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A Rival Heir
Jerome Everard expected to inherit his wayward uncle’s estate. Instead, all has gone to a secret daughter. Only by disproving his young cousin’s claim can Jerome regain his rightful property. But instead, he finds himself drawn to her lovely governess, Adele Walcott—a woman who holds the key to all of his uncle’s secrets.
Adele’s fortune is gone, along with her marriage prospects. Now she is devoted to securing her charge’s happiness. When she meets Jerome, she dares to dream of love again. But after learning his true motives, that love comes to a test. Can she forgive his past and reform his heart…to make it hers forever?
The Rogue’s Reform
Regina Scott
House of Secrets
Marta Perry
The Rogue’s Reform
Regina Scott
She drew herself up, brows gathering in a thundercloud, eyes flashing like the lightning inside. “I find this highly unusual, Mr. Everard. Exactly what did you expect to find in Cumberland?”
A little girl with designs on their legacy, an aging governess willing to help her, the secret that would prove the end to them both. “Frankly, madam,” Jerome said, “I’m no longer sure. I thought you were my cousin.”
Instead of taking the wind from her sails, the statement only caused her to raise her chin higher, as if she prided herself on her position. “I’m her governess, Miss Walcott.”
The governess. The woman to whom Uncle had entrusted his precious daughter. The woman who might know all his secrets. Unfortunately, she was also the one who, if Jerome didn’t manage to prove the girl a fraud, would stand as judge over him, Richard and Vaughn to grant or deny them their inheritances.
She held their future in her hands.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing The Rogue’s Reform, the first book in the Everard Legacy miniseries. Jerome, Richard and Vaughn Everard have been in my head for some time, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to share their stories with you.
I’m also thankful that Love Inspired Books has been sharing stories with readers for fifteen years. This month marks the anniversary of the first Love Inspired Historical book. I’m honored to be part of that tradition and delighted to join the celebration.
I love to welcome visitors to my website, too. Please feel free to contact me via www.reginascott.com, where you can also read about my upcoming books and learn more about life in early nineteenth-century England.
Blessings!
Regina Scott
To William, for putting up with a lot, and to
my Lord, who puts up with more and still loves me.
* * *
Instead, speaking the truth in love,
we will in all things grow up into Him
who is the Head, that is Christ.
—Ephesians 4:15
Contents
Chapter One
Evendale Valley, Cumberland, England
Spring 1805
So that was the enemy’s lair.
Jerome Everard reined in at the foot of the graveled drive. Just ahead, Dallsten Manor sat proudly on a rise, the afternoon sun warming the red sandstone towers at either end and glinting off the multipaned windows of the central block. Fields rolled away all around to meet woods still bare from winter. Beside him, the iron gates of the estate lay open, with a stone cottage standing silent guard.