AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Honour and Hope: A Contemporary Pride and Prejudice
Where There’s a FitzWILLiam Darcy, There’s a Way: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
In Want of a Wife: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
The Mistress of Rosing Park: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
Coming Soon…
Obsession
Indentured Love: A Persuasion Vagary
His Christmas Violet (October 2021)
Pemberley’s Christmas Governess: A Pride And Prejudice Vagary (November 2021)
Wildflowers and Wiles
The Duke’s Bequest v.III
The Ellsworth Sisters v.II
SUMMER HANFORD
This story Copyright Summer Hanford.
Prologue
His Grace, Robert Hadler, Duke of Solworth and noted archaeologist, faced the imminence of his mortality, and found certain aspects not to his liking. Most relevant of these proved the allocation of his fortune upon his demise. To rectify this, His Grace turned to Mr Jeffries, his man of business, to bequeath a small fortune to each of His Grace’s female relations. The Duke’s intention? To ensure that no woman in the Solworth line, be she wed or unwed, should suffer destitution.
Thus, one bright autumn day, the women of the Ellsworth household, including Mrs Ellsworth and all four Ellsworth daughters, had their lives rearranged. This being the direct result of Mr Jeffries records encompassing what he considered to be the extended Solworth line, Grandma Ellsworth being His Grace’s cousin, the only daughter of the second youngest of His Grace’s father’s seven elder sisters. What follows is Elizabeth Anne Ellsworth’s story. *
*Ellie’s story touches lightly on characters from Summer Hanford’s Under the Shadow of the Marquess trilogy, which includes The Archaeologist’s Daughter, The Duke’s Widow and The False Lady. You do not need to first enjoy those three books before enjoying Ellie’s story.
Chapter One
On her first morning in the Duke of Aspen’s London home, Miss Ellie Ellsworth woke far earlier than dictated by fashion. She lay in the enormous four poster bed, gazing up at a canopy of embroidered silk, and grinned. Above, vibrant wildflowers shimmered in neatly stitched silken thread. The butterflies that flittered among them appeared so lifelike as to almost move. Under the expensive down filled coverlet, Ellie held in a squeal of delight.
Finally, her twin sister Lizzy May had returned from the country, where she and her new husband had been sequestered since their winter wedding, and had made good on the promise that Ellie could stay with them in their London home. Now, what could only be viewed as a disappointing Season was certain to improve. It had best. Spring roused the land in dewy, temperate glory and Ellie remained no closer to making a match than when she’d arrived at the start of the Season.
Hands pressed to her lips to hold back her uncouth glee, she sat up and swung her feet to the floor. Today, her ill luck changed. As a Duchess, especially a new one everyone longed to make the acquaintance of, Lizzy May would attend all the best parties. There would be a box at the theatre, and outdoor gatherings at the few, extremely fine, London homes which boasted large enough gardens. Ellie would meet all the very best gentlemen. Where none had suited before, now she would have her pick. Her months of being simply the middle Ellsworth daughter, with an older sister so much more beautiful and a younger sister so much more vibrant, were at an end.
With a quick look around to ensure no maids had entered unnoticed, Ellie flung her arms wide and spun, the thick ply of the carpet soft against her bare feet. Her room in the Duke’s home offered so much space, Ellie could dance if she liked. She giggled, whirling to a halt, then grabbed a bedpost to keep from toppling over. The giddy dizziness of her twirls filled her with fresh delight.
The spinning of the room quickly slowed, and Ellie released the bedpost to smooth the front of her nightgown. If she wished to make the most of her time as Lizzy May’s guest, she must tamp down her glee and overlay it with decorum. The sort of gentlemen she would meet at the side of a Duchess wouldn’t like a giggling, frivolous girl.
But surely a little joy was permissible, and she wished to share that joy with her twin. As Ellie had woken early and refreshed, Lizzy May would too. She and Ellie always shared everything, even their first name, Elizabeth, as the result of a subtle war between their mother and their father’s mother.
At least, they used to share everything. Before Lizzy May fell in love and started keeping secrets. Before Ellie’s twin found someone more important to her even than Ellie.
Ellie struggled to keep her joy as she crossed to retrieve her robe. The Duke remained in the country, concluding some sort of renovation he oversaw on his mother’s holdings there, so no reason existed for Ellie not to go to her sister’s room. She could be close with her sister again, while His Grace remained away.
Ellie tied closed her very plain robe over an equally plain nightgown, feeling their sobriety out of place in her glorious surroundings, and slipped from her room. On bare feet, she padded down the hall to the Ducal suite. She knocked lightly and cracked open the door to stick in her head.
The Ducal bed, which appeared even larger than the one in Ellie’s room, stood empty, the sheets rumpled. The notion that she should get permission before entering flitted through Ellie’s mind. She squared her shoulders, pushed the door wide and strode in. She and Lizzy May had shared a room their entire lives, up until a few scant months ago. Lizzy May would never bar Ellie from her room.
