He’s a soldier who puts duty above all else. She’s the spirited lady he loves. Obligation collides with passion.
When Blaire Culpepper returns to England, she hopes to finally declare her love to debonair Lieutenant Julian Drake. Except, in her absence, he’s inherited his brother’s estate, sold his commission, and has been courting another woman. According to the rumor mills, a marriage announcement is expected any day.
From the moment Julian laid eyes on Blaire many months ago, she entranced him. But as a soldier far beneath her station, he battled his growing fascination. When his brother dies, Julian social status changes. But so do his newfound intentions of courting Blaire and winning her hand.
Circumstances and honor have forced him into considering a union with another woman. But that means breaking Blaire’s heart and his own as well…Will his heart or his mind win the battle?
You’ll want to read this love-triangle Regency historical by a USA Today bestselling author in one sitting! A tender, sigh-worthy romance, Julian and Blaire must overcome lies, amnesia, and villainesses you’ll want to slap.
If you enjoy reading strong heroine, sister series, romantic comedies, and redeemed rogue love stories with a pinch of mystery & suspense, a dash of humor, gripping emotion, and naughty dogs, then you’ll adore Collette Cameron’s captivating THE BLUE ROSE REGENCY ROMANCES: THE CULPEPPER MISSES. Buy THE LIEUTENANT AND THE LADY and settle into your favorite reading nook for a page-turning, entertaining Regency England world adventure you can’t put down.
Though this book can easily be read as a stand-alone, most readers prefer to read the series in order.
Genre: FICTION / Romance / RegencyBlast and damn. The ugly rumors were true, then.
Something fragile splintered near the vicinity of Blaire Culpepper’s heart. Lurking behind the dusty bookcase, she plopped her frilly parasol on the closest shelf. She grasped the edge, arms extended and head bowed, and braced herself. Sucking in a ragged breath, she fought the scorching pain radiating behind her breastbone.
She bit her lower lip hard to still its quivering.
Stiff upper lip, she admonished herself severely. No tears. Absolutely none.
Until this very moment, she’d not believed the unsavory tattle. Refused to consider Julian had become a fickle roué in her absence.
When they’d returned from Geneva and her twin Blaike had taken her aside and revealed Lieutenant Julian Drake’s change in status, Blaire kept hoping—praying—the on dit wasn’t true. He wasn’t like that…Wasn’t a scapegrace or a rapscallion. Even when she’d seen him strolling in Hyde Park with the beauty now at his side, she’d believed there must be another explanation.
She’d been wrong. So bloody wrong.
Only a few feet away, as dashing and handsome as ever, he stood—all gorgeous six feet two inches of him—with Daphne Trudeau clinging to his arm.
Why, Julian? Why?
A heartbroken, inarticulate sound escaped Blaire.
The matron perusing the nearby books slanted her a worried glance.
“Are you quite all right?” The distinguished woman took a step nearer, peering upward at Blaire in marked concern. “You’re as pale as chalk. It’s Miss Blaire Culpepper, isn’t it? I’m Lady Pipperly. We met at Almack’s some months ago. Do you need to sit down? You’re not going to swoon, are you?”
