Love by Deception (Age of Innocence) (14 page)

On the carriage ride home, Isabel
could not keep the smile off her face.

“What a lovely evening,” Iris said
as she took hold of Georgette’s hand. “My dears, I could not be happier for the
way the Season has gone for both of you. I’m so very happy for you.

“Thank you, Mrs. Quinn,” Georgette
said. “But none of this would have been possible without your generous offer to
host my cousin and I.”

“Yes, thank you so much,” Isabel
chimed in.

Iris reached across the carriage to
squeeze Isabel’s hand. “Nonsense, my dears. You’ve given this old woman more
pleasure than you can imagine. To hear the sound of laughter once again in my
home is all thanks I need. It has indeed been wonderful and I will miss you
both terribly. Here we are now.”

Mrs. Smithfield met them at the
door. “Welcome back, ladies. I trust you had a pleasant evening.”

“Very well, indeed.” Isabel said.
“Mrs. Smithfield, I have such happy news.”

“Oh, do tell, Miss Knott.”

“I am engaged to Mr. Tisbury.”

The housekeeper hugged Isabel to
her breast. “I’m so very pleased for you.”

“Two engagements in one Season,”
Iris said. “Can you believe it, Mrs. Smithfield?”

“It is indeed happy news.”

“Good night, Mrs. Quinn,” Georgette
said as she and Isabel went up the stairs.

“Good night, my dears. Tomorrow
promises to be a busy day.”

Isabel turned on the stairs.
“What’s happening tomorrow?”

“My dear Isabel, you and Georgette
are each engaged to marry a lord’s son. You will need a wedding dress and a
trousseau.”

“But is that really necessary?”

Iris smiled. “Of course it’s
necessary. Now, we have to hope that they don’t want special licenses. It will
be hard enough for Mrs. Phillips to finish everything in four weeks.”

“Four weeks?”

“Yes, my dear. The banns must be
read. Now off to bed with both of you.”

Isabel nodded and followed
Georgette up the stairs and to their bedchamber. Rachel was waiting for them.

“Good evening, Miss Isabel. I could
not help but overhear you discussing the lovely news with Mrs. Smithfield.”

“Thank you, Rachel. It is happy
news indeed.” Isabel held her tongue while their maid helped them into the
nightdresses and brushed out their hair.

“Will you be needing anything
else?” Rachel asked.

“No, thank you, Rachel. We are
tired and wish to retire,” Georgette said.

The maid nodded and left the room
closing the door behind her.

“Finally alone,” Isabel said.

Georgette brought the candle to the
small table beside their bed. “What do you mean, dearest?”

Isabel climbed into bed and waited
until Georgette was settled beside her. She turned on her side to face her
sister. “You will not believe what happened this evening before the
announcement of my engagement was made.”

“What? Don’t keep me in suspense
any longer.”

Isabel recounted what had happened
in the library.

Shock registered on Georgette’s
face. “Lady Hunt is your mother?”

“Yes, I can hardly believe it
myself. I have found my mother. I’m not an orphan.” As soon as Isabel said the
words, she regretted them. “Oh, Georgette, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to
slight you.”

Georgette squeezed her hand. “Do
not trouble yourself. I knew who my parents were, so it’s hardly the same
thing.”

“Lady Hunt is such a grand woman.”

“Yes, she is, and lovely as well. I
can see why Father loved her.”

Isabel nodded. “I’m looking forward
to getting to know her.”

“That will certainly not be a
problem once Dalton and I are married. No one will be the wiser for your
visits. After all, everyone believes us to be cousins and Lady Hunt and Lady
Tisbury are great friends.”

Isabel hugged Georgette. “I’m so
happy. Can you believe our good fortune? To marry men we adore and gain new
families.”

“I know, dearest. I agree with you
wholeheartedly, but now you must get some sleep. You heard Mrs. Quinn. I
believe our days of leisure shall be over for awhile.”

Isabel kissed her sister’s cheek.
“Goodnight, my dearest sister.”

“Goodnight.”

***

The next four weeks flew by for
both Georgette and Isabel. Their dresses had been delivered in plenty of time and
both young women marveled at the magnificent creations Mrs. Phillips had made.

Georgette’s dress was a beautiful
cream-colored satin with lace along the sleeves and the hemline. White
embroidery decorated the bottom of the dress sprinkled with splashes of blue in
the design. Isabel’s gown was white and had a double row of lace at the sleeves
and hem.

Isabel smoothed her dress. “Have
you ever seen such beautiful dresses?”

“No, I dare say I have not,”
Georgette said as she tied the ribbons on her bonnet. “Are you ready, dearest?”

“Yes, I’ve never been more ready in
my life,” she said slipping on her gloves.

Iris was waiting at the bottom of
the stairs and her hand flew to her mouth when she saw the girls. “Oh my, I’ve
never seen such visions before. Both of you look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Quinn,” Georgette
said.

***

Dearly
beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and
in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman and
this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate,
instituted of God in the time of man’s innocency, signifying unto us the
mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church
.

Charlotte sat with Mary as they
watched their children recite their vows. “What a special day,” she whispered.

“Indeed, it is. I’m so very happy
that we have found Isabel. I cannot imagine what you must have felt all those
years without her and wondering every day how she fared.”

“It was the worst moment of my life
when I handed her to George. I’m so grateful that she was well taken care of.”

Mary patted her hand. “I know, but
now we are all together again.” You’ll have time to get to know Isabel, and
Georgette too. She seems like such a fine young woman.”

“She is indeed. I couldn’t have
asked for a better match for Dalton. I’ve seen the way he looks at her and I
know they’ll have a wonderful life together.

***

Isabel hugged her sister and
whispered in her ear. “My dearest sister, I’m so happy for you. I promise I’ll
come and see you soon, but not too soon.”

Georgette chuckled. “Thank you,
dearest. No one could ask for a more loving sister. Please do come and visit
soon. It will seem strange not to see you everyday.”

“I will. I promise, but right now I
do believe our husbands are anxious to be away.”

Isabel went to Lady Hunt. “I will
see you soon, my lady.”

Charlotte hugged her daughter and
tears welled in her eyes. “Goodbye, Isabel. I’m so looking forward to knowing
you better.”

“As am I,” Isabel said and kissed
her cheek.

Lord and Lady Tisbury were standing
by the carriage. Colby shook his father’s hand and kissed his mother’s cheek.
“We’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Of course, take good care of
Isabel,” Mary said. “She’s a very special young lady.”

Colby nodded. “Indeed she is, Mother.”

Isabel came to stand next to Colby
and say her goodbyes. “Thank you for such a lovely breakfast feast, Lady
Tisbury. I’ve never seen anything so grand.”

“It was pleasure, dear. Now, off
with the two of you.”

Isabel curtsied to Lord Hunt.
“Good-bye, Lord Hunt.”

Albert nodded. “Good-bye.”

The driver offered Isabel a hand as
she climbed into the carriage. She’d never been in anything so splendid before.
“It’s beautiful,” she said as he snuggled next to her husband. The carriage
wound its way toward the Tisbury country estate. “Husband. That has a wonderful
sound, don’t you think?”

“My dearest wife, I couldn’t agree
with you more.”

“Will your parents follow soon?”

“Perhaps in a few weeks. I think
they’d like to give us some measure of privacy,” Colby leaned down and tilted
her chin up. He brushed his lips against her and was thrilled when she moaned
in delight. “I can think of many things that we will need privacy for.”

A blush spread across Isabel’s
cheeks. “Mr. Tisbury, should you say such things?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“Yes, and Mrs. Tisbury, I will tell
you now that I will be saying a great many more things to you as we begin our
wonderful life together.”

“I can hardly wait, my darling,”
she said as she leaned in to kiss Colby again. Their kiss deepened and she knew
that she had finally found her home and a family.

Dear Reader,
thank you for reading
Love by Deception
.
I hope you enjoyed the story and will consider leaving a review at Amazon and
Barnes & Noble. Reviews are the best way for an author to know how a reader
feels about the story and they are very much appreciated.

Other Titles Available by Debra
Elizabeth:

Love by Secrets (Book 1, Age of
Innocence)

Love on the Beach (Contemporary Romance
Novella)

Love by Chance (Contemporary Romance
Short Story)

If you enjoy
regency romances, be sure to check out LOVE BY SECRETS, Book 1 in the Age of
Innocence series.

Book
blurb:

Two men - one wants to love her, the other wants to use her. Which
will she choose?

Eighteen-year-old Emily Stanton is excited to attend this Season's
balls and begin her search for a husband. She is thrilled when the dashing and
handsome Connor Preston begins to court her. After each ball, Emily finds a
love note in her drawstring reticule, and she expects a marriage proposal from
Connor any day.

When her father objects and forces Emily to accept the proposal from
Lady Tisbury's shy nephew, Ethan Richardson instead, her heart is broken. How
can she love her new husband when her heart belongs to the man who wrote her
such beautiful love letters?

For contemporary
romance stories there is LOVE ON THE BEACH

Book blurb:

Caroline Fleming had a perfect life -- a loving husband, 2 great kids,
a
lovely home -- or so she thought. When her husband
of 23 years announces he wants a divorce, Caroline's perfect world crumbles in
an instant.

She retreats to the beach house to clear her head and heal her broken
heart. She swears off men, that is, until she meets a sexy stranger running on
the beach with his 2 dogs. Will Matt Sylvan be her second chance at love?

Love on the Beach is a novella of ~21,000 words (95 pages in print)

 
LOVE BY CHANCE (Contemporary Romance
Short Story)

Book blurb:

When
Alysa
Stevens receives an invitation to
attend the social event of the season, a Masquerade Ball, she thinks it's the
perfect time to finally kick back and enjoy
herself
.
After all, no one knows who she really is. The invitation came to her business
persona, Mr. Al Stevens, but is that ploy about to backfire?

At the ball, she's immediately swept off her feet by a sexy stranger
dressed as the Musketeer
d'Artagnan
. He sets her
heart on fire, but he leaves abruptly without ever revealing his name. Will
Alysa
be able to track down the most handsome man she's
ever met without a single clue to his identity?

Debra Elizabeth
is the romance pen name of fantasy/science fiction writer, Debra L. Martin.

Debra
starting writing with co-author David W Small in 2006.
Writing with a co-author is challenging in itself, but when 1 author
lives on the East Coast and 1 lives on the West Coast, the challenges are a bit
more daunting, but because we live in an electronic world of email, Instant
Messenger and Skype, the partnership is totally workable. What makes the
partnership even better is that David is my brother. We love the same types of
books and that love naturally evolved into writing our own books.

Books by Debra L Martin & David W
Small

The Rule of
Otharia
series

Quest for Nobility

The Crystal Façade

The King’s Last Word (forthcoming)

The Witch Stone Prophecy series

Assassin’s Curse

Witch’s Curse (forthcoming, Winter 2013)

The Vampire Nightlife series:

The Silver
Cross

The Silver Double Cross (forthcoming)

Dark Future series:

Path to Destruction

The Right Path

Zia’s Path