Condemned & Admired Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  About the Book

  Free gift

  Prologue

  Chapter One – Of the Sea

  Chapter Two – A Noble Bloodline

  Chapter Three – Loyalty

  Chapter Four − A Wedding Day

  Chapter Five – A New Adventure

  Chapter Six – A Chance Encounter on the High Seas

  Chapter Seven – Two Vessels

  Chapter Eight – A Rare Woman

  Chapter Nine – A Ghost of the Past

  Chapter Ten – A Daring Plan

  Chapter Eleven – An Honourable Man

  Chapter Twelve – Sacrifices

  Chapter Thirteen – A Word Given

  Chapter Fourteen – Family History

  Chapter Fifteen – Rosewood Manor

  Chapter Sixteen – An Informative Carriage Ride

  Chapter Seventeen – A House, but not a Home

  Chapter Eighteen – A Privateer’s Daughter

  Chapter Nineteen – Preparations

  Chapter Twenty – Borrowed Time

  Chapter Twenty-One – Lord Grafton’s Ball

  Chapter Twenty-Two – A Taste of the Past

  Chapter Twenty-Three – Birth Right

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Not a Gentleman

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Heart & Mind

  Chapter Twenty-Six – A Frenchman’s Return

  Chapter Twenty-Seven – Lady Juliet’s Choice

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – In Society’s Good Graces

  Chapter Twenty-Nine – Open Words

  Chapter Thirty – A Marquess’s Plot

  Chapter Thirty-One – A Viscount’s Act

  Chapter Thirty-Two – Silcox Manor

  Chapter Thirty-Three – A Sister’s Brother

  Chapter Thirty-Four – A Father’s Heir

  Chapter Thirty-Five – A Father’s Right

  Chapter Thirty-Six – A Proposal

  Chapter Thirty-Seven – A Family Comes Full Circle

  Chapter Thirty-Eight – Farewell

  Chapter Thirty-Nine – Letter of Marque

  Epilogue

  About Bree

  Also By Bree

  Dear Reader,

  Read a Sneak-Peek of

  Prologue

  Overview Love's Second Chance Series

  Love's Second Chance Series 1 - 10

  Bree's Belles of the Ball

  Condemned & Admired

  The Earl’s Cunning Wife

  (#9 Love’s Second Chance Series)

  by Bree Wolf

  Condemned & Admired − The Earl’s Cunning Wife

  by Bree Wolf

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, brands, media, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Victoria Cooper

  Copyright © 2018 Sabrina Wolf

  www.breewolf.com

  All Rights Reserved

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To Lisa M Broussard

  A wonderful reader who gave this story's heroine her beautiful name

  Acknowledgements

  My thank-you to all of you who've helped with feedback, typo detection, character and plot development, editing, formatting, cover creation, and the biggie…spreading the word…so that countless readers can now enjoy these stories of love's second chance.

  To name only a few: Michelle Chenoweth, Monique Taken, Zan-Mari Kiousi, Tray-Ci Roberts, Kim Bougher, Vicki Goodwin, Denise Boutin, Elizabeth Greenwood, Corinne Lehmann, Lynn Herron, Karen Semones, Maria DB, Kim O'Shea, Tricia Toney, Deborah Montiero, Keti Vezzu, Patty Michinko, Lynn Smith, Vera Mallard, Isabella Nanni, Carol Bisig, Susan Czaja, Teri Donaldson, Anna Jimenez and Tammy Windsor.

  An additional thank you goes to Marie-Andrée Gignac, who read through all those French expressions uttered by Antoine and Henri, making certain they're...well, actual French expressions.

  About the Book

  A French privateer’s daughter. A marquess’s son.

  And a chance encounter on the high seas.

  Twelve years ago, Lady Silcox fled England with her six-year-old daughter Violet to spare her the life she herself had been forced into: an arranged marriage to an older man.

  Today, VIOLET WINTERS is a grown woman sailing the seas on her French stepfather’s privateer, dreaming of commandeering a ship of her own. However, when she stumbles upon a betrothal announcement of the man she was set to marry, Violet cannot help but feel honour-bound to protect the woman who had been forced to take her place.

  Fortune smiles on Violet and delivers an English lord into her hands – and with him the chance to return to England unrecognised.

  OLIVER CORNELL, EARL OF CULLINGWOOD, is trapped in a life he abhors. Not seen as a son, but merely an heir, he dreams of sailing the seas, the epitome of freedom.

  By sheer happenstance, Oliver ends up on a merchant vessel, which is promptly boarded by a French privateer. On board the Chevalier Noir, Oliver meets the captain’s daughter, a woman unlike any other he has ever met. Utterly fascinated by the adventurous gleam in her eyes, he does not hesitate to offer his assistance when Violet finds herself in need of a guide to London’s upper society.

  Revelling in his first taste of adventure, Oliver poses as her husband…only to realise before long that posing as her husband will not be good enough.

  Can a privateer’s daughter and a marquess’s son ever have a happily-ever-after? Or is their love doomed to fail?

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  Prologue

  Norfolk, England 1796 (or a variation thereof)

  Twelve Years Ago

  “Violet, Sweetheart, wake up.”

  Snuggling deeper into the pillow, six-year-old Violet Winters, daughter to Viscount Silcox, tried to hold on to the sweet oblivion of slumber. Still, her mother’s gentle but insistent voice reached her little mind, tickling it awake and chasing away the last remnants of sleep.

  A deep yawn opened Violet’s mouth, and she rubbed her hand over her eyes. Blinking into the night’s darkness, she looked up at her mother sitting on the side of her bed, a heavy woollen cloak wrapped around her shoulders and a small bundle sitting in her lap. Her golden hair–the same colour as Violet’s–was hidden under the black cloak and her blue eyes seemed dark in the dimness of the room. “Mummy?” Violet squeaked, her voice sounding too loud in the silence that engulfed them.

  “Shhh,” her mother whispered, putting her right index finger to her lips, her eyes darting to the door at her back as though she expected someone to happen upon them at any moment.

  A frown drew down Violet’s brows as she saw the strain on her mother’s face. Something was wrong! Even at the innocent age of six years, Violet could see that the slight tremble in her mother’s hands was not due to the chill of the season. Nor could the way she glanced over her shoulder every few seconds be attributed to anything harmless.

  Violet swallowed as she recognised the hint of fear that rested in her mother’s eyes. “What’s wrong, Mummy?”

  A soft smile came to her mother’s face as she brushed a gentle hand over her daughter’s head and then cupped
her cheek. “Everything’s fine,” she whispered, leaning close as she kept her voice down. “We’re going on a little adventure.”

  “An adventure?” Violet glanced toward the windows where heavy curtains shut out the night. “But it’s still dark.”

  Squeezing her daughter’s hands, Alexandra Winters, Viscountess Silcox, nodded. “Precisely,” she whispered, and for the first time, Violet thought to see a touch of excitement under the fear that clouded her mother’s eyes.

  “Come, you need to get dressed.” Pulling back the blanket, her mother reached for a dress and a cloak lying over the back of Violet’s bed. “But quietly. We must not make a sound, but be as quiet as mice, do you understand?”

  Although Violet could not imagine why her mother urged her out of bed in the middle of the night, she nodded and quickly did as she was bid. After all, Violet’s little heart felt nothing but unconditional love and trust toward her mother. Always had she wiped away her daughter’s tears. Always had she comforted her on stormy nights. Always had she whispered words of love and promise in her ear.

  No, there was not a single doubt in Violet’s head as she pulled the cloak tightly around her small shoulders and then followed her mother out into the corridor.

  Still, her heart beat loudly, and the fingers of her right hand curled almost painfully into the woollen cloak while the other rested safely in her mother’s.

  Like shadows, they rushed down the dark corridor, past closed doors and then down one of the servants’ staircases in the back of Silcox Manor. Everything looked different at night, with the sun locked away tightly, and nothing but the silvery light of the moon touching the world. There were no sounds of rushing footsteps–none but their own–nor any voices whispering nearby. Only the wind howled around the house as it blew in from the sea and swept over the cliffs to the east of her father’s country estate.

  All her life, Violet had lived here, in a house full of servants with her mother by her side. Her father occasionally visited them and insisted that his wife accompany him to London for a few weeks each year during the season. These weeks were the most awful of Violet’s life.

  Away from her mother.

  Alone and unwanted.

  Despite her young age, Violet knew very well that her birth had been a disappointment to her father as was the fact that no further child had been born these past six years. Her father wished for nothing more than a son.

  An heir.

  He had no use for a daughter, and he did not try to hide his resentment.

  Early on, Violet had learnt that her father was not one to turn to with the joys and sorrows of life. Instead, her little heart had turned to the woman who never failed to look at her with love and devotion shining in her blue eyes.

  Alexandra Winters, Viscountess Silcox, was her daughter’s whole world…and Violet would have followed her into hell if she had asked.

  Unlocking the heavy door, her mother looked down at Violet, a slight smile playing on her lips, and squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Are you ready?”

  Violet nodded. “Where are we going?”

  “On a ship.”

  “A ship?” Violet’s little heart skipped a beat. “You mean, like Gulliver’s Travels?”

  Her mother sighed, momentarily leaning against the door. Then her dark blue eyes turned to her daughter. “I do not know what awaits us, my sweet child, but I am certain that we will find happiness out there that has been denied us in here.” Then she drew in a deep breath, pushed open the heavy door with a slight grunt and pulled her daughter out into the night towards a new life.

  Before they had even taken more than two steps, the wind rushed toward them, brushing over their cheeks and stealing under their hoods, pulling strands of their golden hair loose. Her mother’s hand tightened on Violet’s as she leaned into the wind and headed down the small path leading down toward the cliffs and the beach below.

  Violet could hear the howling of a nearing storm, and even in the dark she could make out heavy clouds drifting in from the sea. Beside them, Silcox Manor loomed like a giant in the night, and Violet could not help but feel relieved with each step they took toward their adventure and away from the prison that had been their home.

  With her mother’s hand wrapped tightly around her own, Violet followed her down the small path snaking toward the beach, her little feet stumbling over rocks here and there. Still, her mother’s grasp never wavered, catching her when need be.

  Heading down the slope toward the beach, Violet glanced apprehensively at the tall boulders that seemed to have risen out of the earth and cast dark shadows even in the dim light of the silvery moon overhead. Her heart thudded wildly, and she did her best to remind herself that they were not monsters come to devour her, but merely tricks her mind played on her in the dark.

  Still, when her eyes caught movement among the shadows and then something jumped into their path, a terrified shriek tore from Violet’s lips.

  Fortunately, it was drowned out by the howling of the wind.

  Clinging to her mother, Violet stared at the shadow as it moved closer and then stepped into the light of the moon. Only then did her heart slow down as she saw that the monster was not a monster after all, but a man.

  A man dressed almost completely in black were it not for the white shirt peeking out from under his vest and tailcoat. His dark hair was half-hidden under a sea captain’s hat, and his eyes shone steel grey in the light of the moon. A sword dangled from his hip, and he moved with cat-like stealth. Everything about this man seemed dangerous, threatening.

  Everything but his eyes.

  For they looked at Violet’s mother with such longing and devotion that the little girl soon forgot to be afraid. Instead, curiosity filled her as she observed the way he took her mother’s hand, his thumb gently brushing over her knuckles as his gaze held hers. “Are you all right, ma chérie?” he asked, a strange lilt to his voice. “Did anyone see you?”

  “I do not believe so,” her mother replied, a soft smile on her face as she looked at him…and for a long moment, neither one of them said a word, the world around them all but forgotten.

  Squeezing her mother’s hand, Violet looked up at them, surprised by the glow that had come to her mother’s face. “Mummy?”

  Her mother swallowed, then blinked as though waking from a dream. “This is my daughter,” she said, looking down at Violet and pulling her closer into her arms. “Violet.”

  The man nodded, and his eyes drifted down to her. “Bonsoir, Violette,” he addressed her, a gentle smile coming to his lips as he knelt in front of her. “Have you ever been on a ship?”

  Violet shook her head. “Are you a pirate?” she asked, surprising even herself by asking that question.

  The man laughed. “Not quite, ma petite. My name is Antoine Duret, and I am a privateer sailing under a French flag.” He glanced up at her mother, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. Then his eyes returned to Violet, and once more, she could see the depth of his emotions plainly on his face. “I’ve come to steal your mother away.” Again, he smiled as though his heart’s desire had just been fulfilled. “Your mother and you.” Then he held out his hand to her. “Will you come with me?”

  Glancing up at her mother, Violet could see that her eyes were glistening with tears. Still, her face held neither fear nor sorrow, but hope and trust instead. And in that moment, Violet knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that her mother had found someone to love.

  Someone who loved her just the same.

  And despite being only six years of age, Violet knew how precious that was.

  After all, did not her mother always say that love was the one thing not even the rich could buy?

  Taking a deep breath, Violet slipped her hand into Antoine’s, and his fingers closed around hers warmly, the same way her other hand rested in her mother’s. Perhaps this man who had come for them in the dark of night could not only love her mother, but Violet as well.

  As Antoine guided
them down toward the beach, Violet wondered if she would ever know the love of a father, if she would ever know what it felt like to be looked upon with pride.

  Violet could only hope so.

  Let the adventure begin.

  Chapter One – Of the Sea

  Somewhere off the coast of France 1808

  Twelve Years Later

  Standing at the bow as the ship cut through the water, Violette gazed out at the distant horizon. The sky shone in a bright blue, and the sun sparkled on the churning waves like a million diamonds. She inhaled a deep breath, tasting a hint of salt on her tongue as the wind brushed over her face like an old friend, pulling a few strands out of her plait.

  Long ago, Violette had chosen to leave her old life behind for good and with it the dress code of a society she hardly remembered. Embracing her new life, she now stood at the bow, wearing breeches, shirt, vest and tailcoat as most sailors dressed these days.

  As her father did as well.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Violette caught sight of him standing on the quarterdeck, eyes on the sea, always watchful. When his gaze met hers, the hint of a smile tugged on his lips, and he nodded his head to her.

  Twelve years.

  Twelve years had passed since that fateful night when Antoine Duret, Captain of the Chevalier Noir–the Black Knight–had come to Silcox Manor. Twelve years since her mother’s faith had set them both free. Twelve years since Violette had become the daughter of a French privateer.

  A sailor at heart.

  A daughter of the sea.

  A choice she had made for herself.

  Thinking of her little brothers and sisters, Victor, Vincent, Aime and Aurelie, Violette wondered what they would choose one day. Still, she knew it did not matter. What mattered was that they would have a choice. A choice many others did not have. A choice that had been hers because of her mother’s courage, because of her parents’ love for one another.