The Proposal (Betty Neels Collection novella)
By Betty Neels
4/5
()
About this ebook
Mills & Boon presents the Betty Neels collection. Timeless tales of heart–warming romance by one of the world's best–loved romance authors.
Two mischievous dogs led Francesca Haley to a chance meeting with Dr. Renier Pitt–Colwyn, and a ragtag kitten won her his goddaughter's heart.
But the handsome Dutchman could hardly be interested in an ordinary girl like her…. Or could he?
Betty Neels
Romance readers around the world were sad to note the passing of Betty Neels in June 2001.Her career spanned thirty years, and she continued to write into her ninetieth year.To her millions of fans, Betty epitomized the romance writer.Betty’s first book, Sister Peters in Amsterdam,was published in 1969, and she eventually completed 134 books.Her novels offer a reassuring warmth that was very much a part of her own personality.Her spirit and genuine talent live on in all her stories.
Read more from Betty Neels
Fate is Remarkable Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saturday's Child Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Christmas Romance: A Heartfelt Holiday Romance Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl With the Green Eyes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet Professor (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Doctor's Girl (Betty Neels Collection novella) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Innocent Bride (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hasty Marriage (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Valentine For Daisy (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Proposal (Betty Neels Collection novella)
Related ebooks
The Right Kind Of Girl (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Girl To Love (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Awakened Heart (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Most Marvellous Summer (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Gentle Awakening (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fateful Bargain (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Always And Forever (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Polly (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bachelor's Wedding (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midsummer Star (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roses For Christmas (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Winter Of Change Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Daughter Of The Manor (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Weeks To Remember (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dream Came True (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Pool (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Independent Woman (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Doctor's Girl (Betty Neels Collection novella) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Star Looks Down (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Ordinary Girl (Betty Neels Collection novella) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love Can Wait (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pineapple Girl (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nanny By Chance (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An Innocent Bride (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Two Paths Meet (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Kiss For Julie (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Girl In A Million (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish With The Candles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Matter Of Chance (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic Of Living (Betty Neels Collection) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Romance For You
After Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bossy: An Erotic Workplace Diary Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Adults Only Volume 3: Seven Erotica Shorts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seven Sisters: Book One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Him: Him, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Erotic Fantasies Anthology Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Swear on This Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Roses Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Messy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart Bones: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ugly Love: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Now: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Perfect: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Protecting What's Theirs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish You Were Here: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hopeless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tess of the d'Urbervilles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Favorite Half-Night Stand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Expectations (Illustrated): Dickens' original and classic endings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures: a joyful and heart-warming novel you won't want to miss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe Not: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dating You / Hating You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Proposal (Betty Neels Collection novella)
14 ratings1 review
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5in these two stories, both English gals find love with a dutch professor, just in time for Christmas.
Book preview
The Proposal (Betty Neels Collection novella) - Betty Neels
CHAPTER ONE
THE HAZY early morning sun of September had very little warmth as yet, but it turned the trees and shrubs of the park to a tawny gold, encouraging the birds to sing too, so that even in the heart of London there was an illusion of the countryside.
The Green Park was almost empty so early in the day; indeed the only person visible was a girl, walking a Yorkshire terrier on a long lead. She was a tall girl with a tawny mane of hair and vivid blue eyes set in a pretty face, rather shabbily dressed; although her clothes were well cut they were not in the height of fashion.
She glanced at her watch; she had walked rather further than usual so Lady Mortimor, although she wouldn’t be out of bed herself, would be sure to enquire of her maid if the early morning walk with Bobo had taken the exact time allowed for it. She could have walked for hours … She was on the point of turning on her heel when something large, heavy and furry cannoned into her from the back and she sat down suddenly and in a most unladylike fashion in a tangle of large dog, a hysterical Bobo and Bobo’s lead. The dog put an enormous paw on her chest and grinned happily down at her before licking her cheek gently and then turning his attention to Bobo; possibly out of friendliness he kept his paw on her chest, which made getting to her feet a bit of a problem.
A problem solved by the arrival of the dog’s owner—it had to be its owner, she decided … only a giant could control a beast of such size and this man, from her horizontal position, justified the thought; he was indeed large, dressed in trousers and a pullover and, even from upside-down, handsome. What was more, he was smiling …
He heaved her to her feet with one hand and began to dust her down. ‘I do apologise,’ he told her in a deep, rather slow voice. ‘Brontes has a liking for very small dogs …’
The voice had been grave, but the smile tugging at the corners of his thin mouth annoyed her. ‘If you aren’t able to control your dog you should keep him on a lead,’ she told him tartly, and then in sudden fright, ‘Where’s Bobo? If he’s lost, I’ll never—’
‘Keep calm,’ begged the man in a soothing voice which set her teeth on edge, and whistled. His dog bounded out from the bushes near by and his master said, ‘Fetch,’ without raising his voice and the animal bounded off again to reappear again very shortly with Bobo’s lead between his teeth and Bobo trotting obediently at the other end of it.
‘Good dog,’ said the man quietly. ‘Well, we must be on our way. You are quite sure you are not hurt?’ He added kindly, ‘It is often hard to tell when one is angry as well.’
‘I am not angry, nor am I hurt. It was lucky for you that I wasn’t an elderly dowager with a Peke.’
‘Extremely lucky. Miss …?’ He smiled again, studying her still cross face from under heavy lids. ‘Renier Pitt-Colwyn.’ He offered a hand and engulfed hers in a firm grasp.
‘Francesca Haley. I—I have to go.’ Curiosity got the better of good sense. ‘Your dog—that’s a strange name?’
‘He has one eye….’
‘Oh, one of the Cyclopes. Goodbye.’
‘Goodbye, Miss Haley.’ He stood watching her walking away towards the Piccadilly entrance to the park. She didn’t look back, and presently she broke into an easy run and, when Bobo’s little legs could no longer keep up, scooped him into her arms and ran harder as far as the gate. Here she put him down and walked briskly across the road into Berkeley Street, turned into one of the elegant, narrow side-streets and went down the area steps of one of the fine houses. One of Lady Mortimor’s strict rules was that she and Bobo should use the tradesmen’s entrance when going for their thrice-daily outings. The magnificent entrance hall was not to be sullied by dirty paws, or for that matter Francesca’s dirty shoes.
The door opened onto a dark passage with white-washed walls and a worn lino on the floor; it smelled of damp, raincoats, dog and a trace of cooked food, and after the freshness of the early morning air in the park it caused Francesca’s nose to wrinkle. She opened one of the doors in the passage, hung up the lead, dried Bobo’s paws and went through to the kitchen.
Lady Mortimor’s breakfast tray was being prepared and her maid, Ethel, was standing by the table, squeezing orange juice. She was an angular woman with eyes set too close together in a mean face, and she glanced at the clock as Francesca went in, Bobo under one arm. Francesca, with a few minutes to spare, wished her good morning, adding cheerfully, ‘Let Lady Mortimor know that Bobo has had a good run, will you, Ethel? I’m going over for my breakfast; I’ll be back as usual.’ She put the little dog down and the woman nodded surlily. Bobo always went to his mistress’s room with her breakfast tray and that meant that Francesca had almost an hour to herself before she would begin her duties as secretary-companion to that lady. A title which hardly fitted the manifold odd jobs which filled her day.
She went back out of the side-door and round to the back of the house, past the elegant little garden to the gate which led to the mews behind the terrace of houses. Over the garage she had her rooms, rather grandly called by Lady Mortimor a flat, where she and her young sister lived. The flat was the reason for her taking the job in the first place, and she was intent on keeping it, for it made a home for the pair of them and, although Lady Mortimor made it an excuse for paying her a very small salary, at least they had a roof over their heads.
Lucy was up and dressed and getting their breakfast. She was very like her sister, although her hair was carroty instead of tawny and her nose turned up. Later on, in a few years’ time, she would be as pretty as Francesca, although at fourteen she anguished over her appearance, her ambition being to grow up as quickly as possible, marry a very rich man and live in great comfort with Francesca sharing her home. An arrangement, Francesca had pointed out, which might not suit her husband. ‘I hate you working for that horrid old woman,’ Lucy had said fiercely.
‘Well, love,’ Francesca had been matter-of-fact about it, ‘it’s a job and we have a home of sorts and you’re being educated. Only a few more years and you will have finished school and embarked on a career which will astonish the world and I shall retire.’
Now she took off her cardigan and set about laying the table in the small sitting-room with its minute alcove which housed the cooking stove and the sink.
‘I had an adventure,’ she said to her sister, and over the boiled eggs told her about it.
‘What kind of a dog?’ Lucy wanted to know.
‘Well, hard to tell—he looked like a very large St Bernard from the front, but he sort of tapered off towards the tail, and that was long enough for two dogs. He was very obedient.’