Lord Dashwood Missed Out

Spindle Cove Series, Book 4.5

A snowstorm hath no fury like a spinster scorned!

Miss Elinora Browning grew up yearning for the handsome, intelligent lord-next-door…but he left England without a word of farewell. One night, inspired by a bit too much sherry, Nora poured out her heartbreak on paper. Lord Dashwood Missed Out was a love letter to every young lady who’d been overlooked by gentlemen—and an instant bestseller. Now she’s on her way to speak in Spindle Cove when snowy weather delays her coach. She’s forced to wait out the storm with the worst possible companion: Lord Dashwood himself.

And he finally seems to have noticed her.

George Travers, Lord Dashwood, has traveled the globe as a cartographer. He returned to England with the goal of marrying and creating an heir—only to find his reputation shredded by an audacious, vexingly attractive bluestocking and her poison pen. Lord Dashwood Missed Out, his arse. Since Nora Browning seems to believe he overlooked the passion of a lifetime, Dash challenges her to prove it.

She has one night.

(a paperback edition will be available on January 19, 2016)

Awards and Honors

2016 All About Romance Reader Poll – Best Novella

What people are saying

“Grade: A… I finished this book with the biggest smile on my face.” ~The Good, the Bad, and the Unread

“I highly recommend reading LORD DASHWOOD MISSED OUT by Tessa Dare because to not is to most certainly MISS OUT!” ~Unwrapping Romance

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Read an Excerpt

Here’s a tiny advance peek!
For an additional excerpt, see my “Ripping the Bodice” blog post:


She’d just finished checking her bootlaces when the door banged open.

Again, she startled, pressing a hand to her chest. “Dash. I thought you’d gone.”

“You truly believe I’m capable of such villainy? Abandoning you alone in a snowstorm to fend for yourself?”

“Well. You did leave me without a word once before.”

He made a gruff noise. “I thought your little pamphlet wasn’t about me.”

Nora didn’t reply.

“Don’t worry, you needn’t count this as chivalry on my part,” he said. “I could say I’m acting out of long-held esteem for your family. But mostly, I’ll be damned if I’ll leave you here to scribble the sequel: Lord Ashwood* Left Me for Dead.” He thrust a big, gloved hand in her direction and made an impatient motion. “Come along.”

She regarded him, wary. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a cottage some distance off the road. I believe it’s some sort of gamekeeper’s shelter.”

“A cottage?”

“Perhaps you’d call it a hut.”

“A hut.”

“It seems to be uninhabited at the moment. Probably barren inside.”

“Well, that’s lucky,” she said, taking his hand. “One wouldn’t want for this abandoned hut to be too comfortable. We might be tempted to stay for a holiday.”

He grasped her by the wrist and yanked her to him. Their bodies collided as she stumbled into the snow.

Despite the chill, parts of Nora melted. Oh. Those muscles again.

“It’s a structure,” he said. “One with walls and a roof, and it will keep us alive until the coachman returns in the morning.” He looked down and gave her a cold, strange smile. “Assuming we don’t kill each other first.”


*I promise this isn’t a typo, even though it says Ashwood, not Dashwood. All will be explained!

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Extras

Ever wonder where authors get their ideas?

Read the story behind the story of Lord Dashwood Missed Out, as posted on the USA Today “Happy Ever After” blog.

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Other Books in the "Spindle Cove Series" series

A Night to Surrender

A Night to Surrender

Book 1

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Once Upon a Winter’s Eve

Book 1.5

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A Week to Be Wicked

A Week to be Wicked

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A Lady By Midnight

A Lady by Midnight

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Beauty and the Blacksmith

Beauty and the Blacksmith

Book 3.5

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Any Duchess Will Do

Any Duchess Will Do

Book 4

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Castles Ever After 4, Spindle Cove 5 (crossover)

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Love Letters from a Lord

Love Letters from a Lord

Book 5.5

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