The Governess Heiress
Forbidden to the undercover earl!Hiding from society, heiress Eleanor Hancourt must live as ordinary governess Nell Court to escape her family’s scandals. But when the new estate manager arrives, her quiet existence is disrupted. He may be unspeakably arrogant, but he’s also irresistible!Fergus is really the Earl of Barberry, undercover to investigate his own estate. Instead, he discovers the new governess is an illicit temptation, a match that can never be! Yet when Nell’s secret inheritance puts her in peril, Fergus will do whatever it takes to save her…
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Forbidden to the undercover earl!
Hiding from society, heiress Eleanor Hancourt must live as ordinary governess Nell Court to escape her familyâs scandals. But when the new estate manager arrives, her quiet existence is disrupted. He may be unspeakably arrogant, but heâs also irresistible!
Fergus is really the Earl of Barberry, undercover to investigate his own estate. Instead, he discovers the new governess is an illicit temptation, a match that can never be! Yet when Nellâs secret inheritance puts her in peril, Fergus will do whatever it takes to save her...
How would it feel to be kissed by him as if she were lovely, sensuous and desirable?
How might it feel actually to be those things to a man she wanted so badly it didnât matter about social distinctions or correct behaviour any more?
For the longest and most charged moments of her life so far those questions sang between them as if she had spoken them aloud. Her lips parted without her permission; his fascinated gaze was encouragement enough. Her entire body was aware of itself as never before. Every breath was a novelty as the scent and power and sight of him reached a curious and dangerous place inside her and whispered, Maybe.
A curve of almost tender amusement lifted his mouth in a wry smile. Her feet rose on tiptoe, inviting him to lower his head and let wild, reckless Eleanor Hancourt out of her cage the instant he kissed her...
During the Regency period a governess wasnât regarded as an equal by her employers, but she didnât belong in the servantsâ hall either. She had to earn the respect of her pupils and employers, and teach young ladies all the accomplishments that would fit them for high society, but not turn them into blue stockings. Then she had to hand them on to a suitable chaperon and find a new position where she could do it all again with another set of strangersâif she was lucky.
The moment I began to wonder if any of them enjoyed taking on such a challenge Eleanor Hancourt turned up, as if sheâd been waiting for a chance to have her say. With enough secrets in her travelling box to keep a novelist happy for months, and a hero who tells almost as many lies as she does, she has been a joy to write about.
So this is Nellâs story. Anyone who read The Winterley Scandal, in which Nellâs brother Colm meets the love of his life, will recognise some characters in this book, but The Governess Heiress is also intended to stand aloneâjust as bright, determined and ever-so-slightly bossy Nell Hancourt had to when her wicked uncle turned her out into the world to earn her own bread.
ELIZABETH BEACON has a passion for history and storytelling and, with the English West Country on her doorstep, never lacks a glorious setting for her books. Elizabeth tried horticulture, higher education as a mature student, briefly taught English, and worked in an office before finally turning her daydreams about dashing piratical heroes and their stubborn and independent heroines into her dream job: writing Regency romances for Mills & Boon Historical Romance.
Books by Elizabeth Beacon
Mills & Boon Historical Romance
A Year of Scandal: Spin-off
The Winterley Scandal
The Governess Heiress
A Year of Scandal
The Viscountâs Frozen Heart
The Marquisâs Awakening Lord Laughraineâs Summer Promise Redemption of the Rake
Linked by Character
The Duchess Hunt
The Scarred Earl The Black Sheepâs Return
Stand-Alone Novels
A Most Unladylike Adventure
Candlelit Christmas Kisses âGoverness Under the Mistletoeâ
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
Contents
âI would rather be outside, too, Lavinia, but you said it was too cold to learn as we walked this morning. Now weâre inside you still wonât listen,â Eleanor Hancourt said sternly. âRemind us how many rods make a furlong.â
Nellâs eldest pupil went on staring out of the high schoolroom window and it took Carolineâs nudge to jolt her cousin out of a daydream. âArchbishop of Canterbury, Miss Court,â Lavinia said triumphantly.
âWe have moved on from Plantagenet kings and troublesome priests, Lavinia Selford. British history was this morning.â
âOh,â said Lavinia listlessly. âWell, it doesnât matter, does it?â
âKindly explain how the fate of Kings and measuring Godâs creation are unimportant, Lavinia,â Nell said softly, although she wanted to let her temper rip.
âBecause I donât care. Knowing such rubbishy stuff wonât get me a husband and a fine house in London,â Lavinia replied defiantly.
âBeing a well-bred mother to his children will be enough for you, then?â
