Читать книгу Marrying the Major - Victoria Bylin - Страница 3

Dear Reader,

Writers are always looking for fresh ideas. Maybe that’s why I matched Caroline Bradley, the last of the Swan’s Nest heroines, with a retired British Army officer. To make the romance more challenging, I gave him malaria. Somewhere along the line, my hero surprised me yet again by announcing he was the third son of a duke and that he’d become heir apparent.

Tristan’s disclosure led to more questions than I ever imagined. How are titles passed on? What are the proper forms of address? What’s the difference between a duke, a marquis, a marquess and an earl? Then there are the titles for women and how they’re used … And that’s just the beginning.

The rites of inheritance were crucial to this book, and I started off with the mistaken notion that a man could refuse an inherited title. I owe a debt of gratitude to the online community of romance writers who graciously offered help with the facts and led me to websites with oodles of information.

This Western writer did her best, but a Stetson fits me better than a tiara. Any mistakes are mine.

With Caroline happily married, the WOMEN OF SWAN’S NEST series has come to an end. I’ve enjoyed telling these stories and hope you’ve laughed and cried along with the characters. In my imagination I see them all in twenty years. The women will still be friends, and they’ll be cheering for each other. The men will be working to support their families, and they’ll be loving their wives, children and grandchildren for years to come. After all, a good love story never really ends.

All the best,