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“You can hold me, but while we talk.”
If they went anywhere else, they certainly wouldn’t be doing any talking.
THE END
Can't get enough of Ellie and Derrick? Then make sure to check out theExtended Epilogueto find out…
How will Ellie react when Randal shows up at her soirée?
Will Randal finally admit his feelings about Regina and approach her?
How will Ellie and Derrick feel about Catherine when they find out her hidden motives?
Click the link or enter it into your browser
http://emilyhoneyfield.com/eleonora
(After reading the Extended Epilogue, turn the page to read the first chapters from“Destined for a Passionate Lord”, my Amazon Best-Selling novel!)
Destined for a Passionate Lord
Introduction
When the enthralling Cynthia Besser learns that the man she was to marry has tragically passed away, she believes she is free to do what she truly wishes. Little did she know, though, that she is now facing a life with the brother of her late betrothed instead. In the hopes of escaping her cruel fate, Cynthia goes into hiding at her sister's manor, where she meets the most tempting man she has ever seen. Yet, one small misstep leaves her with no choice but to return back to London…
With William Talbot, her rightful betrothed, after her, will she finally choose to accept her fate?
The captivating William Talbot, the second son of the Earl of Hervordshire, has been away fighting for what seems to be a lifetime. Yet, after receiving the dreadful news of his brother's death, he knows he must return home. Nevertheless, it is only when he claims his inheritance, that he discovers he is to marry his brother's alluring bride... The tantalising Cynthia has no intentions of ever meeting him, though, and so he comes up with a devilish plan…
The more determined she is to avoid him, the more determined he is to win her fiery heart.
With Cynthia dogged to never meet him and William stubborn to do quite the opposite, things will get quite heated. A pair adamant that they do not wish to marry may just find themselves wishing against something that their heart desires more than anything. Will Cynthia finally marry the son of an Earl, or will she lose it all trying to indulge in her scandalous romance? Will William come clear with her and win her back or will the evil schemes between them destroy their sizzling affair once and for all?
Prologue
February in the United States in 1813 was bitterly cold, but it was not that which made William Talbot, second son to the Earl of Hervordshire, shiver. His heavy soldier's uniform was more than enough to keep him warm. What bothered him was the telegram in his coat's breast pocket as he travelled through a snowy barracks in search of one of his superior officers.
The knowledge of his brother's death was almost too much to handle. In fact, though he had read the telegram repeatedly, he could not bring himself to truly believe it. How was it possible that his brother had succumbed to the plague? It couldn't be true, and yet he had the proof burning a hole in his pocket.
I must return home.The thought had haunted him for several hours since receiving the telegram during the evening messenger rounds. And it had taken him that long to decide what it was that he needed to do. Finding the sergeant's tent, he saluted the guard outside and requested an audience.
For a moment, he feared the man might decline his request. There was an uncertain expression on his face, one that suggested the sergeant was too busy to see him. And yet, as though he saw the grief written plainly on his face, the guard disappeared into the tent, returning a few moments later with a simple nod of his head before he pulled open the tent flap and gestured William inside.
Throat constricted, William stepped inside, suddenly uncertain of how to broach the subject of the possibility of his getting himself discharged to return home to his affairs.My father needs me,he thought, though he knew that would not be enough to convince his superior officer to allow him to leave.
Though things on the war front had de-escalated over the last few weeks, the war was not over. Every man was needed, and William knew that although he was now to be his father's heir, that did not entitle him to any special treatment, or at least he didn't believe it ought to.
After all, what was so special about his life above all the others who had already lost theirs on the front lines? He gulped, already imagining that this conversation would not go well.
"Sergeant Forte," William greeted the man in the formal matter, clicking his heels together and saluting respectfully as he stopped before the man's desk.
"Officer Talbot," Forte responded with a nod of acknowledgement before he turned his spectacled gaze back down to the papers in front of him. "I have a question for you, Officer. How do you perceive this war going?"
William cringed at the question. He should have known it wouldn't be as simple as just asking to be discharged. He ought to have guessed that the conversation would be long and drawn out, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was.
The grief of his brother's death was still fresh, and it was taking every breath he had in him not to lose control and allow it to take over him entirely. His eyes still felt red raw from weeping upon receiving the telegram, and although he had managed to rein the tears in, he could still feel them pricking the corners of his eyes and threatening to fall all over again.
“I wouldn’t like to say, Sergeant,” William responded, deciding it was best not to share his own opinions on the matter. After all, it didn’t matter what he thought, especially now when he was about to request that he be discharged. With his head bowed, he could feel the sergeant scrutinising over him in silence for several moments.
