In My Wildest Dreams (Governess Brides Series #4) by Christina Dodd

From Barnes & Noble

Christina Dodds's popular Distinguished Academy of Governesses trilogy (Rules of Surrender, Rules of Engagement, and Rules of Attraction) may be completed, but the romantic adventures of one young woman trained there have just begun. Having received glowing references upon leaving her post in Paris in a diplomatic household, Celeste Milford is delighted to accept a position at Blythe Hall, where her mother was the cook, her father the gardener, and Ellery Throckmorton, the younger son of the family, her idol. She's been hired to teach Penelope (the daughter of Garrick, Ellery's widowed older brother), and Kiki, a mysterious wild child under the family's protection. Before long, Celeste has her two young charges well in hand. But she's also encountered several impediments to pursuing her long-unrequited love for Ellery -- and discovered a most unexpectedly passionate attraction to Garrick that her new employer returns with interest. If all goes well, Celeste's next post may be a lifelong position, with extraordinary benefits for all concerned.

From the Publisher

Since she was a little girl, Celeste has had one burning desire:to marry Ellery Throckmorton. But what chance does a gardener's daughter have of capturing the heart of one of England's wealthiest gentlemen? However, the education she receives at the Distinguished Academy of Governesses enables Celeste to return to Blythe Hall with a refinement that complements her ravishing beauty—and makes her bold romantic dream more attainable. But, alas, temptation gets in the way . . .

For wherever Celeste turns, it is not Ellery she encounters, but his serious, yet undeniably intriguing, older brother Garrick. The elder Throckmorton will have no one interfere with the younger's impending nuptials, and his meddling infuriates Celeste to no end. Still, she cannot disregard the fluttering of her heart whenever Garrick deigns to smile at her. And the passion she senses smoldering beneath his formidable control is tempting her in a manner a lady must never allow . . .

Publishers Weekly

With this delicious, witty confection, Dodd adds another early Victorian episode to her Governess Brides series and forsakes the angst that gave her earlier Governess titles (Rules of Attraction, etc.) a bitter flavor. Widower Garrick Throckmorton is a careful man with a clear plan for the upcoming week: get his handsome, irresponsible brother, Ellery, engaged to a wealthy heiress; establish the highly accomplished new governess, Celeste, in his nursery; and uncover the mole in his spy network who is leaking English secrets to the Russians. Celeste, the most benign-seeming item on Garrick's agenda, proves to be the sharpest thorn in his side when Ellery falls for the laughing beauty. To safeguard Ellery's impending nuptials, Garrick selflessly decides to seduce Celeste, but he ends up spinning a sensuous web in which he snares himself. Spunky and self-assured, Celeste fleshes out to be a genuine romantic heroine, and Garrick's self-discovery nicely parallels her own realization that she's falling for the supposedly less handsome and more stodgy brother. Supporting characters such as Garrick's mother, an ex-spymaster herself, Celeste's dour father and Ellery's determined fianc?e add spicy humor to this delectable mix. (Oct.) Forecast: Reminiscent of the classic movie Sabrina, this heartwarming Victorian-era treatment will please Dodd's many fans. A three-city author tour and positive word-of-mouth will help this satisfying story sell its 550,000 first printing. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

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Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

"Garrick, you must tell me -- who is that beautiful lady I met at the train station?"

Lifting his attention from the row of figures, Garrick Throckmorton stared at Ellery. His younger brother stood framed in the doorway of the study, his clothing exquisitely cut, his blond hair styled perfectly, his tanned cheeks flushed with becoming color.

Throckmorton had hoped to finish writing instructions on the accounting to his secretary before putting in his first appearance at the reception, but as he studied his over-excited, excessively handsome younger brother, he realized that would not be possible. He recognized trouble when he saw it, and in this family, trouble almost always came in the shape of Ellery Throckmorton. "A beautiful lady?" Throckmorton blotted his pen. "Your fiancée, I would hope."

"No, no. Not Hyacinth." Ellery waved off his intended with a sweep of his elegant hand. "Most certainly not Hyacinth."

The sound of violins, cellos and French horns drifted in from the terrace and the drawing rooms along with the babble of guests, arrived just this afternoon for five days of festivities celebrating Ellery's betrothal to Lady Hyacinth Illington. Therefore; Throckmorton realized,their own voices could be heard -- not that such a paltry consideration would occur to Ellery. "Shut the door," Throckmorton instructed, and waited until Ellery had complied. "Hyacinth is quite a handsome girl."

"She's handsome enough." Ellery glanced at the cutglass decanter of brandy onthe sideboard. "But this was a woman, and what a woman! She --"

Determined to halt this liaison before it started, Throckmorton interrupted. "Starting an affair at your betrothal celebration is in extremely poor taste."

"An affair?" Ellery's long, elegant face grew longer. "I couldn't start an affair with that girl! She's dewy with innocence."

If Ellery didn't want an affair, what did he want? Marriage? To a girl whose name was unknown to him?

Oh, yes. Such a romantic flight of fancy was bound to appeal to Ellery. Handsome, frivolous, light-hearted Ellery, who wanted nothing so much as to remain an available bachelor forever.

Removing his glasses, Throckmorton rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Dewy. Hm. Yes. But, as I'd like to point out, so is Lady Hyacinth -- and she's your betrothed."

In a daring rush of words, Ellery said, "My betrothed, not my wife."

Damn. Throckmorton should have known this whole arrangement had gone too easily. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to fall, and by God, it had -- not surprisingly, in the form of a woman. "You didn't object to the engagement before."

Ellery stiffened. He stalked forward. Placing his hands flat on the desk, he leaned toward Throckmorton and glared, his blue eyes narrowed. Only the length and sweep of his eyelashes detracted from the menace he projected. "Object? I most certainly did object, but you had high-handedly put the announcement in the Times without consulting me."

"Pah. You could have raved and shouted until I withdrew my offer on your behalf. You didn't." Throckmorton neatly corked his ink, placed his pen in his desk drawer and started to slide it closed. Something caught his eye, and he opened it again. A pen was missing. Two pens. "Have the children been playing in here again?"

"I don't know, and don't try and change the subject!" Ellery rapped his knuckles on the desk.

The governess couldn't get here too soon, Throckmorton reflected. The girls were running wild...or rather, Kiki was running wild and half the time dragging Penelope with her. The loss of his pens were the least of the problem.

Ellery said, "I didn't object because you never gave me a chance."

"And because Lady Hyacinth is a very handsome female, and anheiress, and the daughter of the Marquess of Longshaw. And because you know it's time for you to settle down, "Reflecting bitterly on the fate of his pens, Throckmorton shut the drawer. "An aging roué is an ugly thing."

"I'm only twenty-six."

"I married at twenty-one." Throckmorton waved his paper briefly to dry it, then placed it in the wooden box on top of his desk. Locking the box, he dropped the key into his packet.

Ellery observed his every movement. "Father married at forty."

"He had to make his fortune first so he could afford to buy an aristocratic bride."

"Mother would tack your ears to a slateboard if she heard you talking about her like that."

"Probably." Throckmorton pushed back his chair. The plain brown leather furniture slid on a thick Oriental rug of rich azure and peach on a background of winter white. The stripped drapes, accented with gold, echoed the azure and peach, as did the Oriental vases and the flowers they held. Each artifact, each knickknack, each ornament was placed with taste and gave the chamber a sense of tranquility, which belied the chaos of Throckmorton's business life.

For the refined touches he could thank his mother. Lady Philberta Breckinridge-Wallingfork had been but twenty years old and the daughter of one of England's oldest earldoms when she had been forced by her family's impoverished circumstances to wed. Yet she had been a dutiful wife to Stanley Throckmorton and a good mother to the boys. Because of Lady Philberta and her family's prestige, the Throckmortons were able to circulate among the ton, to give parties like this one and see London's finest in their drawing rooms. The ton might whisper about them behind their fans, but never did those whispers reach Throckmorton's ears, as the Throckmorton males had a reputation for swift and righteous retaliation. "Lady Hyacinth will add just as much luster to the Throckmorton name as Mother did when she married Father."

Turning, Ellery leaned against the massive desk, crossed his arms, and gave his impression of an ill-used man brooding. “It doesn't hurt..."