Catherine Tinley - Rags-To-Riches Wife

Lady’s maid…

To wedded lady?

Lady’s maid Jane Bailey’s life is turned upside down by the arrival of wealthy gentleman Robert Kendal. He’s come to take Jane to visit her long-lost aristocratic grandfather. Traveling together, they succumb to a mutual attraction. Yet Jane knows a maid should not hope to love a gentleman, even if she’s suddenly wearing silk dresses and dining with the family. Society decrees they cannot marry, but how long can Jane deny her heart?

CATHERINE TINLEYhas loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance and happy endings. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, dog and kitten, and can be reached at catherinetinley.com, as well as through Facebook and @CatherineTinleyon Twitter.

Also by Catherine Tinley

The Earl’s Runaway Governess

The Chadcombe Marriages miniseries

Waltzing with the Earl

The Captain’s Disgraced Lady

The Makings of a Lady

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Rags-to-Riches Wife

Catherine Tinley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90125-7

RAGS-TO-RICHES WIFE

© 2020 Catherine Tinley

Published in Great Britain 2020

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.

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For my sisters, Donna and Aisling, with love.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Prologue

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

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

‘Your papa has passed away.’

‘What? I do not understand.’ Even as she spoke, the impact of the doctor’s words swept through Jane. It was as though they were a dark cloud, seeping through her ears to contaminate every part of her. ‘Passed away?’

The doctor looked pained. ‘I am very sorry, little one. I tried very hard to save Mr Bailey, but the fever was too strong.’

Behind him, his assistant, a middle-aged woman, emerged from the bedchamber with a dish filled with blood.

They bled him, yet still he died? Her own internal words sank in. He is dead. Papa is dead.

‘Impossible!’ Her voice sounded strange, as if it was not her own. ‘I want Mama!’

Before the doctor could stop her she dashed forward, then stopped abruptly in the doorway. This was her parents’ bedchamber—the place that had always been her haven, her refuge. When she was upset, or had a nightmare, they sometimes allowed her to share their bed. Snuggling up to Mama and Papa had always been her moment of perfect happiness—even though she had recently celebrated her eighth birthday and had a tiny chamber of her own.

Her eyes were drawn immediately to the bed. There he was, looking white and strange and still and most unlike himself. ‘Papa?’

‘Oh, my darling Jane!’ Mama rose from a hard chair beside the bed. Her eyes were red with endless tears and lack of sleep. ‘He is gone. Papa is gone.’

They held each other, crying together for an eternity. The doctor quietly closed the door.

In the days that followed Jane gradually understood that losing Papa had more implications than simply being the cause of untold grief. Without Papa’s earnings as clerk to Mr Simmons—the best lawyer in Duxford—they would no longer be able to stay in Rose Cottage, their little rented home.

Jane was old enough to understand a little of how things worked.

‘But Mama, where shall we live? And how shall we get money for food?’

‘Hush, child. We shall manage.’

Yet Mama looked worried, as if she was not entirely sure just how they would manage.

Jane thought about it carefully. ‘What of Papa’s family? He spoke to me of my grandfather and told me they had become estranged. Could we not write to him? Perhaps—’

‘Out of the question!’ Mama’s tone was sharp. ‘Your father’s family wanted nothing to do with him. That has not changed—in fact it is even less likely now Papa is gone. Your grandfather’s cruelty towards my Ned was implacable. There is no way back. Do not speak of it again!’

Jane gulped. ‘Yes, Mama.’

Mama’s face softened. ‘When I met your papa I was a servant—and a very good one. I shall find us a situation and we will both work hard so we can be comfortable.’

Without Papa? Jane thought. I shall never be comfortable again.