Rebekah is forced into a proxy marriage to a man she despises for the sake of her orphaned niece and nephew. Her new husband, Thorn Wulfe, holds the key to all the secrets of her long-buried past.
Thorn, considered the Wicked Wulfe by many of the ton, operates one of London’s most notorious gaming hells, the Lady Luck. When his brother is killed, he finds his life turned upside down with a wife he does not want, and two children to care for.
When old secrets come to light and enemies make themselves known, Rebekah and Wulfe are going to have to decide what is more important…the past, the present, or the future? Will they be able to learn to trust and love one another along the way? Or will their secrets keep them apart forever?
Excerpt from Taming the Wicked Wulfe
by Tammy Jo Burns
April 1811…
“Theodore Wulfe,
I will not do it! I don’t care that you are a bloody duke! Nothing you
can say could make me ever want
to tie myself to that man. I cannot believe you even have the
nerve to ask such a question of
me,” Rebekah stormed to the window and looked through it,
unseeing.
“Rebekah,” the
man behind her said in a gentle tone, much like one would use when
attempting to calm a wild horse.
“Do you see those children out there?”
“Yes,” she
whispered, letting her forehead fall against the glass, welcoming the coolness.
She knew what he would say next,
and Lord help her, she could not hate him as much as she
wanted to.
“They are my
life. They are the best of both Sarah and me, as you well know. You have
helped care for them since they
entered this world. Do you want them sent to an orphanage?
Hell, Rebekah, do you want them
sent to Sarah’s parents? Do you want them deciding the future
of this dukedom?” the Duke of
Wulfcrest queried.
“No!” Rebekah
exclaimed, horrified, looking at him over her shoulder. She turned back
to watch the two little
ragamuffins that played outside with their matching Wolf Hounds, Piddles
and Smelly. Smiling, she
remembered how she had tried to coax the children into naming them
something else, but they were as
stubborn as their mother which explained why their names
made vague references to bodily
functions beyond a young pup’s control. Sarah’s parents would
never allow the children to have
pets of any kind, let alone the menagerie they seemed to keep.
No, two four-year-olds deserved
to be allowed to play and be rambunctious, not locked away in a
living tomb.
“Sarah loved
you. I love you. We could not ask for a better adoptive mother for our
twins,” he broke off into a
coughing fit.
Rebekah tried to
tune out the coughing, but found she could not. She could no longer
deny that he continued to get
worse. She also knew that if she turned around, the handkerchief
he used would have flecks of red
on it. She wanted to rage at Heaven about the unfairness of the
situation. These two precious
children would be orphans in a matter of months. Teddy and
Sarah were wonderful people who
did not deserve to be taken so young. Especially when his
rotten, good for nothing brother
still drew breath. A man who could not be bothered to attend his
sister-in-law’s funeral. A man
who had not shown his face around Wulfcrest Manor in years. A
man who if she saw him, there had
better not be a loaded gun nearby. A man that Teddy wanted
to tie her to for the rest of her
life.
“Teddy, I have a
wonderful idea,” her face lit up as she turned to look at him. Once more
composed, he looked at her
expectantly. “Why don’t you and I marry? It would be a marriage of
convenience. I could care for
you. Why are you shaking your head no?”
“I will be
taking myself off to London at the end of this week. I don’t want the children
to see me decline. It will not be
pretty and if I can spare them, I will. That was one blessing in
regards to Sarah’s accident, she
did not linger. And besides, if I know my in-laws, they will fight
you for the twins regardless.
Knowing that Zachary will rule a dukedom, Hezekiah will want to
have him close so that he can attempt
to turn him into a pious monster. No, Rebekah, you need
Thorn’s strength to help you. The
two of you will have to provide a united front to fight the
Reverend and his wife.”
“That is going
to be most difficult when I want to kill him myself.”
“Rebekah, I have
told you on many occasions that he has excellent reasons for everything
you accuse him of,” Teddy sounded
as if he were attempting to patiently talk to a small child.
“So you say. I
still reserve the right to despise him. Even now, he needs to be here and
where is he? Or should I say
whose bed is he in? He is single-handedly destroying your family
name, and all you do is make
excuses for him. It sickens me.” She turned once more to stare out
the window. The children were
playing tag with the dogs. Squeals, laughter, and barks filtered
into the room.
“On this we will
just have to agree to disagree.”
“Teddy, he runs
one of London’s most notorious gaming hells! How can you excuse
that?”
“I have said all
that I will say on the matter.”
“Oh,” she
growled, “Sarah said you could be stubborn when you set your mind to
something.”
“And I have set
my mind to this. Need I remind you what Sarah said when I held her in
my arms as she took her last
breaths?”
“No,” she bit
out, tightening her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She
refused to give in to any more
tears. It had been two years since they buried her sister, and best
friend, but some days it felt
like only yesterday.
“She wanted you
to be happy.”
“And marrying
your wastrel brother is the solution?” she asked incredulously, spinning
around to face him once more.
“Regardless of
what you think, family is very important to Thorn. He loved Sarah like a
sister for most of his life. He
loves his niece and nephew. He tolerates you,” he tried to tease.
“I loathe him.”
“What really
happened between you two?”
“I have no idea
what you are talking about,” she huffed and moved across the room.
“Sarah always
suspected there was more between the two of you than you let on, but she
said you remained tight-lipped
about it.”
“It was none of
her business and now it is none of yours.”
“Fine.” He held
up his hands knowing he would not get anywhere further on that front.
He started to say something but
another fit of coughing overcame him. This time it lasted longer
than before and had him doubling
over until Rebekah could assist him to a chair. Once seated,
she quickly got him something to
drink. She made to stand up when he grasped her wrist. She
could not help but notice that
his grip had weakened over the weeks. Kneeling beside him, she
looked up at him and saw the
desperation in his eyes. “Please, Rebekah.”
Those two words
were like a death knell sounding over the valley. Suddenly she felt as if
someone had put the last nail in
her coffin and she could not take in enough air. “Do what you
must,” she said, rising to her
feet. “Thank you. You don’t know how this eases my mind.” He took her hand and
gave it a
gentle squeeze.
“I’m going
outside with the children,” she said, slipping out of his grasp, and escaping
from the room. Once she reached
the coolness of the darkened hallway, she came to a stop.
“Bloody hell and damnation,” she
muttered, nerves and anger jockeying for first place position
inside her. “This will never
work. I’ll kill him first.” She pushed away from the wall and made
her way outside. The spring
sunshine felt wonderful on her face, a light breeze blew, lifting the
tendrils of hair off her neck.
***
Two hours later
Rebekah sat at the dining table with Teddy, the twins, and the vicar and
his wife. They had been allowed
to join the adults on what Teddy considered a special occasion.
She reached for her glass of wine
and paused as the ring on her left finger sparkled in the
candlelight. It felt heavy on her
hand, reminding her of all that had transpired today. She felt
relief that Teddy had had the
foresight not to put on her hand the ring that Sarah had worn. If he
had done that, she would have
been unable to hold back the tears that she currently fought.
Instead, her husband’s signet
ring encircled her finger. Ignoring it, she took her glass and drank
deeply. Her life would never be
the same.
“Lady Wulfe, are
you all right?” The vicar asked at her elbow.
“Yes, I’m sorry,
Vicar. It isn’t every day that a woman finds herself married, is it?”
“No, it isn’t. I
just wish your young man could have been here.”
“Yes,” she
murmured before taking another deep drink.
“You will be the
envy of all the women,” the vicar’s wife, Mrs. Young, said. “Wulfe is
such a handsome man, and there is
such mystery surrounding him.”
“Mystery,”
Rebekah huffed before taking another drink, only to find her glass empty.
She caught the eye of a footman
who quickly refilled it. She let the conversation flow around
her, not contributing overly to
it. The wine continued to flow and before she knew it, the vicar
and his wife were leaving.
“You are going
to have a hell of a headache in the morning, Bekah,” Teddy said as he
helped her up the stairs.
“That is Lady
Wulfe to you,” she slurred and stumbled up two stairs before standing
upright with the help of
Wulfecrest and the bannister. “Not even a proper wedding night, but
there was that one night.”
“What night?
What are you talking about?”
“I don’t kiss
and tell, Teddy,” she waggled her finger at him in mock reprimand.
“Perhaps I
should break the news of this marriage to my brother in person,” Teddy said.
“He doesn’t know?”
Rebekah giggled uncontrollably. “That’s rich!” She continued
giggling. “I’m married to a man
who doesn’t know he’s married. He’s going to murder us both
when he finds out,” she
singsonged.
“He will not.
How many glasses of wine did you have?” Teddy demanded.
“I lost count.
Why is the room spinning?” She asked curiously as they entered her
bedchamber.
“Just climb up
on your bed,” Teddy instructed.
“Wanted a
marriage like you and Sarah. So happy. But now I’m stuck with Thorn. Will
always have a thorn in my side,” she giggled and flopped back on the bed. Soon
she slept the
sleep of the truly inebriated.
“You, dear
sister, are going to have a terrible headache in the morning,” he told the
inert
form sprawled across the bed. He
looked around the room and spied a shawl draped over a chair.
He grabbed it and covered her
with it rather than fighting with the bedcovers. “Thank you for all
you have sacrificed for my
children,” he whispered and brushed a kiss across her forehead.
“Thorn, kiss me
again,” she mumbled.
“What secrets
are you carrying?” he asked the sleeping woman.
***
June 1811
“Good afternoon,
Director,” Thorn Wulfe greeted Mack in the obscure coffee
house. He had made sure no one
followed him. Very rarely did he get summoned to
meet the Director, and he
wondered what could cause the man to risk their connection
being made public.
“Wulfe, have a
seat,” Mack nodded at the waiter, and the man brought over two
cups. “I have some news to share
with you.”
“Will it help
with Glandingham? I swear that man is as slippery as an eel.”
“No, this is of
a more personal nature.”
“What is it?”
Wulfe asked, noting the solemn tone that had entered the man’s
voice.
“There is no
easy way to say this. Your brother was in London to see you. We
were on our way to the Lady Luck
and someone took a shot at me. Your brother saved
my life.”
“Where is he?”
“He didn’t make
it. He told me he was dying and had some things he needed to
tell you. He went very quickly.”
“Teddy’s dead?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Where?”
“A few blocks
from the Horseguards. I believe it was an assassination attempt on
me.”
“I see.”
“Take a drink of
your coffee. I had them put something a bit stronger in it.”
Wulfe
mechanically took a drink of the coffee, welcoming the whisky he could
taste in it. He just as quickly
put the cup down. “The twins. I have to get to the twins.
Sarah’s parents will be like
vultures,” he knew he was rambling, but could not stop.
“The children
are being well cared for at the moment by your wife.”
In the process
of standing, Wulfe paused, hands braced on the table and looked at
McKenzie. “I’m sorry, Director,
but I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you say they
were being looked after by my
wife? And before you answer, please remember that I am
very much single and have a
beautiful mistress that is very demanding of my attention.”
“The children
are being cared for by your wife,” Mack repeated. “And just who the hell is
this wife?”
“Your brother
said the name ‘Bekah’.”
“Bloody hell!
How in the hell am I married to that waspish woman when I am in
London and she is at Wulfecrest
Manor?”
“Proxy
marriage.”
Wulfe dropped
back on the chair. He would have had to sign some sort of papers,
wouldn’t he? Then he remembered a
night several years ago when he had not been
thinking clearly. A night that
had changed the lives of several people. Barkley, his valet
had presented papers for him to
sign and passed them off as “estate business”. Bloody
hell, he had signed his life over
to a fishwife. Never again would he sign something
without reading it thoroughly.
“Damn, damn, damn,” he muttered before pounding his
fist on the table. His head began
to pound.
From a young age I could always be found carrying around books to read while watching my grandmother's soap operas with her. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on and even made up skits and stories for my friends and me to act out. Once I outgrew the children's and YA books, my mom introduced me to an entirely new world - contemporary romance. Upon discovering I had a love for history I began devouring historical romances. One day, sitting in a college British History class, something the professor said made me think, I wonder. I quickly called mom (also a writer) and ran the idea by her. After being told, "Of course you can do it, you're my daughter," the rest, as they say, is history. I currently share my love of reading with the next generation as a high school librarian, and share my personal life with my demanding dog trapped in a cat's body, Ajax.
Leslie Carroll is the author of several works of historical nonfiction, women’s fiction, and, under the pen names Juliet Grey and Amanda Elyot, is a multipublished author of historical fiction. Her nonfiction titles include Royal Romances, Royal Pains, Royal Affairs, and Notorious Royal Marriages. She is also a classically trained professional actress with numerous portrayals of virgins, vixens, and villainesses to her credit, and is an award-winning audio book narrator. 
