Engtangled With the Duke's Daughter

ENTANGLED WITH THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER WHEN THE WALLFLOWERS WERE WICKED DAPHNE QUINN Copyright © 2023 by Tammy Andresen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum CONTENTS 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 Epilogue Join Swift Romance’s newsletter About the Author CHAPTER ONE Lady Harriet Chant did not know how she would react to being held at gunpoint by a highwayman until it happened – and her reaction was not what she would have expected. Her mother was indignant; her sister terrified. But Harriet? She just felt angry. Angry at this man for stopping them and taking everything of value from them. Angry that she was a woman, and therefore had no weapon on her, nor the physical strength to dare to challenge this man. And angry that she had spent her life following all the rules, only to end up robbed by a highwayman on the way to a house party that was clearly a desperate attempt to find the attendees spouses. When the highwayman withdrew from their carriage – with a jaunty "Good day, ladies," as he did so, Harriet took her twin sister Juliet’s hand. Juliet was shaking, and Harriet squeezed her hand tightly. Adrenaline coursed through Harriet’s body, and she had half a mind to chase down the rogue with a Scottish accent, and insist he give them back her jewels. Except she did not wish to find a bullet heading in her direction, which would surely be what would happen if she did something so foolish. The carriage door was ripped open once more, and all three women froze, but it was only the coach driver, who was sporting a large gash on his forehead. "Your Grace, are you hurt? That man, he came out of nowhere, caught me over the head with the barrel of his gun." "We are not hurt," Harriet’s mother, the Duchess of Thurlestone said, her tone no less imperious for the terrifying ordeal they had just been through. "But all our jewellery has been taken. Were you not armed, Simpkins?" The coach driver shook his head. "No, Your Grace, I am sorry." Harriet felt sorry for the poor man. Their mother could be rather unaware of others’ feelings in her constant drive for perfection. Her daughters were certainly well aware of that. "Is Polly hurt?" Harriet asked. Their maid had been travelling up front with the driver, and Harriet hoped the highwayman had not bothered her. "She is a little shaken, milady, but well." "Are you able to keep driving?" Juliet asked. "With your head?" He wiped at the blood with his sleeve. "Yes, milady, I will continue immediately, if it pleases Your Grace. But might I suggest we stop at an inn, as it will soon be dark, and with highwaymen like that on the roads, I would not wish to risk your safety." "That sounds like the best plan, especially as we are not armed. Make haste, then." And so the coach began to rattle towards the nearest inn, as they all tried to calm their racing hearts and come to terms with what had happened to them. "Your necklace," Juliet said, reaching up to touch Harriet’s bare neck with the tips of her fingers. "You loved that one so much…" Harriet sighed. She had loved it: a beautiful ruby on a gold chain, which she had added a gold leaf to from another trinket. But it was gone, and there was no point crying over it. "We are all unhurt," she said. "That is all that matters." "Indeed," their mother said. "And once we reach this inn we can calm ourselves, and join the house party just a little late. It is important that we make a good impression, no matter the circumstances of our late arrival." Harriet tried to hide a sigh. She wanted to find a husband, but if neither she nor her twin had managed to find one in the busy social Season, what would be different about a house party? They’d learned from all the best tutors and followed their Mama’s instructions to the letter, but they were both so quiet that they were barely noticed. Neither seemed to be brave enough to speak up in a crowded room – especially when Mama’s watchful eye was upon them. So they had followed all the rules and done as everyone expected, and still they had both ended up labelled as wallflowers, with no suitors to pin any hopes on and most certainly no proposals of marriage. And now no jewellery. Being the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of Thurlestone, with looks that were complimented and hefty dowries, it had been expected they would make good matches as soon as they made their debuts. And it wasn’t as though society seemed to dislike them… It was just as though they were not noticed at all. They faded away, compared to their mother’s magnificence, compared to all the accomplished débutantes who wore their confidence like a crown. And now this house party, thrown by the Dowager Duchess of Worthing, an old friend of Mama’s, was supposedly the perfect opportunity for them to find those elusive matches. But Harriet was bored with playing by the rules and having absolutely nothing to show for it. * * * Another leak had sprung in the west wing of Highridge Hall, and William Fletcher knew that fixing it would cost a considerable amount of money. It was not simply that one leak, after all; the entire west wing was now shut off,