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Learn the origins of the Great Family!
The Great Family was not always a great family.
In October 1843, Anna & Rhys, Natasha & Seth, Elisa & Vaughn all face problems, their hearts heavy with the challenges of life.
This is the origins story of the multiple Scandalous series, when the first great family gathering, where traditions that will last a generation are born and Anna & Rhys, Natasha & Seth, Elisa & Vaughn meld into a single, united family.
Find out how the couples of the Scandalous family learn that together, they are stronger.
This novelette has not been commercially released for sale. It is only available as a gift to readers of the series, who subscribe to Tracy’s Newsletter.
Click here to get your copy. http://tracycooperposey.com/free-copy-of-lost-at-sea/
Table of Contents
Special Offer
About Her Rebellious Prince
Praise for the Scandalous Family— The Victorians series
Her Rebellious Prince Title Page
The Great Families
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
About the Author
Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey
Copyright Information
About Her Rebellious Prince
The Prince kisses her, instead of her twin sister.
Elise never intends to marry. Marriage is far too restricting, in her estimation. Instead, she grasps what freedom there is in running her Great Aunt Annalies’ boarding house. When Danyal, newly crowned Prince of Pandev, kisses her by mistake, her delicately balanced contentment is shattered.
Danyal isn’t in England to find a wife, as society believes. An English wife would offend the Balkan Separatists who threaten his principality. Such a wife would also defeat his desire to separate his family from the stained reputation which dogs it, which the former Prince, his uncle Kosta, was never fully successful in removing.
So why can he not stop thinking about that simple—delightful—kiss, and the woman he held in his arms for only a moment?
This book is part of the Scandalous Family—The Victorians. This is the second spin-off series to feature a new generation of the Great Family, who are now scattering across Europe and beyond in search of adventure…and love.
This story is part of the Scandalous Family—The Victorians series:
1.0 His Parisian Mistress
2.0 Her Rebellious Prince
3.0 Their Foreign Affair
…and more to come!
A Sexy Victorian Era Historical Romance
Praise for the
Scandalous Family—
The Victorians series
Tracy is a wonderful writer that loves a complicated story. While her stories are true to the Victorian era, she brings so much more to her books.
The characters are full of emotion and suck you right into the story. I love how Tracy pulls the reader into the story and we feel we have a front row seat to the action, and feel all the ups and downs of the characters.
One thing is for sure, this is not your usual Victorian romance. This story has a great, and at least for me, and unexpected plot.
This is a really satisfying read! There's plenty of substance to the plot and an interesting storyline with intrigue, action and suspense as well as the delicious romantic relationship developed between the two main characters.
Tracy Cooper-Posey has a succinct and yet enthralling writing style that creates such an immersive experience that I feel like I'm stepping into situations right alongside these characters that I am getting to know!
The Great Families
Elisa and Vaughn Wardell
Marquess of Farleigh, Viscount Rothmere
1825 Raymond, Viscount Marblethorpe (stepson)
1839 William Vaughn Wardell
1839 John (Jack) Gladwin Lochlann Mayes (fostered in 1846)
1842 Sarah Louise Wardell (D)
1843 Peter Lovell Wardell (January)
1844 Gwendolyn (Jenny) Violet Moore Wardell (adopted in 1848)
1844 Patricia Sharla Victoria Mayes (fostered in 1846)
1849 Blanche Brigitte Colombe Bonnay (adopted in 1851)
1853 Emma Jane Wardell (adopted at birth)
Natasha and Seth Williams
Earl of Innesford, Baron Harrow (Ire.)
1839 Lillian Mary Harrow
1840 Richard Cian Seth Williams
1841 Neil Vaughn Williams
1843 Daniel Rhys Williams (February)
1846 Bridget Bronte Williams & Mairin May Williams
1849 Annalies Grace Williams
Annalies and Rhys Davies
Princess Annalies Benedickta of Saxe-Weiden, of the royal house Saxe-Coburg-Weiden, Formerly of the Principality of Saxe-Weiden.
1835 Benjamin Hedley Davies (adopted in 1845)
1842 Iefan William Davies
1843 Morgan Harrow Davies (October)
1843 Sadie Hedley Davies (adopted in 1845)
1846 Bronwen Natasha Davies
1848 Alice Thomasina Davies (adopted at birth)
1849 Catrin Elise Davies
~~And their children~~
Natasha and Raymond Devlin
Viscount Marblethorpe
1857 Vaughn Elis Devlin (Raymond’s heir)
1861 Richard Seth Devlin
Lilly and Jasper Thomsett
1862 Seth Eckhard Thomsett (heir)
1863 Elise Marie & Ann Louise Thomsett
1864 George Jasper Thomsett (stillborn)
1876 Jessica Louise Thomsett
Sharla and Dane Balfour + Benjamin Hedley (Davies)
Duke of Wakefield
1867 Jennifer Jane Balfour & Benjamin Dane Balfour (heir)
1868 Alice Thomasina Balfour
1871 John William Balfour
1873 Patricia Sharla Balfour
1875 Stephen Spearing Balfour
Bronwen Natasha Davies and Archeduke Edvard Christoffer of Silkeborg
1870 Christina Clara Elisa Bronwen
1874 Edvard Erhard Jasper Nicholas
John (Jack) Gladwin Lochlann Mayes and Gwendolyn (Jenny) Violet Moore Wardell-Ryder
Baron Guestwick, heir to the Marquess of Laceby
1864 Jackson Vaughn Ryder
1866 Stuart Theodore Ryder
1869 Phillip Dane Mayes
William Vaughn Wardell & Bridget Bronte Williams
Viscount Rothmere, heir to the Marquess of Fairleigh
1869 Elizabeth Anne Wardell
1871 Vaughn Raymond Wardell
1873 Mairin Elisa Wardell
Iefan William Davies & Mairin May Williams
1863 Adam Martel Davies (Adopted in 1874)
1864 Daniel Martel Davies (Adopted in 1874)
1866 Ève Martel Davies (Adopted in 1874)
1868 Alicia Martel Davies (Adopted in 1874)
Richard Cian Seth Williams & Eleanore Elizabeth Neville
1875 Cian Richard Williams
1885 Mary Eleanore Williams
Daniel Rhys Williams & Catrin Elise Davies
1871 Alice Edwina Williams
1873 Rhys Raymond Williams
1876 Lisa Grace Williams
N
eil Vaughn Williams & Blanche Brigitte Colombe Bonnay
1875 James Rene Williams & David Neil Williams
1877 Brigitte May Williams
1879 Sarah Louise Williams
1881 Edward Neil Williams
Peter Lovell Wardell & Annalies Grace Williams
1875 Delaney David Wardell
1876 Graeme Peter Wardell
1878 Natasha Annalies Wardell
1879 Bellamy Richard Wardell
1881 Elisa Grace Wardell
1882 James Tissot Wardell
Morgan Harrow Davies & Emma Jane Wardell (Williams)
1875 Alexander Morgan Davies
1877 Blair Rhys Davies
1878 Lydia Becker Davies & Helen Campbell Davies
1881 Jane Emma Davies
River Heart & Sadie Hedley Davies
Duke of Caldwell
1869 Rowan Seth Watson Heart
1870 Alexandria Victoria Heart (Victoria’s)
1872 Jennifer Elizabeth Heart (Victoria’s).
1879 River Rhys Heart
CHAPTER ONE
Elise enjoyed her summer, until Ann came home from Northallerton full of news about her prince.
Elise tried to ignore Ann’s constant chatter about the new Prince of Pandev, whom she had met in Northallerton. Ann’s obsession with finding an upper-class husband in her very first season in London was endless. Even though Ann and Elise were twin sisters, on the matter of husbands, she and Ann thoroughly disagreed.
As it was a few days past the Glorious Twelfth, Ann’s ambition to find a husband before the season ended had failed. Her few days in Yorkshire had rekindled her ambitions, though.
“You should see him, Elise,” Ann enthused. “He has such a fine chin. And his hair is so very black. It doesn’t shine blue, like swarthy gentlemen from Italy. It is simply a glorious black. And so are his whiskers. Ordinary gentlemen, even those with dark hair, often grow in odd colored whiskers, have you noticed? But not the Prince. His whiskers are as completely black as his hair. And his eyes!” Ann sighed as she reached for the butter.
“That is your third piece of toast, Ann,” Elise pointed out.
Great Aunt Annalies, who sat at the head of the table, looked up from her newspaper. She said nothing, though. In the last few weeks, she had said less and less about management of the household. Great Aunt Annalies was allowing Ann and Elise to conduct the affairs of the household as comprehensively as possible.
In fact, it wasn’t the toast to which Elise objected. It was the extra butter Ann always spread upon her toast. Elise had learned how rapidly basic supplies such as milk, butter and sugar–flour, too–disappeared from the pantry. She had spent days tracing the use of such staples and was alarmed by how much thirteen people could eat in just a few days.
While Elise organized the kitchen pantry and cupboards, Ann had relaxed in Northallerton.
And met her prince.
Ann did not appear to hear Elise’s complaint about the toast. She buttered it enthusiastically, still chatting about Prince Selâhattin Danyal Bora of Pandev.
Great Aunt Annalies made a small sound from behind her newspaper. Elise grasped the opportunity to change the subject. “Is something the matter, Great Aunt Annalies?”
Annalies lowered the newspaper. She was smiling. “A law has been passed in Parliament which will be put into effect next year. It changes all the county councils and borrows in England and Wales.”
“How interesting,” Ann said. Her tone said she was not in the slightest bit interested.
Great Aunt Annalies rolled her eyes. “You two ladies should keep up with politics.”
“I don’t see why we should.” Ann took a huge bite of her toast. “It isn’t as though we can vote, after all.” She spoke carefully around her mouthful of breadcrumbs.
“That is exactly my point.” Great Aunt Annalies pressed her fingers to the page in front of her. “This new law allows ladies to vote in local Council elections. I must write to Emma. She will be beside herself with happiness over this. I may invite her to tea.” She glanced at Elise. “Is there enough tea to share a cup with a friend?”
Elise pressed her hand to her belly, as tension increased beneath her corset. “I’m not entirely sure about that,” she admitted. “I am still trying to establish how much tea this house goes through on a daily basis. It is far more than I suspected.”
“A good pot of tea is one of life’s small pleasures,” Great Aunt Annalies said. “It is far better than coffee, which I grew up drinking.”
“You mean in your kingdom in Eastern Europe?” Elise said.
“It was a principality,” Great Aunt Annalies corrected. “Although coffee was not all that common, back then. It was far more a French thing, which my mother brought back from her travels.” Annalies smoothed out the newspaper. “If there is not enough tea, then we can have coffee. Emma is very broad-minded.”
Elise cleared her throat.
Annalies raised her brow. “There is no coffee, either?”
“It might be better to have tea, after all,” Elise admitted.
“Very well, then,” Great Aunt Annalies said. Her tone was light and carefree. She returned to her paper.
Ann rolled her eyes as she finished her piece of toast. “What have you been doing while I was away, Elise? No coffee, barely any tea, and there is no jam on the table this morning, either. What will the other girls say, when they come down to breakfast?”
Elise smothered her irritation. “They may complain, although I rather doubt they will when they see that I have arranged for the house to be painted before the summer ends.” Ann would find out soon enough how difficult managing a house full of people really was.
Their mother made it seem terribly easy, while Elise had discovered in the last two weeks that the work came with far too many headaches and unsolvable dilemmas. She supposed it would be easier if she had a larger budget to work with.
Great Aunt Annalies looked up once more. “You have arranged a painter? How do you intend to pay for his services?”
“I will not be paying him. Not exactly. Mr. Donaldson requires storage for his paint during the winter, somewhere in this area, as he does a great deal of work for society members. I offered him the use of the other half of the stable, where he can pack straw around his paint tins to keep them warm. He can come and go from the stable and not disturb us. In return, he will paint the exterior of the house. He promises to have it done before the leaves turn.”
“Indeed!” Great Aunt Annalies said. Her tone was approving. “Although, if he is to paint an entire house before the leaves turn, he must get on with it. After all, it is late August. There are only a few cordial weeks of weather left, this year.”
Elise nodded. “That is why he said he would have it done so quickly. The ton have returned to their estates for the winter and his work has diminished. He will use white paint he has left over from the summer and the work will keep him occupied. I agreed that if he acquires more projects in the meantime, he may tend to those first. He will paint the house in between his paying customers.”
Ann laughed as she poured another cup of tea. “Well, really, Elise! What an extraordinary arrangement!”
“Such arrangements have been made throughout history,” Great Aunt Annalies said, her tone calm. “Not all societies have had money to pay for services. Even this great society once thrived without coinage. Then, everything was arranged as a fair exchange.”
“Barter.” Elise remembered reading about money and coins in one of the many books in the enormous library at Northallerton.
“Yes, exactly,” Great Aunt Annalies said. “As long as Mr. Donaldson is happy with the arrangement, it is a fair one. It suits both parties. He has what he needs while we acquire a freshly painted house. Well done, Elise.”
Ann frowned as she spooned sugar into her tea. “I do hope you don’t expect me to make suc
h strange arrangements, when it is my turn to be butler.”
“Speaking of which,” Elise said. “You were supposed to return to London four days ago. I expected you to take over from me two days ago.”
Ann spread her hand upon the table, in a soothing gesture. She nodded. “I do apologize for that,” she said, her tone contrite. “It is only that the Prince was lingering for a few more days. I simply could not tear myself away from Northallerton while he was there. It was a perfect opportunity. I could not pass it by.”
“Is the Prince aware that you intend to marry him, Ann?” Great Aunt Annalies said, her tone curious.
Ann rolled her eyes. “Goodness me, Great Aunt Annalies! I am not that forward! There is an art to these things.”
“I see,” Great Aunt Annalies replied, her tone smooth once more.
Elise said, “It seems to me that if the prince is in Northallerton, and you are in London, it doesn’t matter how much art you add to the equation. You cannot succeed.”
Ann’s soft brown eyes twinkled with amusement. “That is exactly where you are wrong,” she replied. She did not seem upset. Ann took the matter of finding a good husband seriously but didn’t insist that Elise share her interest. It made her far more tolerant of teasing than Elise suspected she would be, in the same position. “Just you wait and see, sister,” Ann added.
Elise got to her feet, as the first pair of boots rattled on the un-carpeted stairs, out in the hall. A carpet for the stairs was just one more item on their list of things to acquire for the house, one way or another. The boots announced the first of the lady tenants arriving for their breakfast.
“I must speak with Mrs. Brown in the kitchen,” Elise said. “Afterward, Ann, you and I must sit down and speak about the house, before you assume your butler responsibilities.”
“I will come and find you in the kitchen,” Ann promised.