Veil of Honor Read online

  Special Offer

  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 Scandalous Scions series—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 Scandalous Sirens 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.

  See the link at the back of this book, after you have enjoyed Veil of Honor.

  Table of Contents

  Special Offer

  About Veil of Honor

  Praise for the Scandalous Scions series

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Special Offer

  Did you enjoy this book? How to make a big difference!

  The next book in the Scandalous Scions series.

  About the Author

  Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Copyright Information

  About Veil of Honor

  Bridget’s downfall at the hands of a duke forces Will to save her.

  Lady Bridget is determined to marry well, to a man not of the great family.

  When the Duke of Taplow takes advantage of her, William Wardell, heir to the Marquis of Farleigh and great family member, is forced to marry her himself to save her reputation…which also happens to remove the family pressure upon him to wed and get himself an heir.

  The agreement only brings more strife into their lives for they are both stubborn, willful and most definitely not the marrying kind…

  Veil of Honor is the sixth book in the spin-off series following the historical romances of Scandalous Sirens. Scandalous Scions brings together the members of three great families, to love and play under the gaze of the Victorian era’s moralistic, straight-laced society.

  Reader Advisory: This story contains frank sex scenes and sexual language.

  This story is part of the Scandalous Scions series:

  0.5 Rose of Ebony

  1.0 Soul of Sin

  2.0 Valor of Love

  3.0 Marriage of Lies

  4.0 Mask of Nobility

  5.0 Law of Attraction

  6.0 Veil of Honor

  7.0 Season of Denial

  …and more to come!

  A Sexy Historical Romance

  Praise for the Scandalous Scions series

  If you are familiar with the previous series, I am sure you fell in love with the huge family like I did.

  She is a go to author for me when I need a fix of historical romance.

  Tracy Cooper-Posey takes us into the staid yet surprisingly bawdy Victorian Era where appearance is everything and secrets are held inside the family.

  Thanks once again, Tracy Cooper-Posey, for giving us another great story and for giving me back my love of historical romances.

  I love historical romances and this one filled all my likes, from a dashing, wonderful hero, a beautiful strong heroine, a love story to sigh over, side characters that are interesting, and funny, and move the story along.

  I can't wait for the next in this wonderful new series.

  I don't often give books five stars, but I really enjoyed the mystery that puzzled all of the characters in this story.

  I found the entire extended family intriguing because they, the women in particular, are very aware and careful of what society will think, yet they often have made choices that are deemed semi- scandalous.

  A wonderful story set in the Victorian era of such strict social conventions and yet the main characters are shimmering with latent sexual tension. What a fabulous juxtaposition!

  Another great series is starting and it looks like it will be great just like all the other series by this author.

  Wow, as soon as I started Tracy Cooper Posey’s first book in her new spin off I was hooked.

  The Great Families

  Elisa and Vaughn Wardell

  Marquess of Fairleigh, 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

  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

  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

  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 & Anne Louise Thomsett

  1864 George Jasper Thomsett (stillborn)

  Sharla and Dane Balfour + Benjamin Hedley (Davies)

  Duke of Wakefield

  1867 Jennifer Jane Balfour & Benjamin Dane Balfour (heir)

  1868 Alice Thomasina Balfour

  Bronwen Natasha Davies and Archeduke Edvard Christoffer of Silkeborg

  1870 Christina Clara Elisa Bronwen

  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

  Chapter One

  The Great Family Gathering, Innesford, Cornwall. October 1863.

  Bridget knew she would lose the croquet game as soon as she took her first shot, for Will and Jack were sitting in the canvas lounging chairs at the side of the court. Will’s dry comments every time someone struck a ball made her laugh too hard to give winning a serious attempt.

  Besides, her skirt hems kept getting in the way. She should tuck and pin the hems above her hoops and petticoats as everyone else was doing. However, she had only come out into socie
ty in June this year and she didn’t want to look like a child anymore.

  Although her older sister Lilly had her skirt rucked up high enough to show off a foot of cotton and lace. She laughed and swung her croquet mallet with abandon, while Jasper observed appreciatively. Not even their announcement at lunchtime that Lilly was expecting for the second time seemed to decrease Lilly’s energetic enthusiasm.

  Lilly took her shot. Her mallet whacked the red ball, which careened off Bridget’s yellow ball and sent it rolling across the green. With glum certainty, Bridget tracked the yellow ball bounce as it hit the softer, unrolled grass in front of the spectators, then flash beneath the chairs.

  Will, Jasper and Jack bent to watch it disappear beneath them.

  “That’s about as out of bounds as one could get,” Jasper declared. He twisted to look over his shoulder as the ball crunched across the gravel in front of the big house and came to a stop.

  Travers, Cian’s butler, lifted his foot and stepped over the obstruction, then carried on as if it had not been there at all. He didn’t even look down at his feet.

  “Oh, out-of-bounds suits Miss Bridget completely,” Will drawled.

  Bridget put her hand on her waist. “What on earth does that mean?”

  “Shall I fetch the ball, Bridget?” Jasper asked.

  She shook her head. “No, I will play it where it lays.”

  “It’s too far, Bridget,” Mairin murmured. “Take the penalty, instead.” Mairin was Bridget’s partner for this game, which was the first time they had played together this year. Every year before this, they had always played together. When had they decided not to do that? There had been no discussion about it, whereas Bridget had spent her life discussing everything with her twin.

  Only, in the last few weeks—perhaps, since their coming out—Bridget had noticed uncomfortable signs of…well, distance between her and Mairin. Even their choices in clothing had changed. Mairin was wearing an afternoon dress, while Bridget had settled for a comfortable shirt and a jacket over her skirt, a combination that allowed vigorous sports.

  Mairin even wore her hair in the low style at the back of her head that everyone was wearing these days. Bridget preferred to keep her back hair knotted at the top of her head. She was in favor of fashionable dress, but not to the point of aping everyone on the ton.

  When had little things like their hair and dress changed between her and Mairin? Bridget couldn’t point to any particular moment. Everything had shifted like the seasons. Now she was looking out a proverbial window, surprised to see that summer had arrived.

  She dismissed the uncomfortable thought and told her twin, “I can play the ball from where it is.”

  “Oh ho!” Will cried, standing up. “The lady rises to the challenge. Out of the way, Jasper.”

  “I’m well out of range,” Jasper said complacently, turning his pleasant features up to the sun. “Bridget is not that bad a shot.”

  “Thank you, Jasper,” Bridget said. She picked up her skirt and moved across the grass, stepping around croquet hoops and over balls, heading for the gravel. “Although you must move, Will,” she added.

  He picked up the lounging chair in which he had been sprawled. “Voila.”

  “No, I mean, out of the way,” Bridget told him as she moved through the narrow aisle he had made by picking up the chair. “I must really hit this, if I am to make it back to the court in one.”

  “Impossible,” Will said, following her across the gravel to where the yellow ball sat at the end of the shallow trench it had smoothed out in the gravel. “Is it even in the rules, to play back onto the court that way?” Will preferred cricket to croquet.

  “It most certainly is,” Bridget said firmly, turning to set herself up for the shot. In truth, she wasn’t certain if it was part of the official rules at all.

  “It’s a Williams family rule, I believe,” Lilly called from behind them. “I’ll abide by the rule, if you can make it back in one, Bridget.”

  “Thank you,” Bridget said. She bent to line up the mallet behind the ball. Her hem brushed the side of the mallet, obscuring her view.

  Bridget frowned. “That won’t do.” She handed her mallet to Will, who had the chair tucked under one arm. “Please hold that for a moment.”

  He took the mallet, smiling. In the shade cast by the big house, his blond hair looked gold instead of white and the pointed, trimmed beard looked thicker. He wasn’t screwing up his eyes, so she could easily see their deep sea blue color.

  She smiled at him as she hooked up her skirt, trying to lift it out of the way while preserving her dignity as much as possible. “Now, hold this.” She held out the excess folds of her skirt.

  Will raised his brow. “I have no hands left,” he pointed out.

  “Coward,” Jack called out. “I’ve seen you juggle a cigar, a brandy glass and your whist hand without breaking sweat.”

  Will looked affronted. “Brandy doesn’t slither and slide,” he pointed out.

  Bridget rolled her eyes and took back the mallet with her left hand. “There you are. Now you have a hand free.”

  Will made a great pretense of reaching out with reluctant fingers to pinch the roll of brushed cotton between his strong thumb and forefinger. “Quickly….!” he begged, sounding on the verge of panic. “I think it just moved!”

  As everyone laughed, Bridget settled the mallet back behind the ball. She took her time. The shot would have to be powerful for the ball to make it back across the gravel and the longer grass. She needed to place it in a position on the court that would let her recover from Lilly’s destructive cannon.

  “So…” Will said, with not an inch of panic sounding in his voice, this time. “Did you mean it, what you said during lunch?”

  “What did I say?” Bridget asked absently, trying to line up the shot with the spot where she would prefer the ball to finish. Aim would be important, too. Just making it back to the court would not serve her if she was still four shots away from the hoop. She swung the mallet back with all her strength.

  “You said you wouldn’t marry anyone in the family,” Will replied.

  The mallet jerked as it hit the ball and the ball shot off at a wild angle, moving like a train at full speed.

  Jasper cried out as he threw himself out of his chair and out of the way of the rocketing ball, as everyone laughed. Lilly bent over her mallet, holding on to it for support, as she gave into her merriment.

  The ball smashed into the supports of Jasper’s chair and changed directions. Now it headed for the back end of the court and the starting stake. It rolled past the stake, still moving fast. She had hit it with all her strength, after all. It came to a stop in the far back corner of the court.

  Bridget turned to confront Will. “You did that deliberately!” Her turn whipped the folds of her skirt out of Will’s hand.

  Will’s eyes narrowed with amusement as he considered her. His mouth curled up at the corners. “I did not,” he said, his voice low. “Did I strike a nerve, Bree?”

  Bridget let the mallet fall and put her hands on her waist, indignation building in her.

  Will’s smile broadened. “I did,” he concluded. Humor danced in his eyes. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

  Bridget drew back all the hot words she wanted to pour all over him. To speak at all, to do anything but laugh at him, would confirm he had prodded a sensitivity in her. Only, she didn’t have a sensitivity…did she?

  Everyone was still chuckling and recovering from her wild shot, yet they were within hearing distance, too.

  “Is there, perhaps, someone in the family who hasn’t asked you to marry them, forcing you to make the declaration to cover your humiliation?” Will suggested.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped. “Oh, will you put down that silly chair?”

  Will dropped the chair to the gravel and sat in it, right where it was. He put his hands behind his head and looked up at her, completely relaxed. “Then I shouldn’t
worry that I might have snubbed you and not noticed?”

  “Even if I did descend to marrying someone inside the family,” Bridget shot back instantly, “you are the last man in it I would consider. You are a crude, womanizing drunk who smokes too much and takes nothing seriously, ever. Besides, you’re much too old for me.”

  More laughter sounded. Jack’s was the loudest of anyone’s, for he was Will’s best friend and knew him far better than anyone.

  Will nodded, his good humor not shifting by an inch. “How right you are, Miss Bridget. Now, in return for my bravely holding your skirt, would you mind finding Travers and asking him to bring out the big brandy decanter?” He closed his eyes. “There’s a good girl.”

  Bridget worked her jaw, searching hard for something scathing to say that would wipe that smugness from his face.

  Instead, she dumped the mallet in his lap and walked away, aware that her nose was in the air and that her boots crunched in the gravel rather harder than they should.

  It didn’t help that Will’s laughter, rich with genuine amusement, followed her across the gravel.

  * * * * *

  The Great Family Gathering, Innesford, Cornwall. October 1864. One year later.

  While rain hammered on the big windows, everyone crowded around the two big fireplaces at either end of the great room. The inclement weather did not seem to be dampening the spirit of the day. The first day of the annual gathering was always a rowdy and energetic one, full of greetings and questions about one’s year. Even though everyone kept abreast of everyone else’s affairs during the year via letters and visits, it was still a nice ritual to ask each other what the past year had brought.