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!
Read where it all started with tempestuous Tess’s story
Bound by Duty Already available
Read Edmund’s story
Bound by One Scandalous Night Available now
And look out for the rest of the family’s exploits, coming soon!
In my author note for Bound by Duty I said that I’d based The Scandalous Summerfields mini-series on my mother and her sisters and brother. Not their life stories, mind you, but as inspiration. Edmund Summerfield, the hero of this book, represents my uncle Ed.
My mother was very close to her sisters, but her brother was older and never quite a part of that close-knit group. We’d see my uncle Ed at least once a year, but it was always for brief periods—an afternoon visit, an evening meal—always shared with lots of family. As a result, I did not know Uncle Ed very well. What I do remember about him, though, is his infectious laugh. When my uncle laughed, everyone laughed with him.
The only similarity between my uncle Ed and my hero Edmund is that both were somewhat separate from their close-knit sisters. In Edmund’s story I wanted to explore what it might be like to be in a family but not really a part of it. Edmund has dealt with this sense of being separate his whole life. Like so many of us, he pretends it doesn’t matter to him, when in reality he yearns to feel he belongs—as we all do.
Sometimes where we truly belong is not entirely clear to us, but I believe everyone has such a place. Will Edmund believe it as well?
Bound by
One Scandalous
Night
Diane Gaston
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 dianegaston.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
To the memory of my uncle, Edward Gelen, with his shock of white hair and infectious laugh.
Contents
Early hours of June 16th, 1815—Brussels, Belgium
Brussels was in chaos.
Bugles blared in the streets, their sounds echoing off the huge buildings of the Grand Place, repeating, over and over the call to arms. All officers and soldiers must report for duty!
For battle.
Wellington had learned that Napoleon and