blessed to be able to spend the rest of her life with
him. To keep a home with him. To
raise a family with him. To love him unconditionally,
until her last breath was taken.
Their
future together would not be an easy one , Lily knew that as well . They would argue and fight –
they were both too stubborn not to . But through all
the trials and tribulations she knew their love would shine like a beacon,
brightening their lives and always bringing them back to each other in the end.
Again she looked to the sky, this time
with understanding. “Thank you Father,” she whispered, “and Merry Christmas.”
READ ON FOR AN EXCERPT FROM JILLIAN EATON’S HISTORICAL
ROMANCE NOVELLA
THE
SPINSTER AND THE DUKE
AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON & BARNES & NOBLE!
THE
SPINSTER & THE DUKE
PROLOGUE
June, 1785
Ashburn
Estate
The ring felt heavy on her finger.
Staring down at the thick gold band
with the Ashburn family crest engraved into the middle, Abigail blinked back
tears. Do not cry in front of him ,
she ordered herself silently. Don’t you dare .
“Abby, I… I am sorry.” Looking
supremely uncomfortable, Rocky – better known to his peers as Reginald
Browning the Third, Marquess of Rutherford and future
Duke of Ashburn – ran his fingers through his thick brown hair and
scowled down at the floor. “I never wanted it to end like this.”
Abigail never wanted it to end at all,
even though some small part of her knew – had always known, perhaps
– that it would. She was the daughter of a baron. Rocky was the sole heir
to a dukedom. Their love was never meant to last.
“I want you to take the ring,” she said
softly.
“No, Abby, you keep—”
But it was already off her finger. She
clenched it tight in her fist, feeling the weight of it, the smoothness. It had
felt so right on her hand that she’d
let herself believe… but no. Some things were simply not meant to be, no matter
how much you wished it otherwise.
“It was never mine to keep.” She opened
her fingers and the ring fell with a quiet plink onto the table between them. Straightening in her chair Abigail gazed past
Rocky to the window. It was partially open, allowing a warm breeze to flutter
through the stuffy parlor. She pulled at the high collar of her gown and took a
deep, steadying breath. “I should be going now.”
For one fleeting moment she thought
Rocky was going to change his mind. A tiny flame of hope flickered within her,
only to be abruptly extinguished when he stood up and formerly offered his arm
as though she was a passing acquaintance instead of the girl he had pledged his
heart to.
Do not cry. Whatever you do, do not cry.
Her chest aching with the force it took
to hold her tears at bay, Abigail walked beside him in stiff legged silence.
When they reached the grand foyer she hesitated, her gaze trained on the door
that would not only take her outside to the carriage that waited to take her
home, but out of Rocky’s life forever.
“Abby…”
She detested the quiet plea in his
voice. He wanted her to leave without a fuss so he could go on with his life as
though she never existed. So he could sweep the memory of her beneath the rug
as though she were dust.
Abigail lifted her chin. She may not
have been the woman the Dowager Duchess of Ashburn wanted her eldest son and
heir to marry, but that did not make her dirt .
She was not some secret mistress or scandalous affair. She was Rocky’s fiancée – or at least she had been, before
she took his ring off her finger and put it on the table.
“I am going to live with my sister in
Leeds,” she informed him. “She has a young daughter and is need of a
governess.”
Reggie’s blue eyes went wide. “I do not
want you to leave.”
Abigail regarded him steadily, schooling her countenance to hide the fact that she was perilously close to
tears. “But you do not love me enough to want me
him. To keep a home with him. To
raise a family with him. To love him unconditionally,
until her last breath was taken.
Their
future together would not be an easy one , Lily knew that as well . They would argue and fight –
they were both too stubborn not to . But through all
the trials and tribulations she knew their love would shine like a beacon,
brightening their lives and always bringing them back to each other in the end.
Again she looked to the sky, this time
with understanding. “Thank you Father,” she whispered, “and Merry Christmas.”
READ ON FOR AN EXCERPT FROM JILLIAN EATON’S HISTORICAL
ROMANCE NOVELLA
THE
SPINSTER AND THE DUKE
AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON & BARNES & NOBLE!
THE
SPINSTER & THE DUKE
PROLOGUE
June, 1785
Ashburn
Estate
The ring felt heavy on her finger.
Staring down at the thick gold band
with the Ashburn family crest engraved into the middle, Abigail blinked back
tears. Do not cry in front of him ,
she ordered herself silently. Don’t you dare .
“Abby, I… I am sorry.” Looking
supremely uncomfortable, Rocky – better known to his peers as Reginald
Browning the Third, Marquess of Rutherford and future
Duke of Ashburn – ran his fingers through his thick brown hair and
scowled down at the floor. “I never wanted it to end like this.”
Abigail never wanted it to end at all,
even though some small part of her knew – had always known, perhaps
– that it would. She was the daughter of a baron. Rocky was the sole heir
to a dukedom. Their love was never meant to last.
“I want you to take the ring,” she said
softly.
“No, Abby, you keep—”
But it was already off her finger. She
clenched it tight in her fist, feeling the weight of it, the smoothness. It had
felt so right on her hand that she’d
let herself believe… but no. Some things were simply not meant to be, no matter
how much you wished it otherwise.
“It was never mine to keep.” She opened
her fingers and the ring fell with a quiet plink onto the table between them. Straightening in her chair Abigail gazed past
Rocky to the window. It was partially open, allowing a warm breeze to flutter
through the stuffy parlor. She pulled at the high collar of her gown and took a
deep, steadying breath. “I should be going now.”
For one fleeting moment she thought
Rocky was going to change his mind. A tiny flame of hope flickered within her,
only to be abruptly extinguished when he stood up and formerly offered his arm
as though she was a passing acquaintance instead of the girl he had pledged his
heart to.
Do not cry. Whatever you do, do not cry.
Her chest aching with the force it took
to hold her tears at bay, Abigail walked beside him in stiff legged silence.
When they reached the grand foyer she hesitated, her gaze trained on the door
that would not only take her outside to the carriage that waited to take her
home, but out of Rocky’s life forever.
“Abby…”
She detested the quiet plea in his
voice. He wanted her to leave without a fuss so he could go on with his life as
though she never existed. So he could sweep the memory of her beneath the rug
as though she were dust.
Abigail lifted her chin. She may not
have been the woman the Dowager Duchess of Ashburn wanted her eldest son and
heir to marry, but that did not make her dirt .
She was not some secret mistress or scandalous affair. She was Rocky’s fiancée – or at least she had been, before
she took his ring off her finger and put it on the table.
“I am going to live with my sister in
Leeds,” she informed him. “She has a young daughter and is need of a
governess.”
Reggie’s blue eyes went wide. “I do not
want you to leave.”
Abigail regarded him steadily, schooling her countenance to hide the fact that she was perilously close to
tears. “But you do not love me enough to want me