The Scottish Duke Read online

  Long moments later, when she could breathe again, he said, “A certain someone said that sometimes different people have the same ideas at an identical time. I’m willing to concede that this might be the case.”

  “I think they’re wrong,” she said, irritated on his behalf.

  He only laughed and kissed her again.

  Life at Blackhall had always been pleasant for her, but now it was more. Joy woke her in the morning and perched on her shoulders at night. She was passionate about her husband, her son, and the well-being of those she’d come to love. She knew she might never be wholly accepted by the society in which people like Mary traveled, but Mary was currently in prison for kidnapping.

  As long as Alex approved of her, she was happy.

  She was no longer seeing what she wanted to see. Instead, she was living the life she saw.

  Alex stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the scene. In this room was his greatest happiness because all the people he loved were here.

  He wasn’t living in the gloaming anymore, but was standing in the sunlight, the brightness warming him from the inside out.

  “You’ll rid the place of that sawdust, Peter? My wife and my son aren’t to breathe that,” he added, then glanced at Lorna.

  “Give the man a chance, Alex,” she said, smiling back at him.

  He came to her side and bent his head to kiss her, a sweet, reassuring kiss, one that promised and hinted at more. She pulled back, smiling, her free hand cupping his cheek.

  His arm went around her shoulders as he gently drew both his wife and his son to him.

  Robbie grabbed his ear and pulled, summoning his laughter.

  His mother smiled at the three of them, triumph lighting her eyes. He would allow her the victory, since he was the one to reap the rewards.

  Author's Note

  I’ve borrowed the name of Blackhall Castle from history. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the castle originally held by Clan Russell.

  Although I have used some actual place names in the book, they’re not meant to portray any actual scene or location. They exist solely in my imagination.

  The Scottish Marriage Act of 1567 prohibited a man from marrying a deceased wife’s sister. Those connected by marriage were considered relatives, and marriage between them was taboo. In 1907 the Deceased Wife’s Sister Marriage Act was passed by the UK Parliament, allowing these marriages.

  Unwed Mothers

  Unwed mothers were considered an affront to common decency. An unwed mother wasn’t eligible for any type of aid that might have made life bearable—or even possible—because she was considered a “loose woman.” She was even prevented from entering the poorhouse because she had to be separated from the decent women of the parish and the community.

  The majority of women who found themselves pregnant and unwed were forced to move away from home, pretend to be widowed, and give birth alone. The future for them—and their children—wasn’t bright.

  Baby Farmers

  The problem of infanticide in the Victorian era was almost pandemic. The situation was made worse by legislation designed to deter illegitimacy (the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834). Releasing fathers from all financial responsibility condemned an unwed mother to hideous choices. She could starve, become a prostitute, or hire the services of a baby farmer to care for her infant so that she could find work.

  Baby farmers ostensibly worked as foster mothers or a quasi adoption agency asking for a per week fee or a lump sum to care for a child. Unfortunately, an infant’s future was rarely in doubt. He would die either by starvation (feeding laudanum was popular to keep the child quiet) or by murder. (That’s not to say that unwed mothers were the only ones to take advantage of baby farmers: certain families who would have been embarrassed by an inconvenient birth also used the services of a baby farmer to get rid of an unwanted infant.)

  Baby farmers were found throughout the world, including the United States and Australia.

  Monkwood mimics the effects of another Scottish herb. It’s not my intention to provide information on how to poison people, so monkwood is a fictitious name.

  The Scottish Scientific Society doesn’t exist, except in my imagination.

  The club Thomas belonged to, Beggar’s Blessings, was loosely based on Beggar’s Benison, a club founded in Fife in 1732. However, Beggar’s Benison only existed until 1836.

  Scottish Phrases

  At the knag and the widdie—at loggerheads.

  Trout in the well—being pregnant out of wedlock.

  Tune one’s pipes—to set to wailing and moaning (like the sound of bagpipes warming up).

  Worricow or wirrikow—a malevolent sprite or demon, the devil himself, or a scary, horrid-looking person.

  Cludfawer—an illegitimate child.

  The English Duke

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  New York Times bestselling author Karen Ranney!

  The English Duke

  Coming April 2017

  About the Author

  KAREN RANNEY wanted to be a writer from the time she was five years old and filled her Big Chief tablet with stories. People in stories did amazing things and she was too shy to do anything amazing. Years spent in Japan, Paris, and Italy, however, not only fueled her imagination but proved she wasn’t that shy after all.

  Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, she prefers to keep her adventures between the covers of her books. Karen lives in San Antonio, Texas, and loves to hear from her readers at [email protected].

  www.facebook.com/WriterKarenRanney

  www.karenranney.com

  www.avonromance.com

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  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Romances by Karen Ranney

  The Scottish Duke

  An American in Scotland

  Scotsman of My Dreams

  In Your Wildest Scottish Dreams

  The Return to Clan Sinclair

  The Virgin of Clan Sinclair

  The Witch of Clan Sinclair

  The Devil of Clan Sinclair

  The Lass Wore Black

  A Scandalous Scot

  A Borrowed Scot

  A Highland Duchess

  Sold to a Laird

  A Scottish Love

  A Scotsman in Love

  The Devil Wears Tartan

  The Scottish Companion

  Autumn in Scotland

  An Unlikely Governess

  Till Next We Meet

  So In Love

  To Love a Scottish Lord

  The Irresistible MacRae

  Then the Laird Returns

  One Man’s Love

  After the Kiss

  My True Love

  My Beloved

  Upon a Wicked Time

  My Wicked Fantasy

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  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  the scottish duke. Copyright © 2016 by Karen Ranney LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

  EPub Edition DECEMBER 2016 ISBN: 9780062466884

  Print Edition ISBN: 9780062466877

  Avon, Avon Books, and the Avon logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.

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