Enticed by a Governess

Enticed by a Governess Jane Charles Copyright Enticed by a Governess Copyright © 2023 by Jane Charles All rights reserved. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author. About Enticed by a Governess Charlotte Hawthorn had everything she could ever want. She lived alone, enjoyed freedoms that few women ever experience, was a governess and an artist, and she had not seen her husband in four years. Theirs was a marriage in name only, a convenience. Victor Hawthorn, Viscount Blackmar, had not wanted to marry a stranger at the age of one and twenty. However, when a wealthy merchant purchased all his father’s debts, Victor was given the choice to either marry the man’s soon-to-be sixteen-year-old daughter or his family would face complete ruination. Victor had chosen marriage then left his young bride on a small estate and returned to his life. When he reluctantly returns four years later, Victor doesn’t find the girl he left behind, but an enticing, independent woman who not only creates beautiful art but would rather be a governess than married to him. Will they find their way to love and happiness or will all be ruined by an enemy who sets out to destroy their future? Contents Dedication 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 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Epilogue Thank you Excerpt: Desiring the Governess Also By Jane Charles About Jane Charles Dedication Thank you, Mary B for so often finding what I have missed, and fixing my errors. I continue to learn from you. Jane Chapter 1 Hartfield Hall, Cheshire, England, May 1812 Victor Hawthorn was so angry he could not think straight. Disgusted by how his life had been manipulated, Victor stomped out of the house and into the gardens. The spring flowers may have been bursting with color, but they did little to soften his mood. On any other day, he may have allowed the quiet of the country to calm him. But not today. He was far too livid. If only he could wipe his hands clean of this entire mess. He would too, if not for Marcus and Maria, his younger siblings. The unacceptable position that Victor found himself in was all his father’s doing, yet it fell to Victor to keep his family from being completely ruined, shunned from society, and his father out of debtors’ prison. A bee buzzed past his ear and Victor swatted it away in irritation. Even the bloody chirping birds were putting him on edge. Damn his parents for ruining what should have been a pleasant visit to the country, away from the crowds, filth, and noise of London. It was the middle of the Season and he had welcomed the break, until he learned the reason they were here. His father had ruined much more than a holiday, he had just altered Victor’s life and future. Somehow Mr. Thompson had managed to purchase all his father’s notes—the amount staggering, and now Thompson held control over Victor’s father, thus the entire family. However, the whole of that debt would be cleared, as well as a substantial fund gifted when Victor married the man’s daughter, thus providing the elusive title Thompson had always coveted. It would not be his but would eventually belong to a grandson by way of the merchant’s daughter. If Victor did not follow through, the debts would be called due, and his family would lose what little they had left. The only exception was Thornhill Park, the crumbling estate in Shropshire, and that was only because it was entailed. Victor kicked a few stones along the path in the garden and turned toward the house. The one conciliation in this arrangement, if one could be found, was that his father would receive none of the funds himself. Victor would have full control of the purse strings and Victor had made it perfectly clear that he would never again bail his father out of gambling debts. His funds would be limited to the allowance Victor provided and not a shilling more. Charlotte Thompson strained to look out the window on the nursery floor where she’d been sequestered when the important guests had arrived. She honestly didn’t mind and preferred to be up here, away from her father and not being reminded that she was forever a disappointment. This was where she could paint and be herself. “Are you certain that is Mr. Victor Hawthorn?” she asked her maid, Tilly. “He and his father, Viscount Blackmar, arrived with Lady Blackmar this afternoon,” Tilly confirmed. “They were meeting with your father for the longest time.” “Perhaps Lord Blackmar is seeking a loan,” Charlotte mused aloud. Why else would the Viscount be here? If gossip sheets were to be believed, Blackmar was a gambler who had taken the family to the