Claiming the Duchess (Fitzhugh Trilogy Book 0.5) Read online

Clarissa danced. It was three o’clock in the morning, but she was still bursting with energy and euphoria. Thanks to Christian’s promise to look after her guests in her stead, she and her wonderful James had been able to spend eight solid hours together, making love, talking, making love some more, and talking some more. And once her lover stopped thinking of her as the Duchess of Lexington, but only as his dearest friend and correspondent, he didn’t even have that much trouble speaking.

  Now she had to wait until morning to see him again—morning could not come soon enough.

  She was twirling past the fireplace for the third time when a light knock came, followed by an envelope from under the door.

  When she opened the unsealed envelope, she was greeted by a most familiar and beloved hand.

  My dear Duchess,

  I know I have said it in your presence, but permit me to also set it down in writing: This has been the most marvelous day of my life. I am filled with such a sense of well-being and invincibility that I just might attempt giving a speech in public. Perhaps I’d even commandeer the nearest piano, pound its keys, and sing at the top of my lungs.

  I am drunk without having touched a drop of spirits.

  Will you make me permanently intoxicated with life and all its beauty by consenting to become my wife? I am already the happiest man alive. But as your husband, I would also be the proudest.

  Yours devotedly,

  J.M.K.

  She pressed the note against her heart, but only for a moment, as she rushed to open the door and pull him inside. Before he could speak, she placed a finger over his lips and led him to her sitting room, and with him leaning over her shoulder, penned her reply.

  My dear Mr. Kingston,

  Why, yes, of course I will marry you. I did say that I would choose a gentleman from among those at my house party for my future spouse, did I not? I am a woman of my word.

  If it is agreeable to you, let us marry as soon as we can obtain a special license. Where should we go for our honeymoon? We need not return until the Eton and Harrow game in July.

  Yours impatiently,

  Clarissa

  Her dear James solemnly read the note after she handed it to him, even though he already knew exactly what it said. He then kissed it, folded it carefully, and put it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

  “When your party disperses, will you come with me to my house and see my hydrangea garden?” he asked.

  In other words, would she like to come and see his heart held out before him and the hope that had sustained him all these years?

  She rose and wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, I will, darling. There is nothing I’d like to see more—except you, every day of my life.”

  Thank you for reading Claiming the Duchess.

  Want to know when the next Sherry Thomas novel will be released? Sign up for her newsletter at www.sherrythomas.com. You can also follow her on twitter at @sherrythomas and like her Facebook page at https://facebook.com/authorsherrythomas.

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  Claiming the Duchess is related to Beguiling the Beauty, which tells Christian’s story. An excerpt of Beguiling the Beauty is included ahead, as well as a list of Sherry’s other books.

  About the Author