Ashes of Pride Read online

  Special Offer

  Learn the origins of the Great Family!

  The Great Family was not always a great family.

  In October 1843, Anna & Rhys, Natasha & Seth, Elisa & Vaughn all face problems, their hearts heavy with the challenges of life.

  This is the origins story of the Scandalous Scions series—the first great family gathering, where traditions that will last a generation are born and Anna & Rhys, Natasha & Seth, Elisa & Vaughn meld into a single, united family.

  Find out how the couples of Scandalous Sirens learn that together, they are stronger.

  This novelette has not been commercially released for sale. It is only available as a gift to readers of the series, who subscribe to Tracy’s Newsletter.

  Click here to get your copy.

  http://tracycooperposey.com/free-copy-of-lost-at-sea/

  Table of Contents

  Special Offer

  About Ashes of Pride

  Praise for the Scandalous Scions series

  Ashes of Pride Title Page

  The Great Families

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Did you enjoy this book? How to make a big difference!

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Copyright Information

  About Ashes of Pride

  Married in haste, to the wrong man…

  Blanche wed Lieutenant Colonel Seymour in search of a hero to replace the French military father she never knew, only to find herself stranded in Northumberland, in a penniless marriage, with no recourse.

  Blanche’s cousin, Neil Williams, now a decorated Major, returns from the colonies to rejoin the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers. Her husband, as Neil’s superior officer, makes Neil’s life intolerable, as well as her own. Blanche learns that the truly courageous are defined by their actions and that Seymour is not one of them, for what he does to Neil defies imagination…

  This book is the tenth book in the Scandalous Scions series, bringing together the members of three great families, to love and play under the gaze of the Victorian era’s moralistic, straight-laced society.

  This story is part of the Scandalous Scions series:

  0.5 Rose of Ebony

  1.0 Soul of Sin

  2.0 Valor of Love

  3.0 Marriage of Lies

  4.0 Mask of Nobility

  5.0 Law of Attraction

  6.0 Veil of Honor

  7.0 Season of Denial

  8.0 Rules of Engagement

  9.0 Degree of Solitude

  10.0 Ashes of Pride

  …and more to come!

  A Sexy Historical Romance

  Praise for the Scandalous Scions series

  If you are familiar with the previous series, I am sure you fell in love with the huge family like I did.

  She is a go to author for me when I need a fix of historical romance.

  Tracy Cooper-Posey takes us into the staid yet surprisingly bawdy Victorian Era where appearance is everything and secrets are held inside the family.

  Thanks once again, Tracy Cooper-Poscey, for giving us another great story and for giving me back my love of historical romances.

  I love historical romances and this one filled all my likes, from a dashing, wonderful hero, a beautiful strong heroine, a love story to sigh over, side characters that are interesting, and funny, and move the story along.

  I can't wait for the next in this wonderful new series.

  I don't often give books five stars, but I really enjoyed the mystery that puzzled all of the characters in this story.

  I found the entire extended family intriguing because they, the women in particular, are very aware and careful of what society will think, yet they often have made choices that are deemed semi- scandalous.

  A wonderful story set in the Victorian era of such strict social conventions and yet the main characters are shimmering with latent sexual tension. What a fabulous juxtaposition!

  Another great series is starting and it looks like it will be great just like all the other series by this author.

  Wow, as soon as I started Tracy Cooper Posey’s first book in her new spin off I was hooked.

  The Great Families

  Elisa and Vaughn Wardell

  Marquess of Fairleigh, Viscount Rothmere

  1825 Raymond, Viscount Marblethorpe (stepson)

  1839 William Vaughn Wardell

  1839 John (Jack) Gladwin Lochlann Mayes (fostered in 1846)

  1842 Sarah Louise Wardell (D)

  1843 Peter Lovell Wardell (January)

  1844 Gwendolyn (Jenny) Violet Moore Wardell (adopted in 1848)

  1844 Patricia Sharla Victoria Mayes (fostered in 1846)

  1849 Blanche Brigitte Colombe Bonnay (adopted in 1851)

  1853 Emma Jane Wardell (adopted at birth)

  Natasha and Seth Williams

  Earl of Innesford, Baron Harrow (Ire.)

  1839 Lillian Mary Harrow

  1840 Richard Cian Seth Williams

  1841 Neil Vaughn Williams

  1843 Daniel Rhys Williams (February)

  1846 Bridget Bronte Williams & Mairin May Williams

  1849 Annalies Grace Williams

  Annalies and Rhys Davies

  Princess Annalies Benedickta of Saxe-Weiden, of the royal house Saxe-Coburg-Weiden, Formerly of the Principality of Saxe-Weiden.

  1835 Benjamin Hedley Davies (adopted in 1845)

  1842 Iefan William Davies

  1843 Morgan Harrow Davies (October)

  1843 Sadie Hedley Davies (adopted in 1845)

  1846 Bronwen Natasha Davies

  1848 Alice Thomasina Davies (adopted at birth)

  1849 Catrin Elise Davies

  And their children:

  Natasha and Raymond Devlin

  Viscount Marblethorpe

  1857 Vaughn Elis Devlin (Raymond’s heir)

  1861 Richard Seth Devlin

  Lilly and Jasper Thomsett

  1862 Seth Eckhard Thomsett (heir)

  1863 Elise Marie & Anne Louise Thomsett

  1864 George Jasper Thomsett (stillborn)

  Sharla and Dane Balfour + Benjamin Hedley (Davies)

  Duke of Wakefield

  1867 Jennifer Jane Balfour & Benjamin Dane Balfour (heir)

  1868 Alice Thomasina Balfour

  1871 John William Balfour

  Bronwen Natasha Davies and Archeduke Edvard Christoffer of Silkeborg

  1870 Christina Clara Elisa Bronwen

  John (Jack) Gladwin Lochlann Mayes and Gwendolyn (Jenny) Violet Moore Wardell-Ryder

  Baron Guestwick, heir to the Marquess of Laceby

  1864 Jackson Vaughn Ryder

  1866 Stuart Theodore Ryder

  1869 Phillip Dane Mayes

  William Vaughn Wardell & Bridget Bronte Williams

  Viscount Rothmere, heir to the Marquess of Fairleigh

  1869 Elizabeth Anne Wardell

  1871 Vaughn Raymond Wardell

  Daniel Rhys Williams & Catrin Elise Davies

  1871 Alice Edwina Williams

  Chapter One

  Fenham Barracks, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. July 1872 C.E.

  More than the usual amount of fuss e
nsued at the barracks gates, which was hardly a surprise. It still chaffed, though. Neil had forgotten the formalities maintained by a full regiment at home. Procedures had been more casual in the colonies.

  He waited patiently at the gate while the sentries scrounged up someone who could vouch for Neil. His orders were grubby and weather-worn, which had raised their suspicions. The orders had been handed to Neil in Albany, the colony in Australia, which laid seventeen weeks behind him. The single sheet of paper had lived in his inner breast pocket since then.

  Finally, word came back to the front gate. The red-faced corporal whispered to the sentry barring Neil’s way. “Sergeant Woodsmith says if you don’t let the man pass, you’re a fool of the first water, sir.” The corporal’s gaze flicked toward Neil. “Says ‘e’s an ‘ero and all.”

  The lieutenant’s gaze moved up and down Neil once more. “That so?” He lowered his rifle and took two steps to one side and closer to Neil. “My apologies, sir. Please go ahead. Colonel Hill’s office is—”

  “I know where it is, thank you, Lieutenant,” Neil told him. He pointed to his water-stained trunk. “Have someone deliver that to the main office for me.”

  The lieutenant’s eyes narrowed.

  Neil plucked the orders from the man’s fingers. “In future, when you speak about the regiment, including the names of officers and men, you make sure you are out of earshot of anyone not part of the regiment. Clear?”

  The corporal grinned and straightened up to snap off a salute as Neil strode past the pair and into the barracks proper.

  Fenham Barracks was large, with many buildings. The Colonel’s office was situated overlooking the parade ground. It would take a few minutes of fast walking through narrow streets of officers’ quarters and enlisted men’s barracks to reach the square. It gave Neil time to dispel his irritation before he presented himself to the commander of the regiment.

  Even though it was July, the early morning air was still cool against Neil’s face, and smelled faintly of brine, for the tides reached this far along the Tyne, which ran less than a mile away. He shivered. Five years in Albany and now July felt like winter to him.

  The regimental square was filled with units moving through drills and marches. Everyone wore the Undress uniform—the dark gray serge with darker braid across the chest and the red stripes on the legs of their trousers.

  The shouts of the sergeant majors, the drum beats, the thud of boots moving in unison, the slap of hands against rifles was so familiar that Neil paused for a moment to absorb the sights. It was utterly unchanged, as if he had never been away.

  He frowned as he took in the wagons lined along the far northern edge of the square. Each wagon had at least one man chained to the big wheel, their heads bare and their shoulders wrenched back by the tautness of the chains. The bound men watched the activity in the square with apathetic expressions.

  Neil’s chest tightened. The moment of sentimentally evaporated like ice in the Gibson Desert. He turned on his heel and strode toward the big building on the western edge of the square.

  When he stepped into the main office building, his shoulders relaxed, for it was warmer in here. A dozen privates and corporals moved between offices on the ground floor and up the sweeping stairs to the next floor, their uniforms pristine and new.

  Neil caught the attention of the first non-com to pass by. “Major Williams to speak to Colonel Hill.”

  “Yes, sir, Major Williams.” The corporal’s gaze moved over Neil the same way the sentry at the gate had done, measuring him. “This way, sir.”

  Neil knew the way to Hill’s big office, but let the man lead him. He would need someone to announce him. He followed the corporal up the stairs, into the wide corridor at the top and along to the left, to the unmarked door at the end. The door stood open, as it always did.

  A captain sat at a table in the outer office, his pen scratching across paper. He looked up as they entered and put the pen down, his gaze moving over Neil. Then his eyes widened. “Williams!” He jumped to his feet and moved around the table. “My God, you’re back!” He gripped Neil’s hand and shook it, squeezing hard.

  “Captain Long,” Neil acknowledged. “You were a lieutenant when I left.”

  “So were you,” Phillip Long replied. He stepped back, his smile broad and warm. “Major. The colonies were good to you. Have you been back in England long?”

  “Long enough to jump upon a train, which I stepped off this morning,” Neil said. He glanced at the wide door behind Long’s desk. “Is Colonel Hill in?”

  Long nodded. “Dismissed, Corporal,” he told the smiling soldier at the door. The man saluted and marched out of the office. Long moved toward the inner door. “You’ll dine at the mess tonight, yes? Everyone will be pleased to see you.”

  Neil smothered the sigh which tried to rise to his lips. “It’s likely I will,” he said, keeping his tone polite. “If you can scare me up some officers’ quarters, that is.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. We’re a bit tight on accommodations right now. If I find you a room somewhere near the barracks, would that do?” Long paused with his knuckles lifted toward the door.

  Neil frowned. “There are no quarters left at all?” He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a thing.”

  “You’re not the only man returning to his regimental headquarters,” Long said. “They’re pulling regiments out of Australia, Ceylon, Africa, China, even India. Everyone is returning home. You know about the big stir Cardwell is putting the army through?”

  Neil nodded. He had more than a passing knowledge of the reforms, for they had significant personal interest to him. Now was not the time to discuss them, though. He glanced at Long’s hand, still raised, and lifted his brow.

  Long knocked against the painted wood. “Yes, for tonight, then,” he said in agreement. He pushed the door open. “Major Williams, sir?”

  “Enter!” came the growled response.

  Long pushed the door even wider. “Sir,” he said to Neil.

  Neil stepped through. “Thank you, Captain.”

  Long closed the door behind him and Neil turned to face the big table and the commander of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers Regiment of Foot. “Major Williams reporting for duty, Colonel Hill.” He saluted.

  Hill got to his feet. “Neil Williams,” he said in his deep and scratchy voice. He came around the table, his hand out. “We weren’t expecting you for another week.”

  “My orders said as soon as possible, sir.”

  Colonel Edward Roley Hill shook Neil’s hand. Hill was a career soldier, in his late seventies. He had silver hair and a thick, silver beard and magnificent mustache. He was still hale and hearty. His high forehead was lined, but his eyes were youthful. Colonel Hill had taken command of the regiment the year after Neil had left for the Swan River colony. Neil had heard much about the high quality of Hill’s previous commands.

  “Let me see your orders, Williams,” Hill said, as he returned to his desk.

  Neil took out the crumpled sheet, unfolded it and placed it on the table, then stepped back. “I apologize for my incorrect dress, sir. The uniform has changed since I left. I will arrange for new uniforms the first chance I get.”

  Hill waved his hand, dismissing the issue, then picked up the orders. “There are dozens of tailors in Newcastle willing to take your coin. They are familiar with the new uniform. As soon as you can is good enough.” He read the sheet.

  Neil peered through the big windows while Hill read. From here, most of the square was visible, including the wagons with their bound men.

  Hill put the page down, then reached for a folio and unwound the string. “Returned with merit. You did well in Albany, Williams. I expected nothing less of a Fifth man.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Hill pulled out a small pile of clean, white and uncrumpled pages. The ink was still fresh and dark on those pages. He put them in front of him and frowned at the script. “You’re aware of th
e changes Parliament has decreed, Williams?”

  “Yes, sir.” Neil brought his teeth together and said nothing more.

  Hill looked up at him. “Under the new terms, you’re one of the men who has been in service long enough to leave, if you want. You signed up for twenty-one years, only it has all changed, now. Have you changed, Williams? Or are you still willing to protect Queen and country?”

  Neil’s chest tightened. “I would like to leave, sir.”

  Hill’s eyes narrowed. The lined forehead creased. “That’s not the answer I expected from you, given your record.”

  “I know, sir.”

  Hill’s gaze didn’t shift. “There are too many fine men being given their marching orders. I could use a good officer, Williams. You’re one of the best. I think you know that. You’ve earned accolades and praise, promotions and medals. You thought you were in the army for life. Why not serve your time as you first intended?”

  Neil drew in a breath and hesitated. How could he explain what was indescribable? The heat, the horrors, the desperate convicts he had been forced to oversee. The squalid conditions of a colony just barely established. The strange food, the indifferent senior officers and their lack of empathy for colonists and the natives, and their cruelty toward the convicts.

  He could speak of none of that because Hill would not understand. He was an old-school army man, who stood by his fellow officers no matter what they did.

  Instead, Neil said, “I’ve done enough fighting, sir.”

  “England hasn’t been at war for decades, boy.”

  “Yet the battles never cease.”

  Colonel Hill harrumphed. “What do you think you’ll do as a civilian? You’re fit for nothing but this.”

  “I don’t know, sir,” Neil said truthfully.

  Hill scowled at him. “Running away, are you?”

  The mild insult was meant to nudge him into reconsidering. Only, Neil had spent fifteen weeks in a swaying hammock aboard the City of Adelaide, with nothing to do but contemplate his future. He shook his head. “I just want a quiet life, Colonel. I believe I have earned that.”