Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries
You may not have to be uncertainty about this If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries It is simple means to get this publication If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries You can simply see the set with the link that we provide. Here, you could purchase guide If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries by on the internet. By downloading If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries, you can find the soft file of this book. This is the exact time for you to begin reading. Even this is not printed publication If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries; it will precisely give more perks. Why? You may not bring the published book If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries or only stack the book in your home or the workplace.
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries
Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries
If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries. Accompany us to be participant here. This is the internet site that will certainly offer you relieve of searching book If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries to read. This is not as the various other site; the books will remain in the forms of soft file. What advantages of you to be member of this website? Get hundred compilations of book link to download and install and also obtain always updated book on a daily basis. As one of guides we will offer to you currently is the If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries that comes with an extremely completely satisfied concept.
Why must be If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries in this website? Obtain more earnings as what we have informed you. You could find the various other reduces besides the previous one. Alleviate of getting guide If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries as what you want is likewise supplied. Why? We offer you many sort of guides that will not make you feel weary. You could download them in the link that we offer. By downloading and install If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries, you have actually taken properly to pick the convenience one, as compared to the trouble one.
The If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries has the tendency to be wonderful reading book that is easy to understand. This is why this book If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries ends up being a preferred book to review. Why don't you desire turned into one of them? You could appreciate reading If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries while doing other tasks. The existence of the soft file of this book If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries is type of obtaining encounter effortlessly. It consists of exactly how you need to save the book If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries, not in shelves naturally. You might save it in your computer system gadget and device.
By saving If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries in the gizmo, the method you read will certainly additionally be much simpler. Open it and also begin reviewing If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries, straightforward. This is reason why we propose this If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries in soft file. It will not disrupt your time to obtain guide. Furthermore, the online air conditioner will certainly also alleviate you to look If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries it, also without going someplace. If you have link web in your office, home, or gadget, you can download If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries it directly. You could not also wait to receive guide If The Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), By Sabrina Jeffries to send by the vendor in other days.
From New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries, the deliciously sexy fourth book in the “Duke’s Men” Regency romance series—the first of which was called “a totally engaging, adventurous love story” (RT Book Reviews, Top Pick).
The heir presumptive to the Viscount Rathmoor, Dominick Manton once had his heart’s desire within reach—a bright future as a barrister and engagement to Jane Vernon, a wealthy baron’s daughter. Then a shattering betrayal by his vindictive brother George snatched away Dom’s inheritance and his hopes of offering Jane a secure future. Brokenhearted, and attempting to end their engagement without destroying Jane’s reputation, Dom staged a betrayal of his own to convince her that he’s not the husband-to-be that she thought.
Now George is gone and the viscountcy restored to Dom, since his brother’s widow, Nancy—Jane’s cousin and closest confidant—never bore an heir. But when Nancy goes missing, a panicked Jane calls on her former fiancé to track down her cousin. Dom knows the mistakes of the past may be unforgiveable—but now, entangled together in mystery and danger, will they rekindle a passionate longing that was never lost to begin with?
- Sales Rank: #534373 in Books
- Published on: 2015-01-27
- Released on: 2015-01-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.75" h x 1.10" w x 4.13" l, .40 pounds
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 400 pages
Review
"The narrator Corrie James does a great job with the narration�" ---Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
About the Author
Sabrina Jeffries is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of several Regency-set historical romance series, including the Royal Brotherhood, the School for Heiresses, the Hellions of Halstead Hall, the Duke’s Men, and the Sinful Suitors. Whatever time is not spent writing in a coffee-fueled haze is spent traveling with her husband and adult autistic son or indulging in one of her passions: jigsaw puzzles, chocolate, music, and costume parties. With more than eight million books in print in twenty languages, the North Carolina author never regrets tossing a budding career in academics for the sheer joy of writing fun fiction and hopes that one day a book of hers will end up saving the world. She always dreams big.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
If the Viscount Falls
1
Winborough Estate in Yorkshire
May 1829
FOUR DAYS AFTER his arrival at Winborough’s Whitsuntide house party, Dom rummaged through the drawers of the desk in his half brother’s study. Where in blazes did Tristan keep his sealing wax? So far, Dom had found a penknife, some string, seventeen quills, a lint-clad lemon drop, a stack of foolscap, and a lacy garter, but no sign of wax.
He didn’t even want to think about why the garter was in there. The thought of Tristan and Dom’s new sister-in-law, Zoe, doing . . . whatever upon the desk made him feel like a Peeping Tom.
Just as Dom slammed the top drawer shut, he spotted the sealing wax, set neatly beside an inkpot atop the desk. Right there before his eyes, blast it all. Clearly he was losing his mind.
Dom dropped into the chair. It was all Jane’s fault. Set to inherit the Rathmoor title now that George was dead, he ought to be concentrating on his return to Rathmoor Park today and his attempts to get it out of arrears. Instead, Jane consumed his thoughts.
It was ludicrous. They were nothing to each other now. Certainly, he was nothing to her. After more than twelve years unmarried, she’d finally gone and got herself engaged to Edwin Barlow, the newly minted Earl of Blakeborough.
She would soon be out of Dom’s reach for good, and he couldn’t change that. He didn’t want to change it. That time of his life was gone forever, as well it should be. He was quite a bit older and wiser, not to mention rougher, and she was still an heiress. They had nothing in common. They were different people.
And perhaps if he said it enough, he would finally believe it. He had to believe it. He had to excise her from his mind somehow.
“Zoe wants to know if you intend to join us for services at their church in town.”
He jerked his head up so quickly that he nearly knocked over the Argand lamp. “Blast it, Lisette, don’t sneak up on me like that!”
With a toss of her black curls, his half sister approached the desk. “Don’t blame me if your mind is in the clouds. I’ve been standing here waiting for you to notice me for a good five minutes while you muttered and cursed and scowled.”
“Sorry. I’m a bit . . . distracted, is all.”
She sniffed. “Is that what you call it? And here I thought you were merely rude.”
“Now, Lisette—”
“You were such a grump at the celebration yesterday! I don’t even know why you bothered to drive the two hours over from the coast for the house party. Even Tristan noticed your foul mood, which takes some doing, since he only has eyes for Zoe.”
Dom snorted. He would never have expected his half brother, of all people, to fall in love. Especially so spectacularly. “I’m surprised he and Zoe even remember we exist, given their billing and cooling.” He narrowed his gaze on her. “Although you and Max are just as bad.”
“Lord, I hope not. We’re parents now; we have to show some decorum.” She tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. “Though it’s difficult since Max likes me a little . . . indecorous.”
“Good God, I don’t even want to think about that,” he said irritably. “Stop talking about all the ways Max likes you.”
“Why? Because it makes you feel lonely?”
“Because you’re my sister.”
“It’s your own fault you’re lonely, you know,” she said, ignoring his answer. “You’ve got Jane right under your nose at Rathmoor Park while she’s staying with Nancy, and instead of taking advantage of that to court her, you’re hiding over here at our brother’s estate.”
“I am not hiding,” he said coolly, though perhaps he was. “Besides, why would I court Jane? She’s engaged to another man. And if you’ll recall, she was the one to jilt me, not the other way around.”
“So you say.”
That brought him up short. “You think I’m lying?”
“I think that the woman I met at your betrothal party years ago was so in love with you she wouldn’t have jilted you over any loss in station or fortune. Which means you must have done something to run her off.”
Damn. Lisette was fishing for information, as usual. And hitting uncomfortably close to the mark.
By the night of that blasted ball where he’d maneuvered Jane into breaking with him, Lisette and Tristan had already fled to France to avoid George’s wrath. So all his sister knew of what had happened was what she’d pieced together from gossip.
Dom wasn’t fool enough to tell her and Tristan the truth. They would never let him hear the end of it. They already brought Jane up more often than he could stand. “None of that changes the fact that Jane is engaged to someone else.”
Lisette released an exasperated breath. Clearly she’d been hoping for an explanation. She ought to know better by now.
“So even if I wanted to ‘court’ Jane,” Dom continued, “I could not.”
“Still, she seems in no hurry to marry her fiancé,” Lisette pressed on, undaunted by the facts. “She came running up to Yorkshire almost the minute George died.”
“To be with George’s widow. I would think less of her if she did not try to comfort her cousin.”
“Don’t be obtuse, Dom. It doesn’t suit you. She came because she’s desperate to see you before she marries a man she has to know is wrong for her.”
“Desperate? Hardly. She’s been staying with Nancy at the dowager house a mile away from the manor, and I haven’t come across her once during her entire visit.”
“No doubt you went to great lengths to make sure of that.” When he didn’t rise to her bait, Lisette turned pensive. “How is Nancy doing, anyway?”
“How the blazes should I know? I just told you—I don’t see them.”
“I hope you realize how rude that is. You should at least pay them a visit from time to time. To show there are no hard feelings.”
“Hard feelings? Are you mad?” He eyed her askance. “Nancy doesn’t care about my feelings toward her. She undoubtedly hates me and Tristan both. Because of us, George is dead.”
“He was going to murder you two!”
“A minor detail that she will undoubtedly overlook in the face of George’s death,” he said dryly.
“I always found it odd that they married in the first place. I mean, if he’d been trying to get back at you over your helping Tristan, why didn’t he just go after Jane?”
Because George had believed what he’d seen that night at the ball—that Dom wanted Nancy for her money. So, resentful of Dom as ever, George had set out to gain the woman for himself. That was undoubtedly what Nancy had intended when she’d somehow arranged for Jane to stumble upon them with George in tow.
Though that probably hadn’t turned out as well as Nancy had planned. George couldn’t possibly have been much of a husband, even for someone as shallow and undiscriminating as Jane’s cousin.
Leaning back in his chair, he clasped his hands over his stomach. “George didn’t go after Jane precisely because he knew Jane would never have married him after how he’d cut me off. Besides, Nancy was more his sort of woman—pretty, but vapid and malleable.”
“Nonetheless, even she deserved better. And now she’s a widow beholden to the very man her husband hated. Thank heaven she’s got Jane to help her deal with that.”
“Yes, thank heaven,” he echoed absentmindedly.
And thank heaven Jane had apparently held Nancy blameless for that scene in the library years ago. At least his subterfuge hadn’t torn her from the woman most like a sister to her.
Though sometimes it irked him that Jane had believed the lie so easily. That she’d instantly accepted the picture of him as an unscrupulous fortune hunter. That’s what he’d wanted, of course, but it rankled.
Because he was an arse who wanted to have his cake and eat it, too.
“So,” Lisette said, “are you joining us for services this morning?”
Thank God the inquisition about Jane was over. “Afraid not. As soon as I put the seal on this document that you and Max are carrying back to Victor, transferring the running of Manton’s Investigations to him, I’m returning to Rathmoor Park.”
He sat up and bent over the papers laid out on the desk. “I’m still dealing with those tenants George mistreated. We must reach some sort of agreement about how to compensate them fairly without bankrupting the estate, so I’m meeting with them tomorrow morning.”
“And does this urgent meeting involve Nancy? Might you see Jane?”
Good God, Lisette was like a trickle of water that wore away at the stone until it cracked.
He concentrated on melting the sealing wax onto the parchment. “Actually, Jane is gone. She left from Hull the day before yesterday by packet boat to return to London.” To her fiancé, the man Dom wanted to throttle simply because Blakeborough got to have Jane for the rest of his days.
So much for excising Jane from his mind.
“Aha! That’s why you’ve been so cross.” Lisette huffed out a breath. “I swear, you’re impossible. You’ll let the only woman you ever cared about marry some other fellow, even though you now possess everything you need to support a wife. For a man who’s faced down thieves and murderers unflinchingly, you can be quite the coward, Dom.”
Grimly, he pressed his signet ring into the wax. Lisette would never understand. Jane might have been his once, but she despised him now and that was that. Even if he told her the truth about that night, they’d spent so many years apart that whatever she’d felt for him had clearly withered.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be marrying Blakeborough. Dom, of all people, knew that Jane wouldn’t get engaged to a man she didn’t love.
When he didn’t respond to his sister’s barbs, her gaze grew calculating. “You know, you ought to carry that document to London in person. I’m sure Victor has hundreds of questions about the running of the agency. Besides, you still haven’t met little Eugene. I know he’d be delighted to see his Uncle Dom.”
He chuckled at her blatant attempt to manipulate him. “I doubt little Eugene delights in anything but being nursed and having his swaddling changed. He’s what, two months old? Has he even learned how to sit up yet?”
She glared at him. “Sometimes you can be so . . . so . . .”
“Practical?”
“Unsentimental. He’s your very first nephew. Don’t you want to see him?”
So he could be reminded of all he’d lost because of George? No. Though he supposed he must, eventually. “I will happily come to visit little Eugene once he’s old enough to recognize me. But I do have a meeting tomorrow, so I can’t run off to London.” He patted the document on the desk. “Would you make sure Max gets this before you leave?”
With a murderous glance, she whirled on her heels and headed for the door.
“Don’t I at least get a goodbye kiss?” he called after her. “I probably won’t see you for some weeks.”
“Foolish gentlemen who don’t know what’s good for them don’t get goodbye kisses,” she said as she kept going.
Her peevish tone made him grin. “I suppose I should be glad you’re not stabbing me toward Jane with your embroidery needles.”
She halted to cast him an arch glance. “Would that work?”
Good God, she might actually do it. “It would not. And don’t be angry. I’m fine as I am, really.”
“Liar. Anyone can see you’re not the least bit fine.”
It frightened him sometimes, how well she knew him. “I’m content, at least. I inherited the estate I never expected to own. What more can I ask for?”
“A wife. Children. Happiness.”
“Those three don’t always go hand in hand, dear girl.”
“Especially if you make no attempt to acquire the first one.”
“Lisette, give it over,” he said softly. “Being angry at me won’t change the past.”
An oath escaped her. “I’m frustrated by your obstinacy, stymied by your reserve, and perplexed by your acceptance of this ridiculous state of affairs between you and Jane.” She apparently noticed the tightening of his jaw, for her expression softened. “But not angry. I could never be angry at you.”
She marched back to plant a kiss on his cheek. “There. That should prove it.” With a fond smile, she said, “Do take care not to work too hard, will you?”
“Certainly,” he lied.
He waited until she left before wandering over to the window to watch the family leave. She didn’t understand that he welcomed the work. It kept his mind off the “ridiculous state of affairs” between him and Jane.
An image of his former fiancée as she’d looked in London a few months ago sprang into his mind. He’d been shocked to encounter her at the soiree thrown by Zoe’s father. It had only been the second time he’d seen her in their years apart, and the first had been so fleeting he’d scarcely had time to register that she was there before she was gone.
Not so at the soiree.
He’d been unable to look away from the glory that was Jane in a blue evening gown. In the time they’d been apart, she’d filled out just enough to have lusher curves. Wrapped in expensive satin, those curves had been quite enticing.
It had been all he could do to keep his gaze on her face. Especially since her brown eyes had sparked fire at him. It was as if no time at all had passed since that horrible night at Blakeborough’s.
He had expected her to lose her anger over time, but her eyes had been hot, her words cool, and her tone a mix of condescension and implied meanings he couldn’t decipher. He’d only endured the encounter by taking on his investigator persona—aloof, unruffled, and always certain of his position.
But her enigmatic comment about tiring of waiting for her life to begin had rattled him. It still did. What the blazes had she meant? Surely she hadn’t been waiting for him, not after what had happened.
Her remark had plagued him for months. Because if she really had been waiting all these years . . .
God, the very notion was idiotic. She hadn’t. And if she had, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t have renewed his attentions toward her, even if she would have accepted them.
He’d spent his first two years at Bow Street proving himself. His next few, during the years of political unrest, had been an endless series of missions for Jackson Pinter and occasionally even Lord Ravenswood, undersecretary to the Home Office—secret, dangerous missions.
He stroked the scar carved into his right cheek. More dangerous than he’d ever imagined.
Those years were a blur. But they’d earned him the respect of the other runners and better chances at more lucrative cases. He’d saved enough to open Manton’s Investigations. And then he’d had new challenges to contend with, new missions to absorb him, all of which kept him from starting up again with Jane.
You can be quite the coward, Dom.
He clenched his jaw. It wasn’t cowardice—not a bit. He’d been busy, damn it. And too aware of how deeply he had hurt Jane to want to risk it again.
Now she was betrothed, and that was that. So he would put her behind him—put that part of his life behind him—and learn to be happy with what he had. It was more than he’d expected, after all.
With that settled, he returned to the desk. He penned a quick note to Max and set it atop the document for Victor, weighing them both down with a paperweight. Then he tidied up his mess and headed out the door. He’d called for his equipage earlier, so his bag should already be stowed. He merely had to—
“If I give you my name,” said a painfully familiar voice from the foyer, “will you promise to make Lord Rathmoor come out here to talk to me? And not put me off with some nonsense about how he’s not here? I know he’s here. I saw his phaeton out front. And it’s imperative that I speak with him.”
Dom’s stomach knotted. How could it be? Why would she be here?
“I understand, madam,” the butler was saying as Dom hurried toward them, “but if the matter is so urgent, why will you not tell me what name to announce—”
“It’s all right,” Dom said as he approached. “I know Miss Vernon.”
Jane started, her pretty eyes widening as she caught sight of him. Today she wore a riding habit of purple wool that nipped in at the waist, ballooned at the hips, and accentuated every curve to good effect. Looking agitated and windblown and heartbreakingly beautiful, she sucked the air quite out of his lungs.
God save him.
“I need to speak with you at once.” With a furtive glance at the butler, she added, “Privately.”
He nodded and gestured for her to precede him toward an open door down the hall. The second they entered, he wished he’d chosen another room. Jane looked so lovely against the backdrop of gold and red silk that his blood ran hot.
“What the blazes are you doing here?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “How delightful to see you, too.”
Damn, he hadn’t meant to sound annoyed. “Forgive me. I’m merely surprised to find you still in Yorkshire. I assumed you’d be well on your way to London by now. Weren’t you supposed to leave by packet boat the day before yesterday?”
“The spring rains washed out the bridge on the road to Hull, so I had to return to Rathmoor Park.” Something indecipherable glinted in her eyes. “I was unaware you were paying such close attention to my schedule.”
Blast. He hadn’t meant to give that away. “I pay attention to everything regarding my estate and those in my charge,” he said smoothly. “Which includes any visitors to the dowager house.”
Was that disappointment in her face? No, surely not.
“I see,” she said in a colder tone. “Then it’s a pity you haven’t been around the past two days. Because while you’ve been gone, one of those ‘in your charge’ has gone missing.”
“Who?”
“Nancy. According to the servants, she headed off alone on the mail coach to York to visit her great-aunt, Mrs. Patch, directly after I left for Hull. Nancy told them she was going only for the day, but she hasn’t returned.”
He let out a breath. Was that all? “York is only half a day’s journey from Rathmoor Park. Nancy probably decided to remain in town a day or two with her aunt, and since she assumed you were on your way to London, she didn’t bother to inform anyone at the estate.”
“Well, she did, actually. Indeed, it’s what is in her letter to the housekeeper, which arrived late in the evening on the day she left, that alarms me.”
She held out the missive and he moved close enough to take it from her, which, unfortunately, was also close enough to smell her lavender scent. God, why must she still be wearing lavender after all these years? It conjured up memories of their far-too-brief kisses under the arbor behind her uncle’s house, the ones he’d refused to think of in their years apart.
Determinedly he retreated out of smelling distance and forced his attention to the letter. Obviously Jane thought she had cause for concern, though he couldn’t imagine why. She probably wouldn’t even have known Nancy was gone, if not for having missed the packet boat to London.
With one look at the letter, he had memorized it, part of his peculiar talent for remembering words and images at a glance. He gave it back to her. “This only proves that she’s not missing at all. She writes that she’s decided to travel with her great-aunt to Bath.”
“Yes, but that’s not true!”
This got more perplexing by the moment. “How do you know?”
“Because I sent an express to Mrs. Patch to ask if Nancy wanted her maid to join them, and this is what I received in reply early this morning.”
Jane jerked another letter from the pocket of her riding habit and thrust it at him. It was written with a formality that Nancy’s had lacked:
Dear Miss Vernon,
I believe there has been some misunderstanding. I have not had the pleasure of my dear Nancy’s company since before her husband’s demise. She is certainly not here, nor had we made any plans to travel anywhere. Have you perhaps confused me with another relation of hers?
If I can be of any further assistance in this matter, do let me know. I would be very happy to see you when next you are in York.
Very Sincerely Yours,
Mrs. Lesley Patch
A twinge of unease slid down his spine. “Blast it all.”
“Exactly. And you read Nancy’s letter. She was clearly referring to her great-aunt in York.”
“One of them must be lying.”
“Yes,” she said in a tone of pure exasperation, “but what reason would Mrs. Patch have for doing so? From what I understand, Nancy has been visiting her for years. They are very close.”
“And what do they do when she visits?” he asked, falling easily into his role as investigator, though it had been months since he’d had anything to investigate other than what crops worked best in Yorkshire soil.
“I don’t know.” Jane tapped her foot impatiently. Obviously investigative techniques were rather lost on her. “Gossip. Discuss their dogs—between them, they have seven. I think one of the footmen said they used to go shopping together. According to him, George encouraged Nancy’s trips when he was alive. He even let her use the carriage, which is why it’s so odd that she took the mail coach this time.”
“She didn’t have a choice,” he pointed out. “I’ve got the phaeton, and I assume you took the family carriage to Hull the day she left.”
“I did, but why didn’t she just wait to set off for York until you were back or the family carriage had returned? For that matter, why not just get off at the village here while on her way, so she could get the phaeton from you? Nancy doesn’t like being crowded, so why go all the way to York in the mail coach? She had no reason to rush if this was just some little shopping venture.”
“Perhaps it was more than that. You said she went without her maid. Is that usual?”
“I don’t think so, but Nancy’s regular maid, Meredith, left service for a while to help her ill papa in London, and the present maid hasn’t been with her long enough to go on one of her jaunts. I don’t have any firsthand knowledge about the York trips, because Nancy has never taken one, with or without me, while I was at Rathmoor Park.”
How peculiar. “Why not?”
“How the devil should I know?”
Why were his perfectly logical questions annoying Jane? She eyed him as if he were a half-wit.
“But don’t you see?” she went on. “This visit is clearly different. Her going off on the mail coach, and without her maid. Her letter to the servants about her supposed trip to Bath, which didn’t mention any requests for clothes. Or, for that matter, her dogs.”
“You expected her to take her dogs?”
“Absolutely. She never leaves them at home for days at a time. They go everywhere with her—to London, to Brighton, anywhere she travels. At the very least, she would have mentioned them in her letter. The fact that she didn’t is worrisome.”
He eyed her closely. “So, what are you saying, Jane?”
“Something dreadful must have happened to my cousin. She obviously had a mishap between here and York.”
“And then wrote a letter to lie about being off on a jaunt to Bath?”
She huffed out a frustrated breath. “The letter has to be forged, don’t you see? Nancy wouldn’t create such a tale out of whole cloth. She isn’t capable of perpetrating such a falsehood.”
He bit his tongue to keep from admitting that Nancy had been more than capable of perpetrating falsehoods twelve years ago. But Jane didn’t know about that, and now wasn’t the time to tell her. First he must soothe her concerns.
“Do you have any reason for thinking that the letter is forged?” he asked. “Is there anything in the handwriting that you find suspect?”
“Not to the naked eye, but—”
“So you assume that a master forger has learned to copy Nancy’s hand well enough to fool her own cousin.”
A look of desperation flickered in her eyes. “It’s possible, isn’t it?”
“Possible? Yes. Probable? No.”
“Why not? I read about kidnappers in the paper all the time!”
“Yes, and they have reasons for their actions.” He fell back on what usually worked with sensible people whose panic kept them from thinking straight: simple logic. “What would be a kidnapper’s purpose in sending a forged letter?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “To put off anyone who might grow alarmed when she didn’t return. He had to throw possible pursuers off his trail.”
Dom flashed her a tight smile. “This mysterious kidnapper already had a day’s head start. By the time the servants grew alarmed enough to head to York after her, he could be in another county. So why trump up some tale about her traveling to Bath?”
“I don’t know!” Her cheeks bloomed a fetching shade of pink. “Sadly, my education didn’t include how to think like a kidnapper.”
“Ah, but mine did. Some of those cases you read about in the papers were ones I solved.” When that made her frown, he softened his tone. “This isn’t how kidnappers operate. If a man carries off a woman, it’s usually for one of three reasons: to elope with her, to force himself on her, or to ransom her off.”
Her lips began to thin ominously, but he pressed on, ticking each reason off on his fingers. “In the first case, Nancy can marry whom she pleases, so there’s no need for evasive letters. In the second, he’d simply force her; again, no reason for evasive letters. In the final and most rare case, which you seem to be considering, the only letter he’d send would be a ransom request. Have you received any?”
“Not yet,” she said sullenly.
Clearly, she wasn’t fond of simple logic. “Kidnappers don’t generally send evasive forged letters in the victim’s hand and then notes of ransom. They want to strike fear, not confusion, into the hearts of the family.”
She thrust out her chin. “I’m beginning to remember how sanctimonious you can be.”
He regarded her coldly. “I’m being logical. You simply don’t like my logic.”
“Because you keep dwelling on what couldn’t have happened. I need to know what could.”
“Fine. Instead of conjuring up criminal assaults, you should consider the possibility that Nancy merely wanted to get away. She did just lose her husband, after all.”
“That makes it sound as if she misplaced him somehow, instead of his being killed by your half brother.” When Dom tensed, she let out an exasperated oath. “I realize that Tristan was merely defending himself. If anyone is aware of how vicious George could be, it’s me. I’m simply . . .”
“Angry at me because I’m telling you what you don’t want to hear.”
She advanced on him with a dark light in her eyes. “And what exactly is that? Your theory that Nancy merely wanted to get away? Why should that bother me? Unless you’re implying that it was me she wanted to escape.”
“Certainly not. She thought you were gone off to London and unlikely to return anytime soon.”
“Well then, according to your logic, whom might Nancy have been trying to escape?” She started ticking possibilities off on her fingers, mimicking him. “The servants? The villagers? The tenants? You, perhaps?”
Her rapid-fire questions unnerved Dom. He wasn’t used to this new Jane, who threw his logic back in his face and didn’t simply accept his opinions. She was maddening.
She was magnificent.
Damn her. “Don’t be absurd—you know perfectly well that I never see Nancy. She would have no reason to escape me. But that’s not the point.”
“Oh? Then what is the point, Lord Rathmoor?”
Her use of his title added to his irritation. Officially he wasn’t even viscount yet, although everyone behaved as if he were, since George had sired no sons. “I never said she was trying to get away from anyone. It’s more likely she was trying to get away to someone.”
That stole the color from Jane’s face. “To. What do you mean?”
“Come now, you aren’t a girl anymore. After several years of marriage, Nancy has, well, certain needs. Her husband is dead, and she’s alone. Since either you or I have been at Rathmoor Park from the day George died, this would have been her first chance to get away to be with someone.”
Jane just kept gaping at him as if he were some foreigner newly alighted on English shores.
“It would explain her mysterious jaunts to York,” he went on. “And why Nancy concocted her ruse of a trip to Bath and left her maid behind. She wants to preserve her reputation before her staff, which is perfectly understandable.”
Thunderclouds wrought her brow. “Are you saying that my cousin would be so unprincipled, so shameless, so deceptive, as to run away to consort with a . . . a . . .”
“Paramour. Yes. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Nancy has obviously been having an affair.”
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Reunited Lovers
By Kiltsandswords
It wasn’t that long ago I read the third book in this series, so I was VERY excited to read the final chapter of the Duke’s Men. Finally we get to find out what is going to happen to Dominick. He’s been a solid character in the previous novels, so his story had to be something special.
After defending his brother Tristan years ago from their brother George, Dom has lived a totally different life than was intended for the second son of a Lord. He has had to work as a Bow Street Runner, the Home Office and then Manton’s Investigations. It has been a very hard road that he has taken in life, punished by his horrible brother for doing the right thing. But the worst part about his penance is having to give up the dream of marrying his beloved Jane.
Dom is a very honest and straight forward man. He loves Jane and knows that she would come to resent him if she married him, so he deceives her in order to get her to call off the wedding – something she has refused up until that point. They both live with their heartbreak for the next twelve years.
Twelve years is a lifetime. I don’t know if I could wait for someone for twelve years. Could you? Watching life pass you by…watching your youth slip through your fingers…seeing everyone around you experience marriage and babies…and yet still holding on to love for someone who is not coming. I really, really don’t know if many people have that kind of fortitude. But Dom and Jane have it in spades. It is only a recent development that Jane has finally accepted the proposal of her friend Edwin, the Earl of Blakeborough. It is more of a business arrangement – she will provide heirs, help his sister marry well and he will give her households to run. Wow, that sounds like fun.
Jane’s cousin Nancy is a complication in their lives. She was part of the scheme to get Jane to cry off marrying Dom. She married Dom’s brother George and is related to both Jane and now Dom. She disappears from the Dowager estate on Dom’s new property and he is besieged by Jane to find her. She won’t tell him the truth, but Nancy may be pregnant with the possible heir to the title that Dom has just inherited after George’s death.
And so begins the chase across the countryside. Dom and Jane are in each other’s company for the first time in twelve years. I was excited to see how they would interact with each other. Would they fall at each other’s feet now that Dom was a Viscount and able to marry Jane? Would he spurn her for being engaged? Would they still have chemistry? What WOULD happen???
Well, it was pretty clear that twelve years didn’t stop Dom from wanting Jane. He still finds her so beautiful. Her stubborn streak is still there and while he admires her tenacity, he doesn’t want her involved in investigating Nancy. He can be domineering and downright bossy at times to her and she pushes right back. Those interplays between the two were so fun to read. You don’t get emotional over someone you have moved on from. It’s clear pretty quick that these two still have very deep feelings for each other.
The investigation of Nancy brings together all the characters from the previous stories. It was great to have them included as I always want to know what happens to characters that I really like. They are also helpful as they provide opportunities for us to learn more about Dom and Jane in the years they have been apart as well as what they are thinking now.
The heat between Dom and Jane is hot. Not at all lukewarm. And I guess if you have been apart for that length of time, there should be incendiary sparks flying when you finally reunite. Dom is a powerful man, he knows what he wants. Jane has waited so long for him that it was so exciting to read about the passion they share. The scenes were really well written…it made you want to be Jane.
The mysterious disappearance of Nancy leads to a wild goose chase over England that is instrumental in bringing Jane and Dom together. The resolution is satisfying as it ends the way you would want. Nancy is not a bad person, but she causes a lot of grief and frustration for everyone.
This was a great book to close out the series. There was a fun surprise at the end of the book. It looks like we will meet some previous characters in Sabrina Jeffries’ next book. Edwin, Yvette and Mr. Keane are back in an adventure of their own. I’m hoping we will get glimpses of the Duke’s Men so we can keep in touch with their happily ever after.
Reviewed for www.kiltsandswords.com
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Loved Dominick Manton's story
By Lisarenee Seduced by a Book
*****My Synopsis (Review follows)*****
Once upon a time Dominick 'Dom' Manton had the world by the tail. He was on the fast track to becoming a barrister and had a fiance he loved and adored. Then his vindictive brother, George, made him choose between the life he was meant to lead and the half brother he loved. George decreed that if Dom didn't help him find the whereabouts of Tristan, their illegitimate half-brother, he wouldn't support him. Dom refused and that effectively ended his endeavors to become a barrister. Tristan had stolen a horse bequeathed to him in their father's codicil which George burned so he wouldn't have to honor it. The punishment for horse thievery is death and if Tristan had been found he'd have been sentenced to the hangman's noose. Along with Tristan's inheritance, Dom's own and that of their illegitimate sister also went up in smoke when the codicil was burned. So by not aiding George, Dom's path was irrevocably changed until now.
With George's recent demise, Dominick is set to step into the roll of Viscount which will allow him the opportunity to get some of what he lost back. Will that include the fiance he had to let go when his path in life took a drastic curve? As the two pair up to find out what happened to Nancy, Jane's cousin and George's widow, they'll get the opportunity to become reacquainted. Will Jane and Dom finally have a shot at the happy ever after that never was?
******My Review******
This is sadly the last book in The Duke's Men series, but Ms. Jeffries saved the best for last. For years we've known the sacrifice Dom made for his family, but we never knew the full extent until now. Ms. Jeffries does an excellent job of capturing the emotions that would accompany a broken courtship that neither party truly wanted. The heartache, the questions, the feelings of betrayal and regret are all beautifully portrayed within the pages as the tale unfolds.
Dom is the exact opposite of his late brother George. He's loyal, caring, noble and the type of man who when he falls, he falls hard. He's never gotten over Jane, but never did anything to renew their courtship even after he made a name for himself as the successful owner of Manton Investigations. He honestly felt she would be better off without him. The problem was he never really gave Jane a chance to decide what she wanted for herself. He made that decision for her.
Jane knew some of what happened all those years ago, but never the full extent. She'd figured out what Dom had done to end their engagement and waited patiently for him to come to his senses. Yet in all those years he never had. Finally believing he hadn't felt the same way as she, she agreed to marry another man. When she and Dom start working together to find Nancy, however, it becomes clear that old feelings run deep.
I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. I loved seeing these two work through all the feelings they had and sort through everything that did and did not happen between them. The chemistry between this pair was combustible and I loved the merry dance these two did before all was said and done. If you're worried about disliking this one because one of the pair is engaged to another, don't. That was more of a platonic relationship built out of mutual respect for one another than love and there were no hard feelings so it didn't distract from the romance. In addition to the romance, I loved the mystery of what happened to Nancy. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher and I am part of Sabrina Jeffries Street Team. This means I love her books enough to volunteer to help get the word out about upcoming releases.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Did Not Want It To End
By Book Maven
George Manton, Viscount Rathmoor, had disinherited his brother, Dominick Manton, twelve years ago, but George is dead now. George died without issue, so it is presumed that Dom will be the next Viscount Rathmoor. Twelve years ago, Dom lost everything, his birthright, his home, and most painful of all, his fiance, the love of his life, Jane Vernon, a wealthy daughter of a Baron.
Dom tricked Jane into jilting him, because he could not bear to see Jane live in poverty and lose her birthright, too. Dom used Jane's cousin, Nancy, to make sure Jane broke off their engagement. Dom's brother, George, mistakenly thought Dom was in love with Nancy, so George vindictively made Nancy his wife.
Dom had made a success of his life despite all the obstacles George had hurled at him. Dom was a successful investigator with his own business. And now his ex-fiance, Jane, is telling him that Nancy is missing and she fears that she is in trouble. Jane wants Dom's help to find Nancy. Dom thinks Nancy is just enjoying her widowhood, but then Dom finds out that there are rumors Nancy may be pregnant. If this child belongs to George, Dom may have his title and home snatched from him, again. And having Jane in his life, again, is making him realize what a mistake he had made twelve years ago in not trusting in Jane's love.
Sabrina Jefferies has spun another unique tale filled with mystery, intrigue, romance and love. Jefferies' characters always know they are in love. It is so refreshing from most other romances where the characters deny it to themselves for most of the book. Jefferies' characters knowing they love each other makes for more romantic exchanges, more interesting repartee, steamier love scenes that are about real love, not just lust, although, there is plenty of lust. Lol Jefferies delivers mature, loving, honorable people in interesting dilemmas. The author takes us on a journey that the reader will not soon forget.
I was so sorry to say good bye to this series, but the excerpt at the end of this book teases that we will see these characters, again. Yea!!!
See all 128 customer reviews...
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries PDF
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries EPub
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Doc
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries iBooks
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries rtf
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Mobipocket
If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Kindle
** Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Doc
** Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Doc
** Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Doc
** Ebook Free If the Viscount Falls (The Duke's Men), by Sabrina Jeffries Doc
