“Welcome to Mills & Swoon Daily — where your morning scandal is served warm, wicked, and just a little bit improper.”
Today’s tale: The Duke and His Mother’s House Guest.
By Sarnia de la Maré — Mills & Swoon Daily #1
Lady Elowen Hart was not accustomed to being mistaken for staff,
but she had arrived at Hawthorne Hall in a travelling cloak
and mud up to her silk-white stockings,
so the error was, she supposed… understandable.
Almost.
The Duke strode into the foyer with the confidence of a man
who had never once been contradicted in his life.
Such entitled grandeur might have been repulsive
if he hadn’t been so annoyingly well-formed.
“You must be the new governess,” he announced,
looking her up and down with far too much interest
for a man hiring a tutor for his niece.
Elowen raised a brow.
“Must I?”
He hesitated, thrown off-balance.
“…You’re early.”
“And you, sir, are mistaken,” she replied smoothly.
“But I do admire a man who leads with certainty,
even when he’s wrong.”
A flush crept up his neck — delicious.
Lady Elowen had a reputation for disarming younger, handsome men,
though her reputation had likely not reached these rural shires.
He clearly had never been spoken to like that before.
She removed her hood,
revealing emerald earrings, a cascade of dark curls,
and the unmistakable aura of old money.
The Duke blinked.
“You’re—”
“Yes,” she said, stepping closer.
“The guest your mother invited for Christmas.”
Then, with a wicked smile:
“Although if you prefer the governess…
I can play along.
I am rather good at… play.”
The silence that followed could have melted frost from the windows.
He cleared his throat.
“I… should show you to your room.”
“Indeed,” Elowen said,
glancing down at her ruined stockings.
“For they are quite soiled, and I fear I may need help removing them.”
“Oh,” said the Duke, suddenly breathless.
“I fear the staff are retired for the night.”
“In that case,” said Lady Elowen matter-of-factly,
“perhaps the Duke himself might assist.”
The end...or maybe the beginning
“Join me tomorrow for another coffee-break scandal from Mills & Swoon Daily.
And if you want more mischief, find the Kindle collection linked below.
Until then — behave disgracefully.”
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