Title: Earl of Griffith
Author: Aubrey Wynne
Genre: Historical romance, Regency romance
Publisher: Plato Publishing
Book Blurb:
Sorrow and Regrets…
Lady Helen was a young, naïve girl when she gave up everything for a charismatic Irishman and eloped. Finding herself a widow after a few short years, she is disillusioned with love and raising a three-year-old daughter alone. Her homecoming will be bittersweet as she faces her family, asking forgiveness for the lies and the worry she has caused. But her first encounter in England isn’t a family member. Helen’s brother has sent a handsome Welshman to fetch her, and he soon charms both her and her daughter.
An unexpected ray of sunshine…
Conway, Earl of Griffith assumed his title and Welsh estate at birth. His world is gray, full of responsibility, and lonely. Griffith agrees to help a friend, escorting his sister from Bristol to London. At first sight, Lady Helen illuminates his dull world, and her daughter adds laughter to his life. But he senses the woman’s haunted eyes are not only from grief and wonders what secrets she holds close to her heart. As his affection turns to love, Griff must find a way to convince the beautiful widow that love is worth another chance.
A sweet Regency romance.
Excerpt:
Summer, 1820
London, England
How goes it in Wales?” asked Stanfeld. “I hope the countess is well?”
“My grandmother will outlive me,” said the Earl of Griffith with a chuckle. “She’s too stubborn to die until she’s good and ready.” Conway’s grandmother still lived in the manor house with him. While there was a dowager house on the property, there seemed no reason for her to move until he was married. A fact she now reminded of him with regularity.
“And your brother, Brecken? I haven’t heard any news of an heir yet.” Stanfeld smiled. Conway reckoned he was thinking of producing his own heir soon. “Though it hasn’t been a year, has it?”
“No babe yet. They were married last September, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some good news in the near future.” Madoc, the Earl of Brecken was his half-brother and lived a few days’ ride or so from Gryff Estate. Doc’s bride, Evie, was lovely and vivacious. She was one of the few women Conway felt comfortable with.
“Any prospects for yourself, old man?” Stanfeld smiled and held up his glass. “There’s something to be said for the shackles when it’s the right woman. You must be thirty by now.”
“So I’ve been told,” he said with a snort. “I’ve yet to find that woman. Agreed, thirty-two is a bit long in the tooth for a female, but I may still have a few more years of bachelorhood left.”
“Don’t like the idea of the parson’s trap, eh, Griffith?” There was no judgment in Stanfeld’s voice, only curiosity. “I used to have the same aversion.”
“No, I truly don’t have an aversion for the institution. I’m just not… comfortable with the ridiculous pleasantries we have to endure to find a bride. If I have something to say, I say it. If someone asks me a question, I answer it.” Conway shrugged. “But to speak of this week’s weather for a polite ten minutes, when it doesn’t even pertain to the crops, seems like a waste of time to me. I either come off surly or like a green boy.”
“I don’t believe I’ve seen you in either light. When the right woman comes along, the words will flow.” Stanfeld laughed. “Or you’ll stutter like a dunderhead. Hmm, that could be a good wager for the Betting Book at White’s.”
“I’d prefer to do the wagering than be the object of the wager.”
“I’ll second that.” Stanfeld tapped his chest, then paused, his smile fading. He pulled a letter out from his waistcoat.
“Bad news?”
“Not exactly. I received a letter from Helen, my youngest sister.”
“The one in Ireland?”
Stanfeld nodded. “It seems she’s coming without her husband. Rather than landing up north, she’ll be arriving in Bristol for some reason. I need to find someone to meet her and accompany her to Stanfeld. My estate manager will escort her to the border from there. One of the MacNaughtons, my mother’s family, will bring her from there.”
“I was heading home at the end of the week. I could go to Bristol.”
Stanfeld’s blue eyes sparked with relief. “Really? She should have a lady’s maid with her and my three-year-old niece. I’d feel much better knowing a man was accompanying them.”
“I’d be happy to. Give me the information and a likeness, and don’t worry about her again.” He had nothing waiting for him at Gryff Estate except his grandmother. The older he got, the more it seemed to bother him.
“It’s settled then. I’ll send ‘round the information and a cameo with a small portrait. She doesn’t take after me, though, except for the eyes. Fiery red hair and petite but don’t let her size fool you. She’s a spitfire.” He shook his head, his blue eyes flashing. “The trouble she used to get into as a child… I was always keeping some escapade from my father.”
“I’ll keep a tight rein on her, to be sure.”
“And you won’t have to worry about chitchat with Helen. She’ll blather on about any subject.”
“Good to know.” Conway smiled. This might be a nice diversion. The women would stay in the coach, so he wasn’t worried about prolonged bouts of polite conversation. And he loved children. He could spend hours with the village children, following him around, asking a hundred questions, and making him laugh at their honest and unique perspectives on life. Perhaps the child would enjoy a ride in the saddle with him.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Universal link: https://books2read.com/earlofgriffith
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3OIjjOp
Special Giveaway:
Enter to win a $20 Amazon card and a Welsh Daffodil mug (national flower of Wales)
Author Biography:
USA Today Bestselling author Aubrey Wynne resides in the Midwest with her husband, dogs, horses, mule, and barn cats. Obsessions include wine, history, travel, trail riding, and all things Christmas. Her Chicago Christmas and Regency series have received multiple awards and nominated numerous times as a Rone finalist by InD’tale Magazine.
Aubrey’s first love is medieval romance but after dipping her toe in the Regency period in 2018 with the Wicked Earls’ Club, she was smitten. This inspired her spin-off series Once Upon a Widow. In 2020, she launched the Scottish Regency series A MacNaughton Castle Romance with Dragonblade Novels. Her Regency detective series, Paddy’s Peelers, will launch early 2024.
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