What the Duke Doesn't Know (29 page)

On the far side of the large room, her mother sat at a cluttered desk, pen in hand. Georgina watched her scribble on the page before her. It couldn't be denied that, as people often observed, Mama looked rather like her dogs, particularly when she was vexed, as she apparently was now, her lips turned down in her round face. A small, plump woman, with glossy brown hair and prominent eyes—though her eyes were blue, not brown—she had the same bustling curiosity. Sometimes, the similarity made Georgina smile. Today, it raised her protective instincts.

Mama's desk was the only conventional piece of furniture in the spacious chamber. Everything else catered to her dogs. There were rafts of colorful pillows where they could lounge, piles of sticks for them to chew, and scattered heaps of other toys. Hearths at each end kept the room warm in winter, and small, hinged flaps in two of the long windows gave the animals access to their own walled garden. There was a tiled area where they were fed and a large tub in the corner where they were bathed. The pugs were kept scrupulously clean, though their sheer numbers meant that the place still smelled just a bit of dog. “Sebastian has arrived, Mama,” said Georgina. “You must come and say hello.”

Jane Ashford discovered Georgette Heyer in junior high school and was captivated by the glittering world and witty language of Regency England. That delight was part of what led her to study English literature and travel widely in Britain and Europe. She has written historical and contemporary romances, and her books have been published in Sweden, Italy, England, Denmark, France, Russia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Spain, as well as the United States. Twenty-six of her new and backlist Regency romances are being published by Sourcebooks. Jane has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award by
RT Book Reviews
. She is currently rather nomadic. Find her on the web at
www.janeashford.com
and on Facebook.