Silently Randall opened the cabinet and drew out four glasses, the lamplight shining on his blond hair. He was taut to the point of shattering. She accepted a filled glass and sank into her favorite chair. The brandy burned, but sharpened her wits. An accident? Kirkland nodded. She will need to know, too. Lady Agnes shook her head, wishing that her long time companion and friend was present so they could mourn together.
General Rawlings is also away. She contemplated her glass, wondering about the propriety of drinking herself senseless. She never had, but this would be a good time to start. I never heard the story. You know how Ashton was. The young men fell on the sliced meats, cheese, bread, and pickled vegetables like wolves. Lady Agnes smiled as she poured claret for everyone, glad she could do something for their bodies if not their spirits.
Randall glanced up. Though I loved visiting so many far away places, it seemed like time to come home. One day I was strolling through Hyde Park and wondering what to do with myself when I heard a whip cracking.
Thinking someone was beating a horse, I went into the shrubbery and found a dreadful little man cursing up a tree. Perched on one of the branches over his head was Ashton, clutching the most indescribable puppy. How on earth did Ashton get him up a tree? When Ashton found out, he ran away from Ashton House to find his dog.
Laughter at the comment lightened the atmosphere a little. The boy was a vile limb of Satan! He was the wrong duke, the title should have gone to his decent English cousin!
When the other heirs died, our Ashton ended up with the title, to the horror of everyone in the family. There was a collective gasp around her. The child understood every word, and knew that he was despised. In that moment, he captured her heart. Lady Agnes knew a great deal about being different—an outcast in the society to which one was born.
This small boy with the startling green eyes needed an ally. No wonder he was hoping that his horrible new life could be wished away. Her gaze went to each of the men in turn. I used my grandest voice to announce that I was Lady Agnes Westerfield, daughter of the Duke of Rockton, and that I owned an academy for boys of good birth and bad behavior.
I also claimed to have learned ancient methods of discipline during my travels in the mysterious Orient. If I could get Ashton out of the tree and behaving civilly, Sharp would recommend to the trustees that the boy be sent to my academy rather than Eton. But since I made the attempt to address him in Hindi, he decided that it was time to come down from the tree and deal with the world around him.
He and I struck a bargain of our own. In return, I would expect him to apply himself to all his studies and learn how to play the role of English gentleman. Torn from the land of his birth and his mother, he had needed to know that. You all know how you came to Westerfield. Randall, for example, had managed to get himself expelled from Eton, Harrow, and Winchester, the three most prestigious public schools in Britain.
She believed that his feat was unmatched. The parents and guardians of her first class had been grateful to find a respectable school that would take their problem boys. So was her recruitment of General Philip Rawlings. Instead, the general shared her belief that violence should never be a first resort with children.
Bored by his retirement, he had accepted her offer with enthusiasm. With her connections among the beau monde and his ability to command boys without ever raising his voice, they had created a unique school. Within a year, other parents were begging for places at the school, and subsequent classes were larger. Lady Agnes had become expert in alluding to her mysterious oriental ways of creating well-educated and well-behaved young gentleman. When she first met with a boy, she found out what he most wanted, and most hated.
Then she arranged for him to have what he wanted, and not be forced to endure what he found unendurable. In return, she required her boys to work hard at their studies, and learn how to play the game of society.
Once her students realized that they could play the roles expected of them without losing their souls, they had done well. The others raised their glasses solemnly. Hal is the one who notified us, actually. He found us dining at Brooks because he knew we would want to know as soon as possible. Inheriting a dukedom is all very well, but he and Adam were friends. But when the very well bred Miss Sarah Clarke-Townsend impulsively takes the place of her pregnant twin, it puts her own life at risk.
A Rogue. Marry in haste, repent at leisure. James, Lord Kirkland, owns a shipping fleet, half a London gaming house, and is a ruthlessly effective spymaster. He is seldom self-indulgent. Laurel Herbert gave James her heart as an innocent young girl—until she saw him perform an act ….
After the death of his sweetheart when he was at university, Daniel Herbert buried his grief in medical studies and his passion for healing. Viewed as a saint by those who know him, in his own mind he never quite manages to live up to his own high standards. Enjoy five full length novels from the Lost Lord series in one digital bundle… Loving a Lost Lord In the first of a dazzling series, Mary Jo Putney introduces the Lost Lords—maverick childhood friends with a flair for defying convention.
Other Historicals Non-Series Historicals. Traditional Regencies Regency Novels. R ead an Excerpt. The Lost Lords Series I've always found male friendships really appealing, particularly men who have become a family for each other. This must be why I have two seven book series based on men who met as schoolboys and become closer than brothers. The Lost Lords met at the Westerfield Academy, a small school for boys of "good birth and bad behavior.
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