Free A Brazen Lady And The Shunned Duke (Faces of Love Series #3) by Jessie Bennett

she passed away, Loyalty felt as if she was all alone in the world, two sets of parents gone, and only working dawn through dusk saved her from falling into the streets like other young ones who had been orphaned. Her father had left her with a good business sense, and always told her to make informed choices, not to let others tie her down.
    Such had been her life for the past three years. Nathan was working toward promotion; she was rebuilding the business, and although they loved each other; they weren't quite ready to get married yet. His shore-leave visits were rare, and she felt like they were too focused on their individual lives.
    A knock came at the door as she set the kettle on the fire and she smiled, knowing who it was. Loyalty's only other salvation from a world of constant work and loneliness was her closest friend, Jerrico.
    When she had first met Jerrico, a handsome King's Guard with bright blue eyes and a shining smile, she’d thought she was in love. He had come to their house weekly when her mother was contracted to do some of the palace laundry. It was their biggest contract, and the bonus was Jerrico's visits. However, even at 12, she’d learned quickly that what she was experiencing with the 16-year-old Jerrico was not romantic love. It was more like a meeting of twin souls. Jerrico and Loyalty were alike in all the ways that mattered, and different in all the ways that they needed to be. She was a calm, normal breath in his chaotic, seemingly glamorous life. He was always sunny to her sometimes pessimistic, and she was healthy to his weakness. Because as beautiful and healthy as Jerrico seemed, he was plagued by a mysterious illness that often left him unable to work for days on end. There were fevers, chills, fainting spells and tremors; things that would have put a normal guard out of work. However, Jerrico was practically guard royalty, his father and his father before him, so his captain let him out of work whenever he showed up looking like death. Loyalty's house was his sick bed, close to the palace, but far enough away for no one to see him recover for a weekend. As her mother did before her when she discovered it, she spent days by the fire listening to his labored breathing and bringing cool compresses. In return, Jerrico brought her anything that he could from the palace to make her life bearable, and ensured that her palace laundry contract was always intact. It was a good trade.
    Today was a scheduled visit; so she wasn't concerned when she opened the door to find him carrying three bags of laundry. It was a task for a lower-ranking guard, but he always made sure it was him. Loyalty sometimes found herself wondering, though, if Jerrico did anything besides visit her. He always seemed to get the best duties when he wasn’t with her, and an obscene amount of leave. He was very friendly, with a wonderful smile, and she wondered if he had gotten in good with someone at the palace.
    Whatever it was, though, she was glad of it. His company when Nathan was away was much appreciated. Besides, Jerrico was the last link to her parents. He remembered her mother and her father when it seemed like no one else did. Jerrico had an amazing memory, and he often found a way to bring up memories she had long forgotten.
    “Just drop them anywhere,” she said as he did just that, stepping inside. “You're a little bit early.”
    “It's a busy day,” he replied, indicated by the fact that he was already in uniform. “George decided to throw a banquet.”
    “Which George?” she asked as she sorted through the bags. She never commented on the fact that Jerrico was so close to the royal family that he didn't bother to give them titles. She had no idea whether he was talking about the king or the prince in any conversation unless she asked.
    “The king,” he replied, leaning against the wall with a yawn. When his yawn turned into a cough, she whipped her head around. “I'm fine,” he said and held up