The Wounded Nobleman (The Regimental Heroes) by Jennifer Conner Page B

to adjust back into life, it was him. Things were so much simpler before. Before the war Callie had so many men courting her he’d lost count. He’d thrown his hat in the ring as a suitor and marriage prospect when she’d practically cold-cocked him throwing it back. She let him kiss her … a few times. God… that memory kept him warm on many cold nights. But she’d made it clear he was not at the top of her list. Not nearly rich enough for her tastes. He was a dalliance and was told to move on when she’d met the Duke of Bingham.
    As far as Ellis knew, the Duke never asked for her hand and then the poor chap died of whooping cough. That meant she was available, but Ellis was nothing but a wounded nobleman with a hand-me-down estate. What did he have to offer the beautiful Callie Dunning? The same as before… now with a limp thrown in. Nothing that would ever interest her or be good enough for the likes of her.
    There were many reasons he had made sure to avoid her since he’d returned from the Crimean War. The main reason was he could never get her far from his mind.

Chapter 2
     
    Callie knew she could tame this stallion. In the past few weeks, she’d taken Ellis’s offer and worked Liber every day, hour after hour making days blur into weeks. She hoped that soon, Liber would be accepted as one of Garrison’s top carriage horses. He’d be wanted—loved. Knowing love from her family was a childhood memory. Her parents never showed much emotion before, but now... after the ‘ incident ’ it was nonexistent. As far as Father was concerned, what was done was done, and he would talk no more of it. They hadn’t made the offer to take her out for another season. There could be a chance of scandal. That could never be.
    Mother and Father lived to be a part of society’s functions. It was one of the only reasons she feared they lived. A sad reason Callie decided. Life should be about saving sick children, or teaching them to read— not parties. A few years back she began to fall into their beliefs that superficial belongings were the only things that mattered.
    ‘ Let one gentleman court you until you find another with a higher ranking in society of course. This will make the perfect husband ,’ her mother told her. That was why her father turned down Ellis’s offer for her hand. ‘ A Duke! ’ her mother exclaimed when the other man came along, and had swooned over the prospect of the union.
    Callie knew she’d hurt Ellis. Of all the young men, he was her favorite. He was funny, smart… and very handsome. She would have accepted his hand, happily, she really would have. She cared for him deeply, but knew Mother would never have allowed it. Not when there was a Duke available.
    But the Duke died, and then Ellis left for the war. After what happened, she was left to… survive . She tried to think of a more appropriate word, but couldn’t. Her parents never knew the whole story. No one did. With her drastic change in personality, they assumed she’d been ruined in the attack. She should care, stand up for herself and tell them they were mistaken. But she was tired. Tired of all of it. So at the age of twenty-three she’d chosen to have her family refer to her as a spinster.
    She clicked her tongue and Liber followed her around the circle. Suddenly, he stopped, shook himself with nostrils flared, and swung his head from side to side.
    “Honestly. We’ve been out here for hours and I have nothing but good things to say about you. I think you are nearly ready. You even let me harness you and now, you are going to cause me grief and prove me wrong?”
    His black-brown eyes surveyed her. He flicked his ears again just as the first splat of rain hit her. In a minute, it was a downpour.
    Callie looked up at the sky. “You’re a horse. Do you mean to tell me you knew it was going to rain like the heavens had opened up?” She laughed. For all she knew, maybe he did. The dry ground quickly turned to ankle deep