-Goodreads reviewer
Turn the page for an excerpt of Lord Gallant!
Excerpt from Lord Gallant
“Where have you been today?”
He was angry, his dark eyes glaring at her.
“To visit with my cousin, my Lord.”
“And you did not feel that anyone should be notified as to where you had gone… on foot, for—” He looked at the clock on the wall over the top of her head. “—six hours.”
“No,” Grace said. He waited for her to elaborate, but as Grace was nervous and did not wish to antagonize him further, she said nothing else.
“No,” he said softly. “You wish to offer nothing further?”
Grace nodded, which seemed to make him angrier, as he rose to his feet and braced his hands on the desk, leaning on them toward her. It was an intimidating pose, and Grace swallowed, trying to ease the dryness in her throat.
“Countesses do not leave the house and fail to return for six hours without telling anyone where they have gone,” he said. “It was irresponsible and foolhardy, not to mention dangerous, Grace.”
“I was in no danger, my Lord.”
“What if something had happened to you and no one was aware of your identity?” He was growling now.
“I had my maid with me and was with my cousin the rest of the time,” she said quickly, hoping that would appease him.
“You walked, Grace, there and back…along streets I would rather you did not frequent, in conditions that are at best termed, bleak.
“H-how did you know that?”
“Are you telling me you didn’t walk?”
She shook her head. “No, I did walk, but—”
“Well it matters not then how I know, only that I do. You will not walk the streets of London again.”
“Do you?” Grace said and then instantly wished she hadn’t.
“Do I what?”
She had to tell him now she’d started. “Leave the house alone, without telling anyone where you are going.”
“It is different for me,” he said slowly. “And after what happened to you at the ball, I would think you would be aware of just how fragile a woman’s reputation is. Furthermore, you are now my countess and what you do reflects on me. Therefore, I will not have you leaving this house without alerting me as to where you wish to go and with whom, then I shall determine if you may do so.”
Grace had a temper. It rarely surfaced, but when it was tweaked it was not easy to rein back in. And he had just tweaked it.
“I will not be kept away from my cousin or my dog, my Lord.” Stay calm Grace, nothing good ever came of you losing your temper.
“You’ll do as I say,” he growled, no longer the composed earl she had believed him to be. His eyes blazed and his body became stiff with rage. “And as your cousin is quite possibly responsible for your reckless behavior, I think time away from him would benefit you.”
Pompous ass. Grace clenched her fists.
“You have obviously been allowed to make your own decisions, which I assure you will no longer be the case.”
The anger inside her was so strong, Grace’s vision blurred. She tried to breathe, tried to inhale a large deep breath to calm her down before she spoke, but failed.
“Lord Attwood, I will not let a man who cares nothing for me dictate my movements for the remainder of my life.” She sounded shrill and cared not one whit. He would not do this to her. “I will not be kept from my cousin!”
“I am now the man who will dictate your actions, not your cousin,” he said in a low deep voice. “You bloody well will do as I say,” he went on, surprising her by cursing, “and tomorrow we will address the issue of your new clothing, as I will not allow you to walk about dressed in those rags a day longer!”
“How dare you!” Grace cried. “Not everyone is raised to understand the cut of a coat or how many folds to wear in your necktie.”
“As you have just chosen men’s fashion to make your point I think in fact it strengthens mine. However,” he lifted one hand as she opened her mouth, “just because I do not choose to dress in the fashion my grandfather did, does not make me a dandy!”
“I do not dress like my grandmother,” Grace said, looking down at her dress.
“No, I should imagine your grandmother would never have stooped to dressing in such a rag.”
“Pompous ass!” Grace screeched, getting to her feet. “You are like all the rest of the noblemen I know. Arrogant, self absorbed, with not a care for anyone but themselves!”
They were roaring at each other now, their anger out of control as they both gave vent to the feelings that had ridden them for days. Hurtful words filled Grace’s head, bitter nasty words at the injustice of her situation. She swallowed several times to try and keep them inside.
“Let me go then, let me move back to my cousin’s, and I shall leave London for the country and you can annul the marriage.”
“You wish to be ruined, have society turn their backs on you, and live your life in disgrace?”
“It would be no worse than the fate that awaits me wed to you!” Grace cried, running for the door. Once there she stopped and looked at him one last time. “My cousin saved me, Lord Attwood, when I had no one. I will not let you keep me from him.”
Wrenching the door open she then fled, picking up her skirts and running, ignoring the roar of her name coming from behind her. She just prayed her door had a sturdy lock on it.
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Other Books By Wendy Vella
Historical Romance
Regency Rakes Series
Duchess By Chance
Rescued By A Viscount
Tempting Miss Allender
The Langley Sisters Series
Lady In Disguise
Lady In Demand
Lady In Distress
The Lady Plays Her Ace
The Lady’s Dangerous Love
The Raven & Sinclair Series
Sensing Danger
Seeing Danger
Touched By Danger
Scent Of Danger
Vision Of Danger
Tempting Danger
Seductive Danger
The Lords Of Night Street Series
Lord Gallant
Lord Valiant
Lord Valorous
Lord Noble
Stand-Alone Titles
The Reluctant Countess
Christmas Wishes
The Earl’s Encounter
Mistletoe And The Marquess
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
The Lake Howling Series
A Promise Of Home
The Texan Meets His Match
How Sweet It Is
It Only Took You
Don’t Look Back
Ryker Falls Series
Somebody To Love
From This Moment
Love Me Tender
Only Just Begun
About the Author
Wendy Vella is a bestselling author of historical and contemporary romances
such as the Langley Sisters and Sinclair and Raven series, with over a million copies of her books sold worldwide.
Born and raised in a rural area in the North Island of New Zealand, she shares her life with one adorable husband, two delightful adult children and their partners, four delicious grandchildren, and too many cantankerous farm animals.
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or use of this work in any part is forbidden without the express written permission of the author.
Seductive Danger is published by Wendy Vella
Copyright © 2019 Wendy Vella