Whereupon Lully turned her raised eyebrows at the couple who were now staring at her from their thronelike chairs. “Indeed,” was all she said.

Georgie’s father coughed. “She certainly has taken to her title well,” he managed.

Georgie laughed outright. “She has no idea about the title,” she informed him as everyone else chuckled. She lifted the marriage lines Williams had retrieved from the safe. “We haven’t told her yet.”

“What title?” Lully asked.

Georgie smiled. “Cutest sprite in England.”

Lully immediately let loose with one of her lovely giggles. “Silly.”

“Give your grandparents your best curtsy, please,” Georgie instructed. Bi cúramach, Murphy.”

Lully wobbled a curtsy and straightened. Murphy stepped up right alongside his tiny mistress so she could lay her hand on his neck.

“This is our dog Murphy,” Lully informed her gaping grandparents with the gravity of a doyenne. “If you try to hurt me, he will eat you.”

And for the first time Georgie could ever remember, he father broke into a genuine smile. “I have no doubt. I promise he will have no cause, Lilly Chalotte.”

She nodded as if bestowing a boon. “Good. I want to like you.”

Then she did something the marquess’s children had never had the temerity to do. She ran up to the two very starchy gray-haired people seated on their stately chairs, motioned them to her and gave them a smacking kiss on the forehead.

The marchioness actually exhibited tears. “Thank you, sweet girl,” she whispered. “That was….the best.”

“Indeed,” the marquess acknowledged unsteadily, reaching out a hand that Lully accepted with aplomb. “Indeed.”

“Me, too?” Jamie demanded from his place alongside his mother.

His grandparents looked even more startled.

“Why, yes,” the marchioness said, hands out. “I suppose so.”

Jamie ran into them, and suddenly the two children and their grandparents were talking as if they had been together for years.

Georgie didn’t realize she was weeping until Adam set a handkerchief in her hand. “All better now?” he asked.

She nodded. “It is certainly on the right road, my love.”

He smiled at her. “My love,” he echoed. “That is the best of all.”

“Yes,” she smiled back, knowing that with the support of this man she had finally reclaimed herself. “It is.”

For the first time in her life, she felt good about the future of her family. But even if she had walked away from her parents empty-handed, she had more than her heart could hold. All because Adam Marrick had kept his cousin’s promise.

Thank you, Jamie, she thought as she considered the family he had given her and the future she thought he blessed. Thank you for loving me enough to give me Adam. And for telling me to look past his perfectly forgettable face.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR


New York Times bestselling, RWA Hall of Fame author Eileen Dreyer has published 32 romance novels and novellas in most sub-genres, 8 medical-forensic suspenses, and 10 short stories.

2019 sees Eileen publishing THREE TIMES A LADY, which continues her Drakes Rakes series about a group of Regency aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep their country safe. She also continues to republish her RITA-winning Kathleen Korbel contemporaries, beginning with THE ICE CREAM MAN.

A former trauma nurse, she lives in St. Louis with her husband, children, and large and noisy Irish family, of which she is the reluctant matriarch. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.

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ALSO BY EILEEN DREYER


I’ve wanted to give Georgie Grace a happy ending since she appeared in BARELY A LADY, the first in my DRAKE’S RAKES regency romantic adventure series. I’m so glad to be able to do it now. If you want more Rakes, (especially her brother Jack and his wife Olivia), or any of my contemporary romances, follow my links.


Drake’s Rakes Series


Barely A Lady

Never A Gentleman

Always A Temptress

It Begins With A Kiss

Once A Rake

Twice Tempted


Korbel Classics Collection

Jake’s Way

Simple Gifts

Timeless

Perchance To Dream

A Soldier’s Heart

A Rose For Maggie

A Walk On The Wild Side

Some Men’s Dreams


Korbel Classics Humorous Collection

The Ice Cream Man

Isn’t It Romantic?

A Prince of A Guy

The Princess & The Pea

A Fine Madness


New York Times bestselling, RWA Hall of Fame author Eileen Dreyer has published 32 romance novels and novellas in most sub-genres, 8 medical-forensic suspenses, and 10 short stories.


2019 sees Eileen continuing her Drakes Rakes series about a group of Regency aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep their country safe. She also continues to republish her RITA-winning Kathleen Korbel contemporaries, beginning with THE ICE CREAM MAN.


A former trauma nurse, she lives in St. Louis with her husband, children, and large and noisy Irish family, of which she is the reluctant matriarch. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.


Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Newsletter ~ Bookbub ~ Goodreads

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

A Duke For All Seasons!

DUKE IN WINTER – Alyssa Alexander

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

About the Author

THE DIFFERENCE ONE DUKE MAKES – Elizabeth Essex

Preface

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

About the Author

DISCOVERING THE DUKE – Madeline Martin

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

From Madeline Martin

About the Author

THE DUKE AND THE APRIL FLOWERS – Grace Burrowes

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

From Grace Burrowes

LOVE LETTERS FROM A DUKE – Gina Conkle

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

About the Author

Also by Gina Conkle

HER PERFECT DUKE – Ella Quinn

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Author Notes

HOW TO DITCH A DUKE – May McGoldrick

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Author’s Note

TO TEMPT A HIGHLAND DUKE – Bronwen Evans

Preface

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Epilogue

About Bron

DUKE IN SEARCH OF A DUCHESS – Jennifer Ashley

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

About the Author

DEAR DUKE – Anna Harrington

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Author’s Note

Letter to Readers

MUST LOVE DUKE – Heather Snow

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

From Heather

About the Author

THE MISTLETOE DUKE – Sabrina York

Preface

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Epilogue

About the Author

Also by Sabrina York

DUELING WITH THE DUKE – Eileen Dreyer

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

About the Author

Also by Eileen Dreyer