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    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction): A Novella
    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction): A Novella
    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction): A Novella
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction): A Novella

    By Jen Turano

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    When Miss Charlotte Wilson asks God for a husband, she decides He must want her to pursue Mr. Hamilton Beckett, the catch of the season. The only problem? She's never actually met Hamilton. Fortunately, one of her oldest and dearest friends, Mr. Henry St. James--who has returned to New York after a two-year absence--does know Hamilton. Much to Henry's chagrin, Charlotte immediately ropes him into helping her meet Hamilton. However, none of her plans to catch Hamilton's eye go as she expected, and she is even more confused when her old feelings for Henry begin to resurrect themselves. In the midst of the mayhem Charlotte always seems to cause, she wonders if the gentleman of her dreams might be an entirely different man than she thought.

    This novella is a companion to A Change of Fortune, Jen Turano's full-length debut novel, available fall 2012!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBaker Publishing Group
    Release dateSep 1, 2012
    ISBN9781441261236
    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction): A Novella
    Author

    Jen Turano

    Jen Turano is the author of over eight books and two novellas. A graduate of the University of Akron, she has a degree in clothing and textiles, is a member of ACFW, and lives in Denver, Colorado. For more information, visit her at www.jenturano.com.

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    Reviews for Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction)

    4/5

    49 ratings2 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      DNF

      I just can't go any further - it's too painful.

      Combine historically inaccurate dialogue and descriptions, cartoon-movie-situations, over-the-top romantic "feels", and a guy who is, of course, incredibly buff and has blue eyes, and you get Gentleman of Her Dreams.

      Sorry, Turano fans, this is just not working for me.
    • 5/5
      Miss Charlotte Wilson believes that God has brought her the perfect man to marry, Mr. Hamilton Beckett. But is he truly the gentleman of her dreams? Charlotte has devised a flawless scheme to snatch up the perfect husband. But does she have her sights set on the wrong man?My review of this novella is short because I don't want to give away too many spoilers. I enjoyed reading this short prequel to Jen Turano's series Ladies of Distinction. It is light and full of humor! An excellent start to this series and I can not wait to read the first book, A Change of Fortune. Jen Turano has quickly become one of my favorite authors. After a Fashion is by far one of my favorite books that I have read this year.

    Book preview

    Gentleman of Her Dreams (Ladies of Distinction) - Jen Turano

    © 2012 by Jennifer L. Turano

    Published by Bethany House Publishers

    11400 Hampshire Avenue South

    Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

    www.bethanyhouse.com

    Bethany House Publishers is a division of

    Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

    www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

    Ebook edition created 2012

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

    ISBN 978-1-4412-6123-6

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    Cover design by Jennifer Parker

    Author Represented by The Seymour Agency

    Contents

    Cover

    Title Page

    Copyright Page

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    Excerpt from A Change of Fortune

    Back Cover

    NEW YORK, 1880

    Miss Charlotte Wilson had made a decision.

    She was going to marry Mr. Hamilton Beckett.

    The fact she’d never actually made Mr. Beckett’s acquaintance was a bit concerning, but . . . she had a plan.

    She finished buttoning her gown and moved to the floor-length mirror, eyeing her reflection with a critical eye. She tilted her head and released a sigh.

    She was not what anyone would call a classic beauty.

    No, her hair was a nondescript brown—although it did have some lovely golden streaks running through it due to the unusual amount of time she spent in the sun—. Her eyes matched her hair, her cheeks were a touch plumper than current fashion demanded, and her mouth was a tad too full.

    Mr. Beckett’s first wife, God rest her soul, had been a raving beauty.

    She brightened when the thought came to her that although Mary Ellen Beckett had been blessed with perfect features, she’d also been cursed with a temperamental personality, and perhaps Mr. Beckett was searching for a wife who wasn’t causing mayhem on a regular basis.

    Charlotte bit her lip.

    She caused mayhem on a regular basis, not that it was intentional, but mayhem had been her constant companion ever since she was a little girl.

    Deciding there was no use dwelling on that particular subject because there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, Charlotte turned from the mirror and moved to her closet, smiling when she pulled out a darling hat that would complement her outfit. She strode back to the mirror, plopped the hat on her head, and maneuvered it to a jaunty angle.

    There, she didn’t look too hideous.

    Now all that was left to do was put her plan into action and hope for the best.

    She knew she would be successful, knew it just as she’d known she’d master the feat of riding a bicycle. Not that riding a bicycle had been easy. The first time she’d attempted it she’d only traveled a mere ten feet before the fabric of her skirt got tangled in the chain and then . . . disaster descended. The bicycle came to an abrupt stop, tipped forward, and she’d catapulted over the handlebars, breaking her arm in the process.

    She was all too familiar with their family doctor.

    Breaking her arm hadn’t dampened her determination. She’d created a gown that was more suitable to riding, coerced her friend, Penny, to stitch it up for her, as Charlotte was less than proficient with a needle and thread, and headed for her family’s country house where she’d hopped on the seat, set her sights down the road, and finally, after numerous attempts, taken flight.

    It had been exhilarating.

    Landing Mr. Hamilton Beckett would be exhilarating.

    She grinned, confident she’d be able to pull off the task of securing him as a husband because she’d made a special request in her nightly prayers a week before. She was incredibly stingy with her requests, believing God had more important things to deal with than her trivial matters, so she knew He’d grant her prayer this time.

    She’d asked Him to send her the gentleman of her dreams, and He’d never failed to grant her requests before, hence the reason she was certain she’d get her man.

    When she’d quite literally bounced into Mr. Beckett at a charity event the very night after she’d made her plea, she’d realized God had already answered her prayer.

    Unfortunately, bouncing into a hard, unyielding male body while traveling at a somewhat rapid rate of speed, something she did rather frequently, resulted in her propelling backwards, straight into a tightly knit huddle of lovely young ladies, which caused them to tumble to the ground. Shrieks were emitted, limbs flew, and by the time Charlotte was able to pull herself from the midst of tangled bodies and extend all the ladies her most abject apologies, Mr. Beckett was already moving away with one of the young ladies, weeping quite dramatically, on his arm.

    Not deterred in the least that she’d been unable to secure an introduction, she’d retreated to her home where she began to devise a plan which would allow her to become known to Mr. Hamilton Beckett.

    A knock on her bedroom door pulled Charlotte from her thoughts. She moved across the room and opened the door, finding Tilda, one of the downstairs maids, standing on the other side.

    Cook wanted me to tell you your picnic lunch is ready, Tilda said.

    Wonderful, Charlotte exclaimed.

    She also wanted to make certain you really needed that much food because apparently the picnic basket is remarkably heavy.

    If luck is with me today, there will be four people sitting down to dine, Charlotte said. Two of the people are children, and since I’m not certain what children eat, I requested a wide variety of food.

    Tilda tilted her head. How old are these children?

    Hmm . . . I have no idea, which does pose a dilemma, Charlotte admitted. I didn’t realize I’d neglected something so important, but if these children are going to be my step-children, I should definitely learn their ages.

    You’re getting married?

    She should not have let that slip.

    It wouldn’t help her cause if word got out amongst the servants. They were notorious gossips, and the last thing she needed was for Mr. Beckett to hear rumors she was stalking, er . . . pursuing him.

    I have no immediate plans to marry, Tilda, she settled on saying, but I’m not getting any younger, and I really should consider the idea. I’ve finally realized that I’ve somehow managed to become an old spinster.

    "Twenty-one isn’t that old," Tilda said.

    And didn’t that exactly sum up why she needed to find a husband?

    She was a spinster and she was growing older by the second.

    How she’d achieved this unpleasant state, she really couldn’t say, but she couldn’t ignore the facts or the idea that all of her friends, except for Miss Agatha Watson, were firmly off the shelf while she lingered there.

    It was becoming downright embarrassing.

    Her circumstances wouldn’t have gotten nearly so dire if only some of the gentlemen she’d met over the years had possessed a zest for life. She only knew one gentleman who was as curious as she was and thrived on new experiences, but . . . he’d made it clear theirs was to be a relationship based on friendship only, so she’d tucked her longings for him deep into the recesses of her heart and never allowed herself to wonder what her life could have been like if she’d ended

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