Daddy Lessonse
Arthur, Lord Trelawney, is an expert at carrying coded messages for the government—and a complete amateur in caring for children. Before courting a widowed acquaintance with two babies, he decides to practice with the rescued orphans sheltering at his family estate. A practical idea…until he meets their lovely nurse.
Maris Oliver is drawn to the principled, handsome nobleman, even if he’s expected to woo another woman. Both have secrets that threaten their safety and their fragile trust. But if Maris’s sweet charges have their way, Arthur won’t need to venture beyond his own front door to find a woman he’ll risk all to protect and love.
“Must you always obey the canons of Society?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You are always polite to the point it can become aggravating.”
Her eyes widened. “Would you have me be otherwise?”
“At times, yes! The ton did not collapse when the children began to address me as Arthur. It feels absurd when you continue to call me ‘my lord.’ Why don’t you do as they do?”
“They are children. They are excused from making such a faux pas.”
“How can it be a faux pas if I ask you to address me so?”
Maris had no quick answer to give him. To let his name form on her lips… If other servants or members of his family heard, would they be as accepting as they were with the children?
As if she had aired her thoughts aloud, he said, “It would be only when we’re with the children or when we are having a conversation like tonight. Could we at least try tonight?”
“Yes.”
He raised a single brow.
“Yes, Arthur,” she said with a faint smile. How sweet his name tasted on her lips!
JO ANN BROWN has always loved stories with happy-ever-after endings. A former military officer, she is thrilled to have the chance to write stories about people falling in love. She is also a photographer, and she travels with her husband of more than thirty years to places where she can snap pictures. They live in Nevada with three children and a spoiled cat. Drop her a note at joannbrownbooks.com.
Family in the Making
Jo Ann Brown
For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly.
If thou do these things, show thyself to the world.
—John 7:4
For my dear son Peter and his beautiful bride, Meghan
You are beginning your lives together as a family
May you always be as filled with joy and love as you are on the day you say “I do.”
Contents
Porthlowen, Cornwall October 1812
Another inch. One little inch, and she would have it.
Maris Oliver stood on tiptoe on the chair and stretched her arm across the top shelf, groping for the box she had seen from the floor. When she had asked the cook about a box of small cups, Mrs. Ford told her to look in the stillroom. She wanted to retrieve the cups that were decorated with nursery rhyme characters to use in the nursery.
“Just another inch,” she muttered to herself as the stool wobbled under her toes.
She could have waited and asked a footman to help her, but she wanted the cups for the children’s next meal. She had read the rhymes to them, and they would be excited to see the characters. Making the youngsters smile always was a delight.
The four tots and tiny baby in the nursery, as well as the little boy who lived with the parson and his wife, had been discovered floating in a jolly boat