The Duke's Convenient Bride

THE DUKE'S CONVENIENT BRIDE Deception led them in the start, but now they share a beating heart… ROSELYN FRANCIS CONTENTS Thank you About the book Prologue 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 Epilogue Extended Epilogue Afterword Do you want more Romance? The Duke's Diamond in the Rough Never miss a thing Thank you About the Author THANK YOU I want to personally thank you for purchasing my book. It really means a lot to me. It’s a blessing to have the opportunity to share with you my passion for writing through my stories. If you’re a true fan of the Historical Regency Romance genre, then you’re going to love this story… It is called “The Untamed Heiress”, and you can get it for FREE. DON’T MISS IT, as it will be available only for a few days! Please click on the cover to download the book ABOUT THE BOOK In seeking the truth, she found her match, his love the missing catch… Diana Milwood, torn from her family as an infant, has spent years pursuing every lead and whisper that might bring her closer to her family. And just when she thinks all hope is lost, she encounters Edmund Hampton, a man of wealth and status who seems to hold the key to unlocking the secrets of her past. Edmund Hampton has always cherished his freedom, but a foolish, drunken mistake leaves him with a false engagement, and in dire need of a fiancée. Desperate for a solution, he stumbles upon Diana, and she just might be the answer to all his troubles. As they set out on a path of deceit and deception, their sham of an engagement takes on a life of its own. But Diana's unyielding pursuit of truth puts them both in peril, for the man who abducted her long ago looms ominously in the darkness, and should he ensnare her once more, there will be no salvation, no chance at redemption… Deception led them in the start, but now they share a beating heart… * * * PROLOGUE It was cold, and the rain was an added misery, each drop hitting her soaked skin and thin, drenched garments like a stinging needle of ice. Her chest, on the other hand, felt like it was on fire, every ragged, sobbing breath like coals dragging over her throat and into her ribs instead of the needed air. It didn’t matter, just like the bruising pain of cold hard cobblestones under her chilled bare feet or the squelching, grasping cold of mud when she stumbled into a puddle. The ache in her legs, worse than the stitch in her side, didn’t matter either. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that she kept running and running to get as far away as she could from him. She wanted to go home—wanted it so fiercely she would have cried if she’d had any breath or tears left. But the streets all looked alike to her, and she was hopelessly lost with no one in sight to help her, to guide her, or give her shelter. It was as if there was no one in the world but her and him. Without warning, she hit a slick patch in the road and went down with a shrill cry, her child’s voice cracking with pain and fear as she tumbled to the paving stones, skinning her hands and knees with a force that would leave bruises. Still sobbing, she levered herself up, fighting to get to her feet. But her legs wouldn’t work. She couldn’t stand, and she couldn’t run. She couldn’t even seem to find the strength to crawl. And then she heard it—the distinctive tap-tap-tap of his cane on the stones and the chilling sound of his deep, cold laughter, harder than the stones and cold as ice. Fear froze her as effectively as her unresponsive legs did, but despair gave her a voice through her sobbing breaths. “Help me! Someone, help me, please! Help me!” She let out a wretched sob as she looked for anyone to come to her aid. “Someone…please…he’s going to take me away! Please, take me home! Please, someone…anyone…help me!” The rain seemed to swallow her cries before they could truly form, even as the cold, cruel laughter echoed louder and louder around her. Then a hand came out of nowhere, seizing on the back of her neck with more force than a collar and with all the harshness of an iron chain at her throat. A cold, smooth voice echoed in her ear, “There is no escape. You’re mine, now and forever, little bird.” She screamed in terror and pain, in desperate anguish and hopelessness, as she was dragged back into the darkness. The rain swallowed her shrieks of despair as it had swallowed her cries for help. She flailed helplessly, mindlessly, in one final effort to escape… She thumped her hand on the headboard of her bed, catching hold just before she rolled off the thin mattress. Diana Milwood blinked in the darkness of her small room, breathing hard as she realized where she was. She wasn’t a child trapped in a cage. She wasn’t running through the streets to escape a pursuer. She was safe in the little room she’d occupied for several years now, in the small flat Mr. Gilbert helped her maintain. The scream had been real though and her throat was still aching from it. The nightmare was so intense, her clothes were drenched in sweat, and she was shivering. The rain was real enough—only it was drumming down in sheets outside her window shutter. It wasn’t falling on her