Diane Gaston - Bound by Duty

THE SCANDALOUS SUMMERFIELDS

Disgrace is their middle name!

Left destitute by their philandering parents, the three Summerfield sisters—Tess, Lorene, and Genna—and their half-brother, Edmund, are the talk of the ton … for all the wrong reasons!

They are at the mercy of the marriage mart to transport their family from the fringes of society to the dizzy heights of respectability.

But with no dowries, and a damaged reputation, only some very special matches can survive the scandalous Summerfields!

Meet tempestuous Tess in

Bound by Duty

April 2015

And look out for the rest of the family’s exploits, coming soon!

AUTHOR NOTE Author Note Title Page About the Author Dedication 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 Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Epilogue Extract Copyright

An idea for a story might come from anywhere. A random event. A place. A character from history. For my new mini-series, The Scandalous Summerfields, the spark came from a previous generation of my own family—my mother and her sisters and brother.

I did not want to tell their life stories, though. They lived ordinary lives, heroic in ordinary ways, minus the drama and conflict of a romance novel. Instead I took inspiration from them.

Like my mother and her sisters, the Summerfields are left to fend for themselves at a young age. My mother’s parents died when my mother was barely in her twenties and her youngest sister was still in high school. Their brother—the oldest—had already married and had children of his own, so the three sisters needed to band together to take care of each other. As a result, my mother and my aunts were extremely close for their whole lives. My Aunt Loraine even lived with us until I was a teenager. There was not a day that went by when she and my mother did not talk on the phone, nor a week that passed without them calling my Aunt Gerry, who lived some distance away.

I wanted my Summerfield sisters to have this closeness to each other, and to their brother. I wanted to honour that special bond I saw in my mother and aunts—a bond I share with my own two sisters.

I hope you enjoy Book One of The Scandalous Summerfields.

Bound by Duty

Diane Gaston

www.millsandboon.co.uk

DIANE GASTONalways said that if she were not a mental health social worker she’d want to be a romance novelist, writing the historical romances she loved to read. When this dream came true she discovered a whole new world of friends and happy endings. Diane lives in Virginia, near Washington, DC, with her husband and three very ordinary house cats. She loves to hear from readers! Contact her at www.dianegaston.comor on Facebook or Twitter.

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To the memory of my mother, Teresa Gaston, a kind and gentle soul who was always quietly there for me, and who would never, ever hurt anyone’s feelings.

Contents

Cover

Introduction THE SCANDALOUS SUMMERFIELDS Disgrace is their middle name! Left destitute by their philandering parents, the three Summerfield sisters—Tess, Lorene, and Genna—and their half-brother, Edmund, are the talk of the ton … for all the wrong reasons! They are at the mercy of the marriage mart to transport their family from the fringes of society to the dizzy heights of respectability. But with no dowries, and a damaged reputation, only some very special matches can survive the scandalous Summerfields! Meet tempestuous Tess in Bound by Duty April 2015 And look out for the rest of the family’s exploits, coming soon!

Author Note AUTHOR NOTE Author Note Title Page About the Author Dedication 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 Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Epilogue Extract Copyright An idea for a story might come from anywhere. A random event. A place. A character from history. For my new mini-series, The Scandalous Summerfields, the spark came from a previous generation of my own family—my mother and her sisters and brother. I did not want to tell their life stories, though. They lived ordinary lives, heroic in ordinary ways, minus the drama and conflict of a romance novel. Instead I took inspiration from them. Like my mother and her sisters, the Summerfields are left to fend for themselves at a young age. My mother’s parents died when my mother was barely in her twenties and her youngest sister was still in high school. Their brother—the oldest—had already married and had children of his own, so the three sisters needed to band together to take care of each other. As a result, my mother and my aunts were extremely close for their whole lives. My Aunt Loraine even lived with us until I was a teenager. There was not a day that went by when she and my mother did not talk on the phone, nor a week that passed without them calling my Aunt Gerry, who lived some distance away. I wanted my Summerfield sisters to have this closeness to each other, and to their brother. I wanted to honour that special bond I saw in my mother and aunts—a bond I share with my own two sisters. I hope you enjoy Book One of The Scandalous Summerfields.

Title Page Bound by Duty Diane Gaston www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author DIANE GASTON always said that if she were not a mental health social worker she’d want to be a romance novelist, writing the historical romances she loved to read. When this dream came true she discovered a whole new world of friends and happy endings. Diane lives in Virginia, near Washington, DC, with her husband and three very ordinary house cats. She loves to hear from readers! Contact her at www.dianegaston.com or on Facebook or Twitter.

Dedication To the memory of my mother, Teresa Gaston, a kind and gentle soul who was always quietly there for me, and who would never, ever hurt anyone’s feelings.

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

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

February 1815 —Lincolnshire, England

The winter wind rattled the windowpanes of Summerfield House as Tess Summerfield answered her older sister’s summons.

Come to the morning room immediately , her note said.

More bad news, Tess feared. It seemed lately that the only time Lorene summoned her and their youngest sister, Genna, to that parlour was to hear bad news.