A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven: A Historical Regency Romance Book Read online

  A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven

  A REGENCY ROMANCE NOVEL

  ABIGAIL AGAR

  Copyright © 2019 by Abigail Agar

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher.

  Website: Abigail Agar

  Table of Contents

  A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven

  Table of Contents

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  A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  The Precious Secret of a Loving Governess

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

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  A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven

  Introduction

  Lady Sophia Hastings gets her heart broken when she learns that her betrothed has run off with another. Turning to the most successful Matchmaker of London, she is shocked to be paired with the very man she used to love once upon a time. Overwhelmed by the path that her heart has been on, she realises she has to make a critical decision. Will she let her anger prevail or will she listen to what the man who once abandoned her has to say? Could she really forget about her lost love by finding a new one, or is it impossible for her heart to overlook how she once felt?

  Thomas Gregory is an Officer in the army, but after a tour of service, he has decided to retire. After getting back to his estate, he is inevitably overcome by the memories of a long lost love. Tired of being haunted by his painful past, he decides to obey society's rules and turn to a London matchmaker in order to make a satisfactory match. But how will his heart react when the lady who once betrayed him will be chosen as the perfect match? Will he dare to give love a second chance?

  When past bitterness and hurt arises, Sophia and Thomas cannot pretend that love was ever easy. Will they be able to overcome the wounds of the past? Or will the chance of finding another match be too tempting to resist?

  Chapter 1

  Sophia Hastings wrenched her neck from one side to the other, hearing it crack in each direction. Her mother glanced up from her needlework to give her daughter a warning look, which Sophia promptly glanced away from and put her brown eyes back to the embroidery she was working on.

  The clock ticked in the parlour and, along with Sophia’s neighbour and dearest friend, Adrianna Alcott, she tried to focus on the image of threads without crossing her eyes too hard.

  “You mustn’t allow the Earl to see you making that expression,” Sophia’s mother, Lady Silsby laughed.

  Adrianna instantly began to chuckle with her, at Sophia’s expense. But Sophia took it as usual with her light-hearted demeanour and laughed along with them, knowing that she must look entirely ridiculous as she was about her needlework.

  “I shan’t, I promise. He shall see me only at my absolute best,” she teased them in reply, rudely blowing a burst of her auburn hair from where it had fallen in front of her face.

  Sophia would not allow her large, saucer shaped, brown eyes to be seen in such a ridiculous light by her intended. She wished for the Earl of Bastion to only note her beauty and her wit, certainly not her failure as an embroiderer or the foolishness with which she still made an effort to learn the craft.

  “Well, I should certainly hope so. He is a man of fine standing and he is not one that you should lose,” Lady Silsby replied with an eyebrow raised.

  “Do not worry, Mother. It was the Earl that pursued me. I think there is nothing I can do that would steer him away now,” Sophia said, ignoring the stirring of guilt in her gut.

  Soon an official engagement would be announced. She was certain of it. And despite the fact that there would be those…or certainly one, who would be saddened by it, there was little that Sophia could do to change any of it now.

  The Earl had been interested in her and had taken great pains to express it. There was nothing more that she could have done but to accept and move forward.

  He was an excellent match, to be sure. Wealthy, titled, the very sort that would elevate the status of her own family. And of course, he was a man of great repute. Anyone who managed to be associated with the Earl was seen as exemplary.

  And he had set his eyes on Sophia Hastings. That was a pride that she made every effort to dwell in and to accept. She had been the choice of a great man, and somehow that was the most important thing any young woman could hope for.

  “You are so fortunate to have managed to find a man like him. I should think that Mama and Papa would be overjoyed if I managed such a feat. You shall have to tell me how it was done,” Adrianna said with a bright, red-lipped smile on her pale face.

  Her features reminded Sophia of a strawberry, with such natural colour in her cheeks and mouth set against an otherwise pale face. The freckles that dusted her nose were impossible to hide and the soft red of her hair showed her to be British through and through.

  Adrianna’s mother and father had only recently come to the area. The Lord and Lady Danby had decided they needed a new estate out in the country, and it had put the two young women near one another.

  Sophia had been glad for it. She had always found the country to be boring, and her mother and father had only recently been taking her into London again for the latest season. But now they had returned to their estate, where they typically remained. Her father was not a fan of the city and went only on business most of the time.

  But it had been during the past season in which Sophia had met the Earl of Bastion and he had expressed a great interest in her. And although it had caused a number of changes to come about in her life, she had accepted them and chosen to make the best of them.

  “I imagine that he shall come to the estate any day now and propose. Oh, or do you think he shall wait until the Mayweather Ball that is happening in two weeks? Are you going? We got our invitation yesterday,” Adrianna remarked.

  “Oh yes, we shall certainly go. So long as I can convince Papa to take us into town for it,” Sophia laughed. “But I cannot say if or when the Earl shall propose. He has been courting me for quite some time now and I imagine that he shall have to propose very soon.”

&
nbsp; “I am sure it shall be some grand gesture. Perhaps that is why it has taken so long. He is probably planning something great for you,” Adrianna dreamed. “Something out of a fairytale with pure white horses and a visit to one of the castles, even…”

  Sophia laughed. “I cannot imagine he should do something as grand as all of that, but I would hardly be opposed if he did!”

  “Well, whenever it comes, it shall not be today or tomorrow,” Lady Silsby inserted. “He is currently away on a trip to London. I believe he is set to return in two days.”

  Sophia nodded, remembering that the Earl had a trip planned for the week. She wondered when she would see him again. He was such a handsome man that she hardly minded any opportunity to look upon him.

  And his charm was tremendous. She was always amazed by his humour and wit. Of course, Sophia knew that she was overly romantic, as people frequently reminded her. But it did not change the fact that she enjoyed hearing every word from his lips.

  “Well, I expect that whenever he returns, the time has finally come for him to make a proposal. The Earl knows that you are expecting it and that we have already arranged every matter with him regarding the marriage. So be patient, my dear,” Lady Silsby added.

  “You’re right, Mama. I know that all shall come together soon enough. I simply cannot wait to make you and Father proud by marrying a man like the Earl,” Sophia declared.

  For a moment all went quiet in the room, but Lady Silsby set down her own needlework and looked up at Sophia with a question in her eyes.

  “Have you heard anything of late from Mr. and Mrs. Gregory?” she asked.

  The twisting returned to Sophia’s gut. She had not anticipated this question from her mother and wished that she could pretend she had not heard it.

  “Whatever do you mean, Mama?” she asked.

  “I was just curious if you had heard any news from them about Thomas,” she clarified.

  “Certainly not. I cannot think why I ought to have kept up with him. The Gregorys have their own life and Mr. Gregory is off and away with the military,” she added.

  “Yes, but that is very much why I should like to know how he is doing,” Lady Silsby said, looking at Sophia as if she were a fool or, at the very least, a callous young woman for not considering him.

  “I am certain that if anything had happened to him, we would have heard by now,” Sophia remarked. “Mr. and Mrs. Gregory would notify us of that at least. But if there is no news at all, I shouldn’t wonder at their silence. What more would they have to say?” Sophia asked.

  Hoping that the conversation would go no further, Sophia buried her face in the embroidery again. It was clear that Adrianna’s eyes were upon her, curious about the matter, but Sophia would not look up.

  She felt the heat in her cheeks and wished to push away all thoughts of the man she had once known who was now an Officer, far away from them, fighting a battle.

  It had been nearly two years since their friendship had changed. Sophia had never quite forgiven herself for that.

  And she had never forgotten the man who had been her childhood sweetheart. She had never forgotten the days of riding horses and reading and enjoying their time together from a young age.

  She had never forgotten the days when he had chased her about, being cruel towards her when they were very young because he was a few years older and thought that women were to be teased. And she had never forgotten the moments when they would share an apple and allow their eyes to lock with one another as they sought to spend time together.

  Sophia cleared her throat and, with it, the memories. She did not need the memories. She did not need the guilt or the shame. She needed to focus on the marriage that was soon to take place.

  “So you do not care at all about his well-being?” Lady Silsby asked.

  Sophia opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, a great disturbance occurred.

  “Lady Silsby! Lady Sophia!” called Miss Honeycutt, bursting through the door.

  “Good heavens, Miss Honeycutt, what is all of this about?” Lady Silsby asked, clearly upset that the housekeeper would cause such a great mess by coming in with such dramatics.

  “I have terrible news, Lady Silsby. Terrible news indeed. And I cannot bear to say it,” the woman cried in distress.

  “Well you had best be out with it because I shall not contend with this behaviour in our household staff,” Lady Silsby warned.

  Sophia knew Miss Honeycutt to often be a dramatic woman. Aged well beyond her prime, the woman was constantly in search of theatrics. Whatever this issue was about, Sophia imagined it was simply another of the housekeeper’s overreactions.

  “A scandal, Lady Silsby. Such a terrible scandal. About the…about the Earl of Bastion,” she finally said, whispering the final words as if to avoid Adrianna hearing them.

  Sophia’s heart began to pound. She could not imagine what sort of scandal might have come about regarding such an upstanding man as the Earl. But whatever it was, she knew that she did not wish to hear it.

  “Miss Honeycutt, we have no desire for gossip,” Sophia said quickly, terrified by what it might be. She was growing overwhelmed, frightened that this might be something that could truly change her circumstances forever.

  “Hush, Sophia,” her mother hissed. “If there is a scandal afoot, we must learn what it is. Now, out with it,” she demanded.

  Miss Honeycutt drew in a deep breath, enjoying that she had the attention of the room for something so important.

  “I was at the market, gathering the preparations for dinner. And while I was there, I heard some of the ladies talking amongst themselves. Of course, they had no idea that I am your housekeeper or I imagine they would not have spoken so freely,” she began.

  “But it was spoken of rather widely. It was discovered this morning that the Earl has lied to everyone. He is not in London on business as he claimed. Rather he has run off. Off and away with some young woman from the countryside. A young woman who is far below his own station,” Miss Honeycutt managed to say, her eyes wide amidst an already wide face.

  Sophia put a hand to her mouth in shock. She felt numb. She could scarcely believe the words that were coming out of the housekeeper’s mouth. Certainly it could not be true.

  She wished that she could feel enraged, that she could be angry and in despair. But none of that had come yet. For now, she sunk to the couch in disbelief. It could not be true. He could not have done that to her, not after all this time and all of the planning and arrangements that they had been working on in advance of their wedding.

  Sophia would not believe it.

  “Miss Honeycutt, you cannot be telling the truth. Or you have heard a falsehood and you have brought it into this home,” Lady Silsby steamed.

  “I wish it were a lie. But I fear that it is the talk of the town. The whole market was abuzz with the news. There is no question, Lady Silsby. The Earl of Bastion has run off with another woman. He has shamed himself and his family. And there is no sign of his ever returning to right his wrongs,” she replied.

  Lady Silsby turned to her daughter, but Adrianna was already seated beside Sophia and placing a hand upon her shoulder.

  “We shall demand that he make this right,” Lady Silsby declared.

  “He shall realise his mistake and come back to you. I’m sure of it. He pursued you and he must love you,” Adrianna reasoned.

  But their words fell upon deaf ears. Sophia did not want their pity. She wanted the Earl to have loved her enough not to make this mistake.

  But it was too late. He had made his choice. And now, she would have to pay for it.

  Chapter 2

  Two months had passed and Sophia remained forlorn. It had turned out that the maid had heard the truth. In the months that had passed, a series of misfortunes had overwhelmed her.

  The Earl of Bastion had been a weak man. He had been a fool. And through it all, he had made Sophia look as though she had been the one to make a mistake. Afte
r all, there must be something wrong with her if she was not enough for a man like him.