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    Yours by Yuletide: The Lambourne Legacy
    Yours by Yuletide: The Lambourne Legacy
    Yours by Yuletide: The Lambourne Legacy
    Ebook115 pages59 minutes

    Yours by Yuletide: The Lambourne Legacy

    By Victoria Oliveri

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    About this ebook

    Years of vigilant seclusion in the bucolic peace of Scotland afforded Lady Beatrice security she thought to never achieve. When a mysterious Duke comes into her life, her hardened heart begins to question her choices. Should she allow herself to love once again, risking her past coming to haunt her?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPedigree Press
    Release dateNov 10, 2019
    ISBN9781393269601
    Yours by Yuletide: The Lambourne Legacy

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      Book preview

      Yours by Yuletide - Victoria Oliveri

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      CHAPTER ONE

      W hat are you so afraid of? the young woman asked as she toyed with the delicately painted teacup in her hand, eyeing her friend on the velvet chair next to her.

      Lady Beatrice Cunningham fidgeted and sipped her own tea.  She knew she wasn’t particularly social.  She wasn’t one to go out or do much of anything, and she was fine with that.  Why everyone felt her life needed to change, she didn’t know.

      Nothing.  I am comfortable where I am, she said, setting her teacup down to reach for a biscuit.  I have a simple, uncomplicated life, and a beautiful son.  What more could I want?

      More, her friend pressed with a furrow of her brows.  Do you not miss the parties?  Do you not miss the new fashions?

      No, Beatrice said and decidedly bit into her biscuit.  It was nine years since she’d set foot in London.  Nine long years separated this life from the life she once had, and she didn’t have one regret.

      Edmond, her son, gave her life meaning.  He made her realize she had left everything behind but lost nothing.  He was her world.

      Do you not miss the men at least? her friend asked with a coy smile.  I daresay the men of London outshine our country gentlemen in more ways than I can count.

      Beatrice gave a soft chuckle at that, then shook her head.

      Not even the men.  Yes, they may dress finer, and hold themselves more haughtily than country men, but men are men no matter where you go.  They are all the same.

      Her inquisitive friend, Lady Abigail Fitzhenry, gave her a dubious gaze and harrumphed.

      I wonder that you loved your husband at all, she said, sipping again.  He must not have treated you so kindly for you to have such an opinion of men.

      Beatrice averted her gaze and reached for another biscuit.  It was not that she did not love her husband.  Lord Greyson was the most handsome man she had ever met.  He lavished her with gifts and made her feel as if she were the only woman on earth.  The problem was... she was not. 

      Beyond his protestations of love, he never made his intentions known.  They were never married, but when she found herself compromised, it was as if she did not exist to him.  She was cast off, shunned and abhorred, and if it weren’t for the unwavering kindness of Lord Huntsbridge, she might have met with a more terrible end.

      Cast out not only by her lover, but by her family, she was left with nothing and no one.  Lord Huntsbridge was her savior.  Friends since childhood, she went to him knowing, of everyone, he would not throw her over. 

      Initially, she did not want to involve him.  A scandal such as this would mar his good reputation, but he did not falter in his aid of her.  He cared less for himself and more for her and her child’s well-being, and that said a lot about the man he was.  About the man Lord Greyson should have been.

      Lord Greyson proved to be the most villainous of men.  Believing news of their child would thrill him, Beatrice was eager to tell him and perhaps move their nuptials along.  Instead, he threatened her, told her by no uncertain terms was he to be named the father, else he would see to it that Huntsbridge be pulled into the scandal.  And so, standing in a small village courtyard just outside London with her few belongings and her swollen belly, she stepped onto Huntsbridge’s coach as the two men waved her off, and she headed to Scotland where she could disappear as Lord Greyson bade. 

      Now, nine years later, beyond the anger and betrayal, she knew she was better off.  Word of Lord Greyson’s death just months after she left London gave her some relief.  The news grieved her for only a breath of a moment, for she realized his death came with its own sort of freedom.  No one knew of him in the north, and with the wars fresh on everyone’s mind, she was able to pass his death off as a casualty and no one would dare ask questions.

      Before Edmond had even been born, her indiscretion died with Grey. Though the guilt of it still weighed heavily on her mind, his death wiped away any fear that he may show up and destroy her life more than he already had. A dead man did not have the ability to blackmail anyone.  Guilt be damned, he deserved what he got.

      Beatrice frowned as she dropped the biscuit onto her saucer and sat back on the settee. 

      Love does not sustain a person or pay their debts.  I have learned to carry on without because Edmond gives me all I need.

      He is such a sweet, handsome boy, Abigail said with a smile.  It is a shame your husband did not get to know him.

      Yes, Beatrice nodded her head soberly, her mouth twisting, It is also a shame our families did not approve.  They will never know how wonderful he is either.

      Abigail shook her head as she ticked her tongue.

      They are missing out on that poor child’s life. 

      It is their loss and none of my concern, Beatrice answered.  He has what he needs here.  Fresh country air, freedom to run and play.  He will do fine.

      At least that was her hope.  Edmond did receive guidance from several of the men on the estate, and he’d grown into an amiable, astute little boy.  Unsurprisingly, Lord Greyson left her no means to live, but Lord Huntsbridge offered her a sort of salary to watch his estate, and it was no paltry sum.  More than five hundred pounds per annum.  Enough to sustain her and her son for some time.  She stayed on at his Scottish estate rent free, acting as its mistress and handling its affairs so Lord Huntsbridge would not have to come up to the country as often as he used to.

      A beautiful, sprawling estate, Leargann House sat back from the main roads in the rolling countryside of Dumcrieff and afforded her both protection and privacy from prying eyes. 

      Abigail had become her closest friend over the years.  She lived on the adjoining estate with her husband, Will.  The next closest estate was more than five miles away, so she spent her days quietly and without intrusion.

      On the days Abigail did drop by, it was a nice distraction and one she looked forward to.  They would discuss goings on in the village and plan future shopping outings.  Today, though, Abigail dropped by with mail she picked up when she went into the village the day before.

      I should leave you to your peace, Abigail said as she stood and brushed the crumbs from her lap.  You have letters to read, and I am sure you are eager to get to them.

      Thank you for dropping them by, Beatrice said as she stood and gave Abigail a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  We shall have to plan a picnic before the weather turns.  I’m sure Edmond would love to see Alex.

      We shall plan something very soon, Abigail said with a smile as she turned toward the door.  He’s due home from school in about a month.

      How quickly they grow.  It wasn’t so long ago that he was in short pants with Edmond.

      Edmond will be off to school in a few years, too.  Yes, the time does pass quickly, Abigail said with a smile.  Enjoy his company while you can.

      With a nod, Beatrice waved after her friend as she watched the groom help her into her

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