old book. Goodness!
Lily swung her swan-like neck to her book and read the last of its pages.
And neither were yet to admit their feelings, an essence ever so natural it could never be controlled or concealed. It had brought many to their fall and strung many more together, only if they would conquer with their love. Astounding!
“Alas, I am done.” Lily sighed loudly and slammed her book shut.
Her heart thundered as she closed her eyes for a brief second. Hope surged through her body.
“What an exciting moment.” She gazed into the sky, dotted with winged birds and frothy clouds. Hoping someday she would experience the heroine’s love but with a different fate.
Alice jerked her neck from her book, another outburst of laughter pouring from her lips at yet another thrilling fact. This was without a doubt a book she must cherish. Astonishing, it cost only two pence to acquire.
“Forgive me, Lily, I must read one more page. Please wait for me.” Alice beamed, fluttering her lashes to plead in the language they both understood, requesting time.
“Very well, but only a minute, or I might just be gone if we stay another two minutes.” Lily sighed as she stroked the thick blue cover of her book.
Alice scoffed. “That is generous. What shall I accomplish in such a short time?” Her tone was sarcastic at what she was to achieve in a short time.
“Certainly, it is,” Lily replied sternly. “If we shall wait for you to read for ‘just another minute,’ I believe we both know we shan’t leave here before you chatter about what you have discovered today. Perhaps a plant that can soar with wings this time.”
“And you shall be surprised,” Alice promised, her gaze drifting from left to right at the pages, quick with reading until she was finished precisely in one minute.
Slamming the green-colored book closed, Alice’s thumb halted on a finger as she counted a minute by counting to sixty at a breathy pace with her thumb-tapping fingers.
“You never stop to amaze me. Did you really…” Lily trailed off, catching her breath at Alice’s fingers, then looked up at her friend. Both of them burst into cheerful laughter.
“I couldn’t help myself,” Alice confessed. “How else could I have given myself the ultimate timing,” she said cheerfully in this atmosphere of laughter.
Even Lily couldn’t particularly argue with her friend on this one. She figured she had to let this go lest their quarrel be unending. And Alice chose to seek the solace of the afternoon rather than to be at odds with Lily.
“What do you find in reading those books that will ever come true?” was Alice’s quick-witted remark.
Alice was a pragmatist and nothing like her friend. Lily would have felt offended by Alice’s words, but they had grown to love each other like sisters. Unfortunately, the reality was very different.
While both parents of the young girls had accepted the differences between them, they were still quite amazed by their attraction to one another. It was a mystery, but no one dared question it. After all, their hearts were gladdened both girls had found each other.
Alice and Lily had connected the moment they laid eyes on each other by their mothers’ sides at a teashop, mouthing their distaste for a few pastries. Indeed, Alice hadn’t been subtle about it, with her face scrunched up like that of a wrinkled tomato. They laughed as if they had known each other for years.
“Oh.” Lily caught her breath, feigning shock. “You cannot mean that. That is a blunder I simply cannot overlook.”
Alice tilted her neck while seated beside her best friend, rewarding her expression with an arched eyebrow. In that expression, Lily read, I do mean every one of those spoken words.
“Fine.” Lily dropped her slender shoulders, breathing rather calmly at what she was about to say. “Unlike you…” Suddenly, there was a glitter in her violet eyes, which Alice had never seen before. “… romantic books are a safe haven for me, a place that holds the future—my future, you see. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
Lily looked away from her friend, mesmerized by the unspoken words in her heart. Such words were wasted on Alice. Bragging about her discoveries that were worth more than the union of man and wife. What a child!
“I feel a deep longing for happiness and hope for the future, which is nigh. I wish to find myself a prince charming. Possibly tall, elegant, and formidable. I lack a suitable suitor, as I have yet to make my debut, and while my heart is empty, I find that these books fill me with words and promises I may soon experience. You may yet learn of these kinds of books when you wander far away in your science world. Should you have another failed Season this year—I do not say this out of spite—but I shall not heed your advice.”
“I do not wish you to.” Alice snapped and permitted herself a smile. “After all, you have never heeded my advice or listened closely to my words.”
“If you ramble on with a distorted face about how every man that approaches me isn’t any better and go even further to shoo them away with mean words, then I prefer to have my own ideas.”
“I am not a romance addict.”
“I clearly do not see how that constitutes romance-loathing.” Lilly rolled her eyes, pressing her hands to her dress as if they could distract her mood.
“Fine.” Alice lowered her voice. “I would like to hear all about it.”
“All about what?” Lily snapped, still avoiding the gaze of her friend.
“Since you have had a change of mind—”
“I didn’t…”
Alice couldn’t save herself, as she was interrupted yet again.
“Unlike romance”—Lily eyed her annoyingly—“where you get to choose your astonishing character or more. Are you familiar with the protagonists in my type of book?” Her question sought no answer from Alice, since she knew the answer. “Exactly, I think not.”
Lily thought Alice deserved it anyway for shaming the art of literature. Should Alice be in her book, she would have had her cleaning out the stables. The thought of that brought a turbulence of laughter in her chest that she stifled with a smile.
“Where the hero tries hard to win the heroine’s heart despite the obstacles. What they must experience and overcome. What they must sacrifice. Society, families, friends. That they may prove to everyone, in the end, that nothing shall come between them. The length such lovers reach, overcoming obstacles and hurdles is worth hoping for.”
Lily stared at Alice, who didn’t feel the least intrigued by all she had just said. Her spirit sank at the lack of reaction of her beautiful friend, who saw the world in a far more different way than she did. It was futile trying to convince her. No matter what, she would always be her Alice. Bull-headed!
“I know for a fact I do not wish that station upon myself. There are so many things to discover than settle with a man’s preference and be his breeding stock.”
Lily’s violet eyes flared at such an assumption. “Alice! You cannot dislike all the men in the ton. Have you even had the chance to meet them all when you are all but preoccupied with your plants? What about the son of the Duke of Weatherbee, Lord Appleby? He is quite the talk of the town. And—”
“Spare me about how the ladies gather around him, breathless yet gushing immaculate words over him. Like some golden statue, a feast for the eyes, depending on the ladies’ preference.”
Lily shook her head at her friend’s outright distaste. At times, it was unclear why Alice was so set against gentlemen. They were good-looking, wealthy, and prominent figures in Society.
Perhaps Alice was battling some emotions she couldn’t fathom, or she was just different. She should have been born a man, bless her heart. Lily could offer no other rational explanation.
“And Lord Sherrington?” Lily blurted. “He is quite wise and a voyager. You might have so much to discuss, since your interests clash.”
“I will allow that degrading remark to pass without a comment.”
“You cannot be serious.” Lily’s breath caught in her throat with an awe-stricken face. “You cannot refuse the charms of Lord Delmont. I find him fascinating in character and exquisite in manners. He is rather patient with the doting ladies and humble to their mothers.”
Alice gave her a lopsided grin, indulging her to believe there might be some sort of agreement from her end.
“He is overly mannered, as if he masks some layers of the true man he really is. I find his behavior rather suspicious, don’t you?” Alice threw the question right back at her friend and received no answer.
Lily slumped and pretended to fall on the ground while her hands were thrown in the air. “Alice!” she gasped roughly, her eyes aghast at her failing attempt. “What is wrong with you? You keep this up, and you might end up a spinster who would only pray to be wed no matter what man comes your way.”
“Darling, do not worry about me. I do not feel the urge of desperation. What I need is what I have—books and my plants.” Alice seemed surprisingly calm. “Although my options are open, I am still testing the waters. Who knows what lies in the future? Aren’t we both hoping for positive things?”
Alice used Lily’s words against her indirectly, and she could tell.
“Goodness me, you never cease to amaze me.”
Alice’s alabaster face flushed, and she turned her head away from her friend, who did notice. Her slender hands pulled back her hair till it danced around the middle of her back. This seemed like an opportunity for Lily to snatch Alice’s book, and she clutched it, considering how Alice was quick to react. Still, she wouldn’t dare rip her favorite book.
Alice fumed slightly, her chocolate brown eyes flaring just a little, and the brown freckles around her nose seemed to come alive. Unlike Lily, Alice was short and robust. There was a time when Alice was timid about her appearance until she had learned to accept it.
