Free Romance: In Love With A Beast (Paranormal BBW Panther Shifter Romance) (Shapeshifter Mystery Alpha Werebear Romance Short Stories) by Jada Turner Page B

to achieve that goal.”
    “And if you achieve your goal, will you come back?”
    “I shall. And I shall seek you out wherever you are.”

 
    Chapter 6
     
     
    Diana knocked on the door of the Rectory. She hadn’t come to see the vicar; she had come to see his wife, Mrs Higgins. Had this woman been alive in ancient Greece she would have been the Oracle. She couldn’t make inquiries anywhere else or someone may ask too many questions. But eight months had passed since he had gone and she was desperate to know more about this enigmatic stranger with a secret.
    “Do come in dear. Would you care to take tea?” said Mrs Higgins showing Diana into the drawing-room
    “Yes please.”
    Mrs Higgins fussed her maid to her task and then sat Diana down plumping up the cushions before sitting on the settee alongside her.
    “Now what can I do for you Diana?”
    “I’m just curious. I’ve come across a man by the name of Richard Devere-Scott, who purports to be the third son of the Duke of Durham. I just wondered if he was indeed genuine.”
    “Oh dear Diana. I hope you and Sir Reginald are not thinking of entertaining this man socially.”
    “Oh! I take it he is not genuine then?” Diana had no doubt that he was indeed genuine, but she still wanted to find out as much about him as possible without raising awkward questions. “Reginald and I were thinking about it. Would that be a problem?”
    “Indeed it would Diana. The Duke disowned him. They say he’s a blackguard who stole his regiment’s silver and sold it.”
    “Oh dear. Then we must certainly avoid him.”
    “Indeed you must Diana. It’s a dreadful shame. He stole the silver and gave the proceeds to his men who were discharged from the army after Waterloo. The government made no provision for them and neither did the regiment. Some had families to feed. I don’t know how you came to cross his path. Fortunately for him the regiment didn’t want the embarrassment, so no charges were laid. They could not countenance one of their captains being dragged through the courts.”
    “He was a Captain in Wellington’s army?”
    “Indeed he was Diana. I’m surprised he’s surfaced again. I understood he had gone to India.”
    “Thank you,” said Diana sipping her tea.
    He would come back to her some day. Her fantasy captain in Wellington’s army was real. He would return for her.
    Diana winced.
    “Are you all right dear?” said Mrs Higgins.
    Diana touched her eight month’s pregnant belly. “Yes, just a kick.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    The Scoundrel’s Mistress
     
    An Erotic Regency Romance
     
     
     
     
     
    By Passion Books

 
    Chapter One
     
     
     
    Diana sat in the dining room finishing her breakfast of toast with a lashing of butter from Home Farm, one of her husband’s tenants on the Eylebourne Hall estate.
    She glanced out of the window across the terrace to the hills in the distance to see what the weather would be like today. It did not bode well. Dark clouds gathered and a couple of rain spots landed on the French windows. Another English summer’s day, she thought as she wrapped a silk shawl around her bare shoulders. She liked the Empire style dress with its low neckline but sometimes the form was unequal to the British weather.
    In the gilt-framed mirror on the opposite wall, she caught a reflection of herself. Her long blond hair was tied up in ringlets and it had taken her and her maid Lucy a good half hour to get right and she felt pleased with the result. Not bad, she thought, for a woman of twenty-five as her English rose visage looked back at her.
    Sir Reginald slurped through his devilled kidneys. As usual the grease slipped down both sides of his flabby face. Diana glanced over at him. A glance was about all she could bear when he ate; any longer would make her sick. To say he ate like a pig would be unfair to the porcine race. He didn’t look well with the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and his complexion had turned