An Untamed Governess For The Rogue (Steamy Historical Regency) Read online

  An Untamed Governess for the Rogue

  A Steamy Regency Romance

  Olivia Bennet

  Edited by

  Robin Spencer

  Contents

  A Thank You Gift

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Extended Epilogue

  A Sinful Duke she can’t Refuse

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Also by Olivia Bennet

  About the Author

  A Thank You Gift

  Thanks a lot for purchasing my book. It really means a lot to me, because this is the best way to show me your love.

  As a Thank You gift I have written a full length novel for you called Daring Fantasies of a Noble Lady. It’s only available to people who have downloaded one of my books and you can get your free copy by tapping this link here.

  Once more, thanks a lot for your love and support.

  With love and appreciation,

  Olivia Bennet

  About the Book

  He is her reason for existence. She is his ultimate risk...

  After losing both her parents, Teresa Dowels' future seems uncertain. Forced to leave the house she grew up in, she finds employment as a governess at the Duke of Rowfex’s mysterious manor.

  Luke Morton, second son of the Duke of Rowfex, is trying to preserve a well-hidden family secret. But life as he knows it changes the day he saves his younger sibling’s ravishing governess from rape.

  However, it is only a matter of time before the attacker, a notorious criminal with an ulterior motive, strikes again...

  When Luke disappears, all pieces seem to connect. With Teresa discovering the ugly truth about his family, time is against her. And only a miracle can keep them both alive...

  Chapter 1

  A stormy gray sky loomed overhead as the carriage trundled along the country roads, the wheels bouncing over every stone and rut. Miss Teresa Dowels clung on for dear life, her heart lurching with every jolt, splintering her already fractured nerves.

  The coach had arrived earlier that morning, in the wilds of Cumbria, and was set to deliver her to her new life at the Rowfex Estate. Having never been more than a few miles out of her home town of Holmleigh Thatch, this was already proving to be a rather tremulous adventure. She longed to turn back, and retreat to the place she had known all her life, but she knew she could not. There was nothing there for her now.

  I must be strong.

  At two-and-twenty, it seemed foolish that she should call herself an orphan, and yet the title remained. The word echoed in her heart, hollow and painful.

  This is for the best. If she had remained in Holmleigh Thatch, she would have been destined for a life of spinsterhood, isolated in the cottage she loved so dearly. Either that, or she would have become the wife of some farmer or other.

  She had wanted more from life, and this opportunity was to be her way out of the banality of her former existence. She could not balk now, no matter how scared she was. The position of governess to a wealthy family was not one to turn away from, and what hope did she have to use her education, back in the little village she had come from?

  She wished she might have one familiar face to look upon when she reached her new home, but that was not to be. Her dear friend, Rachel, who had been the very person to acquire this position for her, was the departing governess. Married now, with a child due very soon, she would be gone before Teresa arrived. She had decided to move back to Cumbria, to be with her family, while her husband was away in France, fighting in the war. Teresa could not blame her. Family was so very important.

  She swallowed her nerves as the carriage continued to bounce along the road, sending a sharp pain through her spine as they hit a particularly brutal rut.

  The first spots of rain began to spit against the windows of the coach as Teresa tried to settle. Alone in the carriage, she wished she might have had some company, to keep her calm. It was unusual to travel alone, but her future employer had sent the carriage without a chaperone to accompany her, so she supposed it was acceptable, this once.

  They had been traveling for hours already, and she did not know when she might reach the distant horizon of her new life. It only gave her mind free rein to wander as it pleased, conjuring up a thousand fears.

  What if they do not care for me? What if they send me away?

  That was infinitely more worrying than leaving her village, for she would have to return in shame and disappointment. I will not give them such an opportunity. I will prove myself and make myself invaluable to the family. She knew very little of the Rowfex family, but Rachel had informed her, via correspondence, that they were well-respected amongst the upper echelons of society.

  Once she reached the estate, she would be responsible for the three youngest children. There were six of them, in total, by all accounts, but the eldest three were of an age where they no longer required the attention of a governess. Three children is a manageable number.

  She had assisted in the village school on several occasions, and taught from her own home, and those young ones had been much less well-behaved than the Rowfex children were likely to be.

  All will be well. All will be well. She repeated the mantra until she started to believe it.

  Suddenly, thunder growled in the distance, sending a shiver of terror through her body. She counted quietly, to try and sense how far away the ensuing lightning would be. Her slender hands trembled on the squabs, her sweet voice humming softly to try and stay her anxiety. She turned her gaze out towards the countryside beyond, the autumn sun beginning its descent into night. It would soon be dark, and she did not know what terrors the gloom might bring, in this strange new world.

  With every roar of thunder, she jumped violently. Being the only coach upon the road, and the only carriage she had seen in a long while, she felt woefully exposed. And, with the driver sitting upon his box, she could not even look to him for comfort. Never had she felt more alone.

  A few minutes later, lightning split the atmosphere, sparking through the bruised clouds and shivering down to the ground in a crackling fork. She reeled back from the window, pressing herself up against the backboard, wanting to hide from the blinding light. Nature’s destructive impulse in all its terrifying glory. She hoped the carriage would be able to outrun it, especially in their vulnerable position upon the open road.

  Trees swayed in the near distance as the wind whipped up, howling past the windows, a draught creeping in through the narrow gaps in the door and window.

  Let the lightning strike those boughs instead. Please, I beg of you.

  She did not know whom she was praying to, though she hoped that the Lord above might be listening to her pleas.

  Suddenly, the carriage skidded to an abru
pt halt, catapulting her towards the opposite side of the interior. She hit the floor with a thud, scrambling to regain her purchase. Beyond the door, she heard the horses whinnying in fright. Something was wrong, but she could not see the front of the coach to decipher what.

  Her whole body was shaking as she dragged herself back across the carriage, to sit back down on the squabs. Surely, they had simply hit a treacherous ditch, and would soon be on their way? She decided to remain where she was, and let the driver contend with the problem. After all, she would only get in his way.

  No sooner had she made the decision to stay put than she heard the sound of strange voices—deep and masculine. Her eyes widened in panic. They sounded brusque and abrasive, muffled by the stormy winds that tore around the carriage. And the horses were whinnying far louder now, their worried snorts striking fear into her heart.

  Should I investigate? Truly, she did not know.

  She ducked back into the darkness of the carriage as a shadow loomed across the window. Glimpsing a figure, she almost screamed. It was a tall gentleman with fabric wrapped around the lower half of his face, a hat cocked atop his head, shrouding his features. She clamped her hands across her mouth as the door handle turned, and the door itself was wrenched open, letting in the elements. Only, that wasn’t what scared her. It was the barrel of the flintlock pistol, pointed at her face.

  “You,” the disguised gentleman growled. “Give me your money and your valuables. All of it, now!”

  Tears sprang to her eyes, as she sat there, utterly petrified, unable to speak.

  “Are you mute?” the gentleman barked. “Your money, now!”

  “I… I do not have any, Sir,” she whispered, barely able to breathe, much less speak.

  “Nonsense. This is a Rowfex carriage. I would know the crest anywhere,” he snarled. “You must be one of their daughters, so do not try to fool me. Your money and your valuables, or I will take your life as payment. Perhaps I will take more, if I so please.”

  She shook her head frantically. “Please, I have nothing. I… I am the governess. I do not have anything to give you. Please, I beg of you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What about that necklace?”

  Her hands shot to the pendant at her throat, covering it as though that would somehow divert his attention away from it. It was her sole, treasured possession in this world—a gift from her mother, which had been passed down from her mother, and so on, throughout the female line of their family.

  “It is worth nothing to you,” she said, her voice catching in her throat.

  “I will be the judge of that.” He spoke very well for a common highwayman, but that did not make him any more amenable to Teresa. She gripped the pendant tight, frozen with terror. She would not give it up. She could not. It was all she had left of her mother.

  “Please, Sir. It is all I have,” she begged.

  “It is a small price to pay for your life, is it not?” he replied. She could tell he was smirking beneath the black handkerchief that covered his mouth. It would have angered her, but she was too terrified to feel anything.

  He will kill me. I will die here if I do not give this to him. And yet, she could not bring herself to do it.

  “It was my mother’s. It is all I have of her.” Tears trickled down Teresa’s face, as she sought to find some empathy in this man. “Please, do not take it. Please.”

  “But I want it. Would you deny me what I want?”

  “Please…” The word came out on a strained breath, her lungs empty.

  He lunged forwards before she could attempt to defend herself, snatching for the necklace about her throat. His gloved fingertips scraped across her chest, tugging hard at the pendant. She thrashed against him, but there was nothing she could do. He was determined to have what belonged to her.

  She was certain she could hear her own heart breaking as the chain snapped, the pendant falling away in his hand as he tore it away from her. Spurred on by sudden impulse, she dove forwards and grappled with the fellow, trying to wrest the necklace back, the two of them falling out of the carriage and onto the sodden ground beyond.

  Pummeling him with her fists, she struggled in vain to retrieve her precious possession, but his fingers remained gripped around it like a vise, unyielding.

  “Smith!” the gentleman yelled. “Smith!”

  She tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late. Another figure appeared around the side of the coach. Teresa’s eyes darted toward a body on the wet road, blood mingling with the rainwater. The driver… She did not know what these brutes had done to him, but he did not appear to be moving, which meant she was in far more danger than she realized.

  The figure, who appeared to be the man named Smith, hurried to aid his accomplice, grasping Teresa by the shoulders and flinging her away from him. She crashed into the exterior of the carriage, smacking her head against the wood with a hard thump that ricocheted through her. Dizziness swam through her skull as she struggled to get to her feet, knowing that her only choice was to run.

  Before they could grasp at her with their disgraceful hands, she sprinted for the open fields beyond, the world around her rumbling with thunder, as lightning flickered through the clouds, striking the ground with a deafening crack. Grabbing the cotton skirts of her forget-me-not blue gown, she ran for her life, the squelching mud and slithering weeds trying to claw at her ankles with every step she took.

  She had barely managed to run twenty yards when she felt something barrel into her, knocking her into the dirt, face first. She did not need to look to know it was one of the highwaymen. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as his weight crushed her into the mud, stealing the ragged air from her lungs.

  “You cannot run from me, Miss.” He chuckled darkly. “Perhaps you need to be taught obedience. I can think of a few lessons that might bring you to heel.”

  She panicked as she felt his hand slide down her back and across her thighs, tugging up the edges of her skirts. “No!” she screamed, as she thrashed with all her might, desperate to get away from this callous wretch.

  “Smith!” the man yelled. A moment later, she saw the other gentleman appear, similarly disguised in black clothing, with a handkerchief wrapped around the lower half of his face.

  “Yes, Boss?” he replied.

  “Hold her down.”

  Teresa screamed louder, fighting him with everything she had. She would not allow herself to be dishonored.

  “What?” Smith sounded dubious.

  “Hold her down!” the other man bellowed.

  “Are you sure, Boss?”

  “Do it, or you will be the one to suffer the consequences,” the other man shot back, venom dripping from his words. Meanwhile, Teresa howled and kicked, trying to escape the weight of him upon her. Her panic reached fever pitch, as she felt Smith grasp her arms, twisting them up behind her back with such vehemence that she thought he might tear them from her very body. The pain made her grimace, but she pushed it away, kicking and squirming with all her remaining strength.

  Her skirts were almost up around her waist, the fight fading from her limbs, when a sound pierced the air. At first, she thought it was another fork of lightning striking the earth. Only when the two men jumped up in terror did she realize she was mistaken. It was a musket.

  A second shot rang out, hitting Smith in the shoulder. He fell backwards, only to be dragged back up by the frantic hands of his accomplice. Putting his fingers to his mouth, the devil whistled so loud it shivered right through Teresa. The ground rumbled beneath her, as two horses appeared, charging towards the sound.

  A moment later, Smith and the other man leapt up into the saddles and dug in their heels, thundering as far away from the scene of their crime as possible. Even then, Teresa could not bring herself to sit up. She lacked the strength, her body shuddering violently from the fear and the cold of the water that drenched her.

  Black spots danced in her field of vision as the dizziness took over. Soon, she was goi
ng to faint. She could feel it, creeping through her veins, threatening to steal away her consciousness.

  He has my mother’s necklace… Despite everything, that was the only thing she could think about as she battled to keep awake.

  She did not know who had frightened the two highwaymen away, nor did she care at this current moment. That wretch had stolen something more valuable than all the gold in the world. Determined, she tried to get to her feet, her knees knocking as she struggled upwards. Even though she knew it was futile, she tried to go after the highwaymen, only to collapse a moment later, hitting the ground with one conclusive thud.