It is my pleasure to host fellow Clean Reads Author, Wendy May Andrews on my blog today. Learn more about her novella, The Governess' Debut.
The Governess’ Debut
By: Wendy May Andrews
The Governess’
Debut is a 24,000 word Sweet Regency Romance
Novella
Tagline:
Can the governess charm both the spoiled
child and the haughty earl?
Blurb:
After her parents died in an accident and
her brother gambled away her inheritance and dowry, leaving her to fend for
herself while he ran off to the colonies, Miss Felicia Scott must find a way to
keep a roof over her head. No longer able to enter the Marriage Mart but
certainly not of the servant class, the only option is to find a position as
governess.
Her luck finally turns when an acquaintance
refers her to the haughty widower, Lord Victor Astley, Earl of Standish. His
spoiled, seven year old daughter has been through three governesses in the 18
months since her mother died.
The earl is highly doubtful the young,
inexperienced Miss Scott could possible manage his irascible daughter but since
he is desperate he agrees to give her a chance. Much to the astonishment of the
entire household Felicia succeeds beautifully, bringing the little lady under
control and brightening the lives of everyone she comes in contact with,
including the jaded earl.
Will her joyful spirit be able to finally
melt his resistant heart?
About
the Author:
Wendy May Andrews has been reading whatever
she could get her hands on since the age of five. She has been writing for
almost as long but hasn’t been sharing those stories with anyone but her mother
until recently. Wendy lives in Toronto with her own real-life hero. When not
writing or reading, they love to travel wherever the mood takes them. This is
Ms. Andrews’ second publication with Clean Reads.
Website:
Social
Media:
Twitter:
@WendyMayAndrews
Excerpt:
Lord Victor Astley, the
fifth Earl of Standish, was surprised by his own undisciplined reaction when
the young woman was announced. He was always in control of himself and his
environment. It was decidedly out of character that he would be unnerved by the
presence of a young woman in his library.
“Miss
Felicia Scott to see you, my lord,” Alfred, the earl’s aging
butler, had announced in even tones, not revealing anything about his own
reaction to the elegant young woman who had been recommended to fill the post
of governess to the earl’s hoyden of a daughter.
The earl nodded to her from
behind his desk, not bothering to come around to bow over her hand. “Thank you, Alfred. Please see that a tea tray is brought in
momentarily.”
Miss Scott dipped into a
respectful, deep curtsy, forgetting for a moment that her new position in the
servant class did not require the varying degrees of courtesy. When it did cross her mind she dismissed the
thought, surmising accurately that the haughty looking earl would consider the
extra depth to be his due.
Felicia had made every
effort to appear as serious and trustworthy as possible. Her sober gown of brown worsted material was
just perfect for whatever activities she would be involved in while chasing
after a seven-year-old child. Realizing
she looked quite young, she had scraped her thick, curling, brown hair into the
severest hairstyle she could manage, hoping it lent her an air of maturity.
Of course, in her
innocence, she was unaware of the things that were impossible to hide – her obvious breeding was
evident in her proudly erect carriage.
Intelligence shone from her wide, shining, green eyes as she glanced
around the earl’s handsomely appointed library.
Her own governess had done
her best to prepare her but since this was the first time Felicia had applied
for a position she was somewhat uncertain as to proper protocol. The earl was still gazing at her with a
rather arrested expression on his severe, but still handsome face, so she
surmised that he was waiting for her to say something.
“Thank
you for agreeing to see me, my lord.”
The earl blinked away his
momentary inertia. Despite the glowing
recommendations he had received it was obvious to him she would be impossible
for the position. He was uncomfortable
with the strange reaction he had felt to her presence, besides she was much too
young. There was no way she would be able to control his daughter. He supposed he still had to interview her.
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