Amanda Scott (31 page)

Joshua gave a choke of laughter. “Aunt Hetta, are you saying you wish to marry
Mr. Petticrow?”

She nodded. “Yes, please, if you do not object.”

“Lord, no, why should I? I think it’s a famous notion.”

“But Adelaide—”

“Tell her it is none of her affair,” he recommended.

Lady Hetta’s jaw dropped. “Tell her …”

Seeing that she couldn’t even finish the sentence, Adriana intervened. “Ignore him, ma’am, he is jesting with you. He must know you would never say anything so uncivil to Lady Adelaide. Moreover, I conjecture that she will be so relieved to learn that you have not conceived a tendresse for Lord Braverstoke that she may even be pleased—well, not that, maybe, but resigned to it, at least. Do you love Mr. Petticrow?”

Lady Hetta nodded her head fervently. “Yes, and it is the oddest thing, but he says he loves me, too.”

“Then don’t you worry about anything else,” said Adriana firmly, casting her husband a militant look. “A man who can actually put that feeling into words deserves to be rewarded. You leave Lady Adelaide to Joshua. He will see that she welcomes your Mr. Petticrow with open arms. Will you not, sir?”

Joshua grinned at her. “I think a suitable punishment for an erring wife would be to make you deal with Aunt Adelaide, my pet.”

“Not on your life, sir.”

“Not if I tell the world I love you?” When she hesitated, he said, “Aunt Hetta, I appeal to you. Did my wife not just say that a man who can put love into words deserves to be rewarded?”

Lady Hetta looked bewildered and a little concerned. “She did say that, but truly, Joshua, I think Adelaide will pay more heed to you than to Adriana.”

Joshua chuckled. “Very well, ma’am, it shall be as you wish, but then I must think of another punishment for my naughty wife, and another reward for me as well.”

“You will think of something, my lord,” Adriana said in a provocative tone, lowering her eyes.

When Joshua chuckled, Lady Hetta regarded them both fondly. “It will be dawn soon,” she said. “We ought to get some sleep.”

“Again your wish is my command,” said Joshua, grinning at his wife, then adding wickedly, “Though I can’t promise to sleep, Aunt Hetta, I’m certainly ready for bed.”

A fourth-generation Californian of Scottish descent, Amanda Scott is the author of more than fifty romantic novels, many of which appeared on the
USA Today
bestseller list. Her Scottish heritage and love of history (she received undergraduate and graduate degrees in history at Mills College and California State University, San Jose, respectively) inspired her to write historical fiction. Credited by
Library Journal
with starting the Scottish romance subgenre, Scott has also won acclaim for her sparkling Regency romances. She is the recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award (for
Lord Abberley’s Nemesis
, 1986) and the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. She lives in central California with her husband.

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Copyright © 1989 by Lynne Scott-Drennan

Cover design by Mimi Bark

978-1-4804-1523-2

This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media

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