Brazen Rogue (The Wayward Woodvilles, Book 8) (Ebook)

When the past and present are standing in the way of happiness, it’ll take brazen act to save the day…

Miss Reign Hall has resigned herself to being a spinster. Her disastrous season in London left her with little opportunity (or desire) for anything else. But when she’s offered a governess position, she knows it’s her best chance for a fresh start away from small country village life. Too bad her new employer turns out to be the man who once destroyed her faith in love and romance…

The last thing Bellamy Davion wants is scandal. He’s had plenty of that since his wife abandoned him. His focus now needs to remain on being the best single father he can be. Which is why he tells himself he absolutely must keep his mind (and hands) off the lovely Reign. If only he had listened to his own advice…

Finding their way to back to each other won’t be easy…or scandal free. When all is said and done, is a happily ever after worth the potentially ruinous cost?

1807, Davion Hall, Derbyshire

Bellamy held his daughter in his arms, stared down at the little cherub cheeks and pouty lips, and could not help but smile. What a beauty she was.
"What shall we name her?" he asked Sally, his wife of only a year.
Sally sighed, leaning into the many cushions at her back, and closed her eyes. "I do not care what you call her. I'll leave that decision for you," she said, disinterest and annoyance in her tone.
Bellamy shook his head, wondering why she was so dismissive of him, and now their child, especially after her determination to gain his hand in marriage. To gain the title of marchioness seemed paramount to her only last Season. So much so that he and others were hurt by her actions. Not that she seemed to care, which appeared to be a trait of hers he'd come to dislike.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked her, moving over to a chair and sitting. "I have tried so many times to make our marriage work, and even now, when you have given birth to our child, you are cold and unfeeling."
"I never longed for children. You knew that," she spat, her lip curling up when she glanced at the babe. What little feeling Bellamy had for his wife vanished at her blatant dislike of the child.
"It's an occupational hazard when a wife seeks their husband's bed. You knew a child was bound to occur."
"I had hoped I was barren."
"Another point you should have disclosed before you tricked me into marrying you. There are plenty of gentlemen who do not want children, but I require one to continue the line of my family. I disclosed such before we were married, and you were in agreement. How changeable you are now that you are the Marchioness of Lupton-Gage."
"Little that has given me," she snarled. "We're always stuck out here in the Lake District. We never entertain, and it's dreadfully boring. I do not see my friends or hold balls and parties. You're practically keeping me hostage."
Bellamy stared at Sally and wondered if she had finally lost her senses. "You are free to go to London whenever you wish. I have never stated otherwise."
"Well, perhaps I might. I need a little distraction, and now that the child is born, I'm free to do as I please."
"Within reason," he cautioned her. "I do not want to claim a child that is not my own. Remember that, my dear, when you entertain in Town."
She shrugged, her face mocking. "You would never know. For all you know, the child you hold is not of your blood."
A cold chill swept down his spine, and he narrowed his eyes on his wife, wondering if she had been unfaithful to him. He glanced down at the small bundle of innocence in his arms. She had the Lupton-Gage dip in her chin as all of them were renowned for having, not to mention her coloring was identical to his as a child, or so family portraits claimed. No, the child was his. Despite how much his wife wished that were not the case. "No, she is mine, and if you do not wish to be here, I will not stop you from leaving. But it still eludes me why you fought so hard to become the next Marchioness of Lupton-Gage since the title revolts you so much."
She sighed and rolled to her side, giving him her back. "You know why. I had to marry a man of wealth and status, or my family would be ruined. You fit that bill better than most and were the easiest to deceive."
Bellamy stood and left the room, taking the child with him. He would not listen to another minute of her venomous ramblings. He remembered that night all too well. Having received what he thought was a missive from Miss Reign Hall, he had all but run to the music room at the Collins ball, only to find Lady Sally Perry there instead.
She had thrown herself at him, tried to kiss him, and while in the throes of removing her, her brother had stumbled upon them, all by design.
Disgraceful behavior and the end of what he had wanted most.
Reign Hall ...
"Prepare the marchioness’s luggage. She is leaving and traveling to London as soon as she's recovered. Please hire a wet nurse post haste and move the child's nursery to the room across from mine. I wish to keep her close should I be needed."
"Yes, my lord," his butler said, sending several maids to do his bidding.
Bellamy waited in the room he would make his daughter’s, walking the small little babe to the window to look out over her home. "All will be well, little lady. I will give you enough love that you will not miss your mama. I promise you that." He kissed her soft forehead, thankful to have her at least.
If he had to endure a loveless marriage, at least he had a child. That was better than nothing, and he would cherish and love her always.