The Rake to Rescue Her
HE’S NEVER FORGOTTEN HER. BUT CAN HE FORGIVE HER?When Alastair Ransleigh sees Diana, Duchess of Graveston, for the first time since she jilted him, he makes her a shockingly insulting offer… the chance to become his mistress. And, even more shockingly, she accepts!But the widowed Duchess is nothing like the bold, passionate girl Alastair once loved. Years of suffering at the hands of a cruel husband have taken their toll.And as Alastair resolves to save Diana from the damage of the past their chance meeting turns feelings of revenge to thoughts of rescue…Ransleigh Rogues: where these notorious rakes go, scandal always follows…
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RANSLEIGH ROGUESWhere these notorious rakes go, scandalalwaysfollows â¦
Max, Will, Alastair and Dominic Ransleighâcousins, friends ⦠and the most wickedly attractive men in Regency London. Between war, betrayal and scandal, love has never featured in the Ransleighsâ destiniesâuntil now!
Donât miss this enthralling quartet from Julia Justiss.
Now follow Alastairâs journey in
THE RAKE TO RESCUE HER
Is there anything more satisfying than love the second time around?
When I first envisaged my Ransleigh Rogues I knew that Alastair had suffered a broken heart and, as a poet and dreamer, felt the tragedy more deeply than an ordinary man. When I later envisaged the lady whoâd wounded him I realised a love like theirs was once in a lifetime; somehow they had to get back together.
Diana returned Alastairâs love with the same passion. But to safeguard the two men she lovedâher father and Alastairâshe was forced into marriage, and forbidden to tell Alastair why sheâd repudiated him.
Eight years later they meet by chance, after the death of her husband, and Diana takes the opportunity to explain what she did. When she admits to Alastair that there is nothing she can do to make it up to him, he angrily suggests she become his mistress.
Expecting to be rejected, he is amazed when Diana agrees. An affair begun to purge her from his heart soon gives him glimpses into the horrors of her marriageâand makes him determined to free the woman heâs never stopped loving from the demons of the past and protect her from present danger.
For the embattled Diana, stripped of everything and everyone she loved, recovering from her bleak existence is difficult. Under Alastairâs fierce protection she gradually comes to trust and love again.
I hope you will enjoy their journey.
JULIA JUSTISS wrote her first ideas for Nancy Drew stories in her third-grade notebook, and has been writing ever since. After publishing poetry in college, she turned to novels. Her Regency historicals have won or been placed in contests by the Romance Writers of America, Romantic Times magazine, National Readersâ Choice and Daphne du Maurier. She lives with her husband in Texas. For news and contests visit www.juliajustiss.com
To the Evelettes: Youâve hugged me, cried with me, and been there for me every step of the way on the long twilight journey of the last two years. I love you guys!
Contents
It was her.
Shock rocked him like the blast of air from a passing cannonball. Struck numb in its wake, Alastair Ransleigh, late of His Majestyâs First Dragoons, stared at the tall, dark-haired woman approaching from the other side of Bathâs expansive Sidney Gardens.
Even as his disbelieving mind told him it couldnât be her, he knew on some level deeper than reason that it was Diana. No other woman had that graceful, lilting step, as if dancing as she walked.
Heart thundering, he exhaled a great gasping breath, still unable to move or tear his gaze from her.
So had she glided into the room the day heâd first met her, bringing a draught of spring air and enchantment into the Oxford study where the callow collegian heâd once been had gone to consult her father, a noted scholar.
Memory swooped down and sank in vicious claws. Just so heâd watched her, delirious with delight, as she walked into the Coddingfordsâ ballroom eight and a half years ago. Awaited her signal to approach, so her father might announce their engagement to the assembled guests.
Instead, sheâd given her arm to the older man who had followed her in. The Duke of Graveston, heâd belatedly recognised. The man who then announced that Diana was to marry him.
A sudden impact at knee level nearly knocked him over. âUncle Alastair!â his six-year-old nephew Robbie shrieked, hugging him around the legs while simultaneously jumping up and down. âWhen did you get here? Are you staying long? Please say you are! Can you take me to get Sally Lunn cakes? And my friend, too?â
Jolted back to the present, Alastair returned the hug before setting the child at armâs length with hands that werenât quite steady. Fighting off the compulsion to look back across the gardens, he made himself focus on Robbie.
âIâve only just arrived, and Iâm not sure how long Iâll stay. Your mama told me youâd gone to the Gardens with Nurse, so I decided to fetch you. Yes, weâll get cakes. Whereâs your friend?â
Still distracted, he followed his nephewâs pointing finger towards a boy about Robbieâs age, dressed neatly in nankeens and jacket. The child looked up at him shyly, the dark hair curling over his forehead shadowing his blue, blue eyes.
