Love & Other Perennial Habits

Love &OTHERPERENNIAL HABITS EMMALINEWARDEN EMMALINE WARDEN LLC This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. LOVE AND OTHER PERENNIAL HABITS. Copyright © 2022 by Emmaline Warden. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. Emmaline Warden asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Emmaline Warden has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks, and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book. Digital Edition ISBN: 979-8-9874003-0-2 Print Edition ISBN: 979-8-9874003-1-9 Cover design by Lily Bear Design Co. FIRST EDITION Kindle Edition To my kids – for being your silly, supportive, loving selves. You’re by far my favorite creations Love always, Mom TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Acknowledgments Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Epilogue Coming Soon! About the Author To Bethany Bennett, Marielle Browne, Daphne Chase, Alissa Davis, and Catherine Stein – For all the writing sprints, verbal processing, and simply being the best group of friends a girl could ask for. Your love and support have been invaluable and I can never repay it, but will spend my life trying. To Nicole McCurdy – Your insight when editing this book was invaluable. Thank you for answering a multitude of emails, and for helping to make this book shine. CHAPTER ONE August 1819 The Earl of Everly was dead, thank God. The bastard had met the grim reaper in his sleep at the ripe age of sixty-six, an easy way to go for someone so terrible as him, but nevertheless, he was dead. Margaret Reedy, Countess of Everly, watched the carriage pull away, the black plumes on top of the horses’ heads dancing in the wind as they merged into the traffic of Mayfair. Everly would be buried at the family estate in Salisbury, and Margaret, being a lowly woman, was not allowed to attend the proceedings. Not that she would have. Her husband was a miserable man who had made it his purpose in life to ensure her days were a living hell. No, she would bid goodbye to the arse from the front steps of their Grosvenor Square home, then head inside for a nice cup of tea and some biscuits. “How are you, dear?” her mother, Lady Veerson, asked from the couch of the sitting room. Her blue day dress showed nary a wrinkle as she sipped from her teacup, her perfectly coiffed grey hair immaculate, not a single strand out of place. The woman had not moved from the spot since she arrived that morning, and Margaret envied her carefree existence, but that was it. Her mother, after all, was married to her father and that was a sentence she would not wish upon anyone. It had been her sire who had determined the trajectory of her fate, forcing her to marry the aged earl, a man nearly forty years her senior, and sentencing her to an existence of wretchedness that only death could save her from. Unfortunately for them all, her father was very much alive. “I’m well. Ready for this all to be completed.” She brushed at her black crepe dress before sitting and taking the proffered cup of tea from her mother. “The hard part is over, dear. The earl will be buried and once his will is read and Lord Harrison officially takes over the title, you’ll be the dowager countess. Do you have any notion of what your settlement will be?” Lady Veerson sipped her tea so delicately at the question it set Margaret’s teeth on edge. She shook her head. “Walter wasn’t too forthcoming about what his plans for me were once he perished. I’m sure he intended to outlive me.” Her mother frowned at her words. The acknowledgment of oppression she had been dealt at the hands of her husband was a topic her parents wanted little to do with. Just the mere mention of Walter’s domineering personality sent them both into lamentations of her being overly dramatic. It had not mattered when Everly demeaned her in public, calling her all sorts of horrible names, and it certainly did not matter now. No, her parents cared very little for the well-being of their eldest child, only that she married well, and gained a title in the process. After all, what were a few harsh words when you could be a countess? Margaret pasted a smile on her lips. “I can only hope Daphne’s marriage is nothing like mine. It’s a shame she could not come today.” “What nonsense, Margaret. She’s at finishing school, readying herself to become a nobleman’s wife. That is much more important than sitting idly by as her sister tends to her husband’s funeral.” Lady Veerson glanced at the