Ann Lethbridge - An Earl For The Shy Widow

The new earl

And the lady he should resist!

Part of The Widows of Westram: Having left the army to take up the title of Earl of Longhurst, Ethan feels the weight of his new responsibilities. He was brusque with the woman picking blackberries, only to find she’s his neighbor Lady Petra, who helps him despite his gruffness. A wealthy bride would save his estate, but all he can think about is this shy, kind and penniless widow!

In her youth, award-winning author ANN LETHBRIDGE reimagined the Regency romances she read—and now she loves writing her own. Now living in Canada, Ann visits Britain every year, where family members understand—or so they say—her need to poke around every antiquity within a hundred miles. Learn more about Ann or contact her at annlethbridge.com. She loves hearing from readers.

Also by Ann Lethbridge

Secrets of the Marriage Bed

An Innocent Maid for the Duke

Rescued by the Earl’s Vows

Rakes in Disgrace miniseries

The Gamekeeper’s Lady

More Than a Mistress

Deliciously Debauched by the Rake

More Than a Lover

The Widows of Westram miniseries

A Lord for the Wallflower Widow

An Earl for the Shy Widow

And look out for the last book,

coming soon

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

An Earl for the Shy Widow

Ann Lethbridge

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08907-4

AN EARL FOR THE SHY WIDOW

© 2019 Michèle Ann Young

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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This book is dedicated to you,

my good friend and teacher, Sandra Atri.

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

and for making me want to go to the gym

instead of dragging my feet.

It has been a great year

and I am looking forward to the next one.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

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

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Autumn sunlight flooded into the tiny drawing room at Westram Cottage. Lady Petra strode to the window. Beneath a blue sky, a slight breeze stirred the leaves of a nearby oak tree and nodded the heads of the red roses along the path to the front door. A perfect afternoon for a ride, if one had a horse.

She sighed and wandered back to her chair. She picked up the embroidery she’d been working on a few moments before. A handkerchief for her brother Red, the Earl of Westram. So boring. She cast it aside and got up to straighten the portrait of her mother on the opposite wall.

‘Petra,’ her older sister, Lady Marguerite Saxby, said, ‘please stop pacing. You are making me dizzy.’

Remorseful, Petra spun around. ‘I am sorry. I did not mean to disturb you.’

Auburn haired and green eyed, Marguerite was seated at the table going through her correspondence. As usual, her luxuriant tresses were pinned back severely beneath her widow’s cap. Although she returned Petra’s smile, there was sadness in her eyes. Marguerite hadn’t looked anything but sad since she was widowed.

Did Petra have that same look? She strode to the glass over the mantel and peered at her reflection. Unlike her older siblings, she took after her mother with blonde hair and blue eyes. Did she also look sad?

She closed her eyes against her reflection, unwilling to admit to sadness. Yet perhaps she could acknowledge regret. After all, it was partly her fault that she and Harry had had such a blazing row.

She had been so happy for the first few months of her marriage. It had come as a painful shock to realise that Harry, already bored with his brand-new wife, was seeking his entertainments elsewhere. If she’d been a proper ton nish wife and simply ignored his infidelities, brushed it off as something every fashionable husband did, things would have turned out very differently. But it had hurt so much, she could not remain silent. And the more she complained, the worse he behaved until, during their last argument, she’d accused him of not loving her any more. He’d shouted back that he had never loved her and had only married her because his father insisted on it.

He’d said she was a stupid little girl who had ruined his life.

The pain had left her speechless.

The next thing she knew he had stormed off to fight the French. Worse yet was him taking her brother and her brother-in-law with him. Not only had Harry broken her heart, but her stupid naivety had cost her sisters their husbands.

She turned away from the glass.

‘Do you not have mending to do?’ Marguerite asked.

‘All done.’

‘What about the garden? Doesn’t it need attention?’

Petra shook her head. ‘Every time I pick up a shovel or pull a weed, Jeb leaps in to take over. Red seems to have given him very definite ideas about what a lady should or should not do. Honestly, I miss making hats.’