Wicked Earls Forever Release Day Jan. 3

 

    

The Wicked Earls Forever releases on January 3. This will be the final round for our Wicked Earls. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Here is the blurb and Chapter One of my contribution!
Earl of Griffith
Lady Helen was a young, naïve girl when she gave up everything for a man and eloped. Three years later, she finds herself a widow disillusioned with love and raising her two-year-old daughter alone. Her homecoming will be bittersweet. She must face her family and the lies she told them.

When her brother sends a handsome friend to meet their ship, he charms both Helen and her daughter. Helen wants Maeve to have a father, but she refused to risk her heart again.

Conway, Earl of Griffith assumed his title and Welsh estate at birth. His world is gray, full of responsibility, and lonely. Griffith agrees to help a friend, escorting his sister from Bristol to London. At first sight, Lady Helen illuminates his dull world, and her daughter adds laughter to his life. But can he convince the beautiful widow that love is worth another chance?

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Prologue

April 1817

The Irish Sea

Helen lifted her head to the biting winds of the Irish Sea. Rory’s warmth soaked into her back as the sails popped and snapped, the ship tossing on the angry waves. She smiled as her new husband’s arms held her tight, watching the port of Holyhead and Wales fade from sight.

“So, I spent my last coin on the cabin. We’ll be alone tonight. No steerage class for Mrs. O’Neill,” he whispered into her ear.

Mrs. O’Neill. How she thrilled each time she heard the name. Turning around, Helen wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hood fall to her shoulders. “I love you, Roarik O’Neill.”

“But am I worth losing yer family for?” He nuzzled her neck, and she closed her eyes with a sigh.

“You are exactly what I wanted,” she reminded him, snuggling closer. “My father’s ire will cool eventually. Mama will make sure of it.”

Her words sounded more confident than she felt. The Earl of Stanfeld would be livid when he found out his youngest daughter had eloped with an Irish bastard of a duke. Helen had pleaded with her father.

 

“He’s half English, Papa. His father is a peer of the realm.”

“He’s baseborn and not acknowledged, you little nodcock. The man wants whatever money you can provide for his ‘cause’ and will stoop to any level to finance it.” Lord Stanfeld paced the library. “He’s involved with the Radicals in Dublin. A toady of O’Connell who only wants to make a name for himself.”

“But—”

“He doesn’t have a farthing to his name, Helen! Do you want to raise your children in some Irish hovel?” Her father jabbed a finger at her. “Over my dead body.”

 

It didn’t matter. She was in love with a man who cared more for her than a title or duty. Rory was nothing like her father, whose world was black and white and saw only the practical side of life. Her husband was passionate with no obligations to an old family name. Helen wanted to be someone’s priority, not a broodmare to produce an heir.

She had saved her pin money for a year and stashed away the small amounts for “something special.” There was enough to get started in a nice townhouse, with dailies perhaps for cooking and cleaning. It would be hard, at first, Rory had warned her. She wouldn’t have the luxuries she was used to. But they loved each other. It was enough, wasn’t it?

The ship dipped and rose, a sprawling gray and white wave splashing against the hull. “I think that private room sounds like a good idea.” Helen shivered as she thought of the wedding night to come. The thought of lying with a man for the first time, this man, both terrified and thrilled her.

He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow. “My lady, yer chamber of marital bliss awaits.” His hazel eyes sparkled, the familiar smile still causing her stomach to tumble.

***

“O’Neill! Here, O’Neill!” yelled someone on the crowded dock. A pair of men in dull brown wool jackets and pants waved in their direction.

“There they are, love. Joseph and Colin, my friends I told ye about.” Rory waved back at his cronies, a grin transforming his face from handsome to boyish. “They’re excited to meet ye.”

They made their way through the crowd, down the ship’s plank. Helen carried two bags, and Rory hoisted the trunk on his shoulder. She admired his upper arms straining against the thin coat as he dodged other men with barrels over their backs or lugging more trunks. Helen finally gave up trying to walk by Rory’s side and stepped behind him, gripping the back of his coat as they picked their way across the docks. Introductions were made, and she was immediately relieved of her bags.

“Ye didn’t tell us she was a beauty,” said the dark-haired Joseph.

“Are ye sure she’s English,” asked Colin, nodding at Helen’s dark red hair.

“I’m half English. My mother is a Scot,” she told them with a laugh.

“I like ye even better, then,” said Colin, his own red hair barely tamed beneath a wool cap. Then he turned to Rory. “There’s been some happenin’s while ye were gone. I hope ye had a grand time because it’s time to get back to work.”

Helen followed the three men away from the ships and took her first good look at her new home. With a start, she realized there would be no carriage to pick them up. The streets were crowded like London, though the buildings were not as tall. After walking for close to an hour, they turned down a narrow street. The rows of houses all looked the same, with a layer of grime covering the steps and brick. They climbed three flights of creaking stairs, and she fought the urge to cover her nose from the sour smell that seemed to permeate the halls. Her feet were tired, and she was ready for a hot bath, a meal, and a clean bed. And time with her husband to get to know her new surroundings.

Reaching a door chipped with paint and marked with a black 6, Rory pulled out a key. To her surprise, Colin and Joseph followed them inside. They seemed very comfortable in the apartment, knowing where to put the bags, then making themselves at home at the table in the small kitchen.

“Now, I’m sorry, love. But I’ve got some business to take care of tonight.” He tapped her nose with his knuckle and grinned at her. “Then we’ll continue where we left off this morning.”

Her cheeks burned with the memory of their intimacy. She was truly a woman. “I’ll unpack, then. How shall I arrange for a bath?”

Her husband’s chortle took her by surprise. “Ye’re a missus, now. We left the grand Lady Helen behind in London, remember?”

“Are you saying a missus does not bathe?” she quipped, looking down at her muslin gown stained with street muck. “You won’t love me for a long if I begin to smell like the alleys we passed on the way here.”

“Not to worry. I’ll haul water for ye twice a month. Ye’ll stay sweet enough,” he said with a quick kiss on her mouth. “Make yerself at home, and I’ll be done shortly.”

It was close to dawn when Rory joined her in bed. Helen had lain awake for hours, listening to the deep rumbles of the men, occasional shouts, and bursts of laughter. They haven’t seen each other in two months, she told herself.

But the kitchen conversations, as she began to call them, happened every night. Helen found herself acting as serving maid and feeding all three men most nights. Occasionally, others would join them. Fortunately, most meals—meat and breads—were bought already prepared and baked, and she eventually learned to appreciate the versatile potato. She didn’t particularly enjoy the work, but it kept her occupied and was better than the alternative. If Rory and his comrades weren’t in her kitchen, then they were gone until dawn. She hated being alone more than she hated cooking.

Helen wondered exactly what her husband’s business was. Rory was always evasive when she asked for more details. He had told her he was employed by a Mr. O’Connell as a driver and messenger. That he kept odd hours. He had also taken her purse of coins and “deposited” it for safekeeping.

After six months, Helen realized she was never going to live in a townhome with a daily to help her. She was the only servant who would be cooking and cleaning. The money she’d so carefully saved was gone. She suspected it had gone to “The Cause” that dominated Rory’s life.

“Now, love, to be sure, we’re doin’ so well here,” he would croon in his soft, low brogue. “We won’t be needin’ any strangers in and out every day. And I’m so proud of how well ye’re copin’ with yer new surroundings.” Then he would kiss her, take her to the bedroom, and make her forget all her carefully worded arguments.

Helen laid her hand on her stomach, cradling the growing babe inside her. Her father would have been pleased to know she was so fertile, she thought ironically. Disappointment threatened her composure, but she blinked back the tears. Rory and the others would be home soon, and she needed to get the potatoes on to boil.

She shuffled from the tiny bedroom, no longer hearing the creaking beneath her, through the modest sitting room with a rag rug and two wooden rockers, and into the small side area called the kitchen because it had a stove for heat. Scooping coal from the bucket, she poked the fire to life again. Then she sank into a sturdy but nicked-up chair and sobbed.

Rory’s first priority was not her but his beloved Ireland. He cared for her, but now she understood that marriage to an earl’s daughter allowed him a certain respectability with the local magistrates. Because of his titled English wife, they would assume he accepted the British monarchy and its stipulations. But if her husband had to choose, the rights of his fellow Irishmen would come first. After all her careful plans and promises to herself, she’d married a man just like her father.

 

IF YOU HAVEN’T CAUGHT UP FROM THE LAST ROUND… 

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The Wicked Earls Return! Get all eleven stories in one amazing collection. Because what is better than a wicked earl?

Earl of Baxter When the Earl of Baxter nearly dies from battle wounds, he vows to find and protect the woman who saved him…

Earl of Tempest When a duke’s daughter falls for a grumpy earl, all wagers are off!

Earl of Kendal The Earl of Kendal is a self-proclaimed bachelor with no interest in marriage. That is, until a secret is dangled over his head leading him on a wild chase after a runaway lady to marry her and salvage her reputation. Except that the lady in question has no desire to wed either!

Earl of Persuasion Lord Brian Kennington, Fifth Earl of Connlee, is a master at persuasion. When he crosses paths with the not too proper Lady Minerva Fox, he determines that she needs a bit of excitement in her life, and he knows just how to deliver. He will live up to his moniker, the Earl of Persuasion, as he sweeps her along a path of adventure and romance.
The only problem with his plan: Love was not a part of the equation.

Earl of Barrow He wasn’t meant to inherit the earldom, and the first task awaiting the new Earl of Barrow is to clear his brother’s name. To do so, he requires the help of the one person he’d hoped to never speak to again, Miss Heloise Hamilton.

Earl of Darling Is she making a deal with the devil or a saint in disguise?
They call him a murderer. All Miss Rathmore knows is he’s the man who saved her while running away from her horrid fiancé. The least she can do is help Darling and his sisters adapt to good society. But that is merely an act of charity. And those stolen kisses? Those are sheer folly. For only a fool would fall for such a scandalous rogue…

Earl of Shefford Colin, Earl of Shefford, discovers an excellent location for a new club, only to find a fully functioning orphanage with a beautiful headmistress who refuses his offer to relocate. Piqued by her immunity to his charms, he brashly offers her a choice—either she accepts him in a marriage of convenience or provides proof that the orphanage has value—and she accepts!
Sparks fly as proximity forces them together—but can romance bloom when resentment has withered their hearts?

Earl of Alnwick She’s a runaway bride. He’s a fortune-hunting earl determined to claim the fat reward for her safe return. But will love claim him instead?

Earl of Morrey Letty knows three things about her new husband…he is a dangerous man, he frightens her…yet she desires him with all her heart.

Earl of Brecken Notorious for his seductive charm, the Earl of Brecken searches the ballrooms for a wealthy heiress. Guileless and gorgeous with an enormous dowry, Miss Evelina Franklin seems the answer to his prayers—until his conscience makes an unexpected appearance.

Earl of Keyworth Their aversion was instant and mutual. Or so it would seem…

Celestia Tolman will never forgive Landry, Earl of Keyworth, for trying to ruin her father’s livelihood. She will, however, teach the arrogant lord a lesson he won’t soon forget. The task should be simple—if she can ignore her untimely and entirely unwanted attraction to the handsome devil, that is…