The Bestowed Bride

Lord Dere's Dependents, Book 3

What if your first husband chose your second?

The formerly spirited—and even wild—naval man Horace Langworthy returns to England, having lost his best friend and two years of his life as a prisoner of war, only to find his childhood sweetheart engaged to another man. And though the promises made to him have been broken, he determines now on keeping his own. He will care for the widow and orphan entrusted to him by his late friend Sebastian Barstow. But his attempt at being a new man meets unexpected obstacles, including the very widow and orphan he is trying to save.

Two years after losing her beloved husband Sebastian, Sarah Barstow has learned to be content with what remains: her young son Bash and a permanent home with her late husband’s lively and affectionate family. But when little Bash falls for the new curate, Sarah wonders if she should follow suit. Certainly he would be a wiser choice than the young man who appears out of nowhere, offering to marry her and claiming Sebastian entrusted her to him! Horace Langworthy, whom Sarah always thought set such a bad example to her husband and other navy men? Utter nonsense.

But when Langworthy's thwarted duty becomes thwarted love, can the belle-passion prove stronger than her prejudice?

The Bestowed Bride is a sweet traditional Regency romance, third in the Lord Dere’s Dependents series. Each book can be listened to as a standalone or in order.

©2025 Christina Dudley (P)2025 BellaVita Press

Not too bad

I like these stories. But two things frustrated me about this one. There were many injected internal thoughts. And worse, though the narrator was excellent, those thoughts were usually whispered. So there was. Lot of rewinding, turning the volume up, and then turning it back down.