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Rescued By The Forbidden Rake
Mary Brendan
Beholden to an irresistible rogue…When her half-sister goes missing, respectable Faye Shawcross is at her wits end! Convinced her impulsive younger sister has got herself mired in potential scandal, Faye is unsure where to turn to for help – certainly not her upstanding fiancé!The last person she expects to come to her rescue is the very man she’s condemned a rogue, Ryan Kavanagh, the dis-honourable, and disconcertingly alluring viscount! The magnetic Irishman knows he raises Faye’s passions, however reluctantly. He can nip her impending family scandal in the bud, for a price – he wants Faye as his mistress…
Beholden to an irresistible rogue...
When her half sister goes missing, respectable Faye Shawcross is at her wits’ end! Convinced her impulsive younger sister has gotten herself mired in potential scandal, Faye is unsure whom to turn to for help—certainly not her upstanding fiancé.
The last person she expects to come to her rescue is the very man she’s condemned a rogue—Ryan Kavanagh, the dishonorable and disconcertingly alluring viscount. The magnetic Irishman knows he raises Faye’s passions, however reluctantly. He can nip her impending family scandal in the bud, for a price: he wants Faye as his mistress...
‘I’m very sorry to turn up again and bother you, sir,’ Faye blurted as soon as the door had closed.
‘I made it obvious when you were last here that I like being bothered by you, Miss Shawcross.’ Slowly he straightened and turned to face her. ‘In fact, I’m hoping you’ve saved me a journey to Mulberry House to speak to you. If you’re back to tell me you feel the same way about me, I can suggest what we might do about it.’
The irony in his voice couldn’t quite disguise the fact that he meant every word. And heaven only knew she did crave having his strong arms about her again. She knew if he bruised her mouth with his own, as he had before, his fiery passion would eradicate every worry from her head as easily as sunlight dissolved snow.
‘I deduce from your silence that you’re in two minds on it. Perhaps I should help you decide.’ He plunged his hands into his pockets and pinned her down with a dangerously challenging stare.
Faye put down her untasted tea in a rattle of crockery. ‘I bid you to be serious, sir, if you will.’
‘I’ve never been more serious in my life,’ he returned.
His vivid, unsmiling eyes tangled with hers before travelling over her body in a way that caused iced heat to streak through her veins.
‘And neither was I more serious than when I told you I will soon be married.’ Slashes of bright colour accented Faye’s cheekbones. ‘You shouldn’t have kissed me, Mr Kavanagh, and I shouldn’t have...’
Unable to explain herself, she snatched up her hat and gloves from the sofa.
‘You shouldn’t have betrayed your fiancé by liking it?’ he suggested. ‘Perhaps your feelings for Mr Collins aren’t as strong as you thought they were.’
Author Note (#u8cea3a97-8897-5431-9da8-484ee3998bcd)
In my new Regency romance, Rescued by the Forbidden Rake, the heroine is known to be a good young woman. Everybody says so. Faye Shawcross has cared for her younger half-siblings since their feckless widowed mother abandoned them to chase after her lover. She’s also been a constant fiancée to her seafaring future husband.
But sometimes the temptation to stray from the path of righteousness is too strong to resist. Especially when it becomes obvious that duty and selflessness are not appreciated by those benefiting from them. Faye might be sweet-natured, but she is nobody’s doormat!
For years Faye has been content to settle for the quiet life of a country lady, surrounded by pastoral beauty and good friends. When Viscount Ryan Kavanagh turns up in the neighbourhood gossip immediately starts about this handsome Irishman’s licentious ways.
The things that Faye hears about Valeside Manor’s new squire can’t possibly be true...can they? He seems to be the perfect neighbour, helping her out of one tricky situation after another when her younger sister falls in love with a gypsy lad. But has Ryan Kavanagh an ulterior motive where she’s concerned, that proves his devilishness isn’t simply a rumour? And who is he really, anyway?
Faye wants to believe her rescuer sincere, but how can she trust him when he is reluctant to tell her about himself? Should she jeopardise everything she holds dear and take a chance on a future with the wicked Irishman?
I hope you enjoy reading about how Faye and Ryan battle their way through lies and deceit to discover peace and happiness for themselves and their families.
Rescued by the Forbidden Rake
Mary Brendan
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
MARY BRENDAN was born in North London, but now lives in rural Suffolk. She has always had a fascination with bygone days, and enjoys the research involved in writing historical fiction. When not at her word processor she can be found trying to bring order to a large overgrown garden, or browsing local fairs and junk shops for that elusive bargain.
Books by Mary Brendan
Mills & Boon Historical Romance
The Virtuous Courtesan
The Rake’s Defiant Mistress
Rescued by the Forbidden Rake
Linked by Character
Tarnished, Tempted and Tamed
Compromising the Duke’s Daughter
Society Scandals
A Date with Dishonour
The Rake’s Ruined Lady
Regency Rogues
Chivalrous Rake, Scandalous Lady
Dangerous Lord, Seductive Miss
The Hunter Brothers
A Practical Mistress
The Wanton Bride
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.
Contents
Cover (#uda572cc0-63b9-544a-89c0-19b70c6cf37a)
Back Cover Text (#ud85ad988-d079-53c2-bb63-44d84c3191e7)
Introduction (#ue1d6a94b-35d5-52a3-9745-1c37a20e7b83)
Author Note (#uaa693153-bab3-57f1-95ba-439bb6b0ea4f)
Title Page (#u1abb0c19-604b-5ff8-a953-05d9db9932d9)
About the Author (#uab7fd015-5e81-500a-815c-c6b9a65fff0a)
Chapter One (#u1b86e9d0-c24c-54a1-a3cd-94ed17b4e141)
Chapter Two (#u6a0424f1-8534-54c2-ab63-7fff38e561c5)
Chapter Three (#u542f89d4-daad-5d56-ad42-4500390e86c0)
Chapter Four (#u50585e49-1926-56f5-861e-3a74c049143a)
Chapter Five (#u82ed1922-b238-5992-82b0-9ec68edb780d)
Chapter Six (#ueef5f69c-153c-5cc9-8fef-b5b5383cbcdf)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u8cea3a97-8897-5431-9da8-484ee3998bcd)
‘Our business is concluded, sir. I have made my decision.’
Faye Shawcross abruptly stood up. The sauce of the man! Not only had he advised her to invest in a financial plan that had failed dismally, but he wanted to persuade her to plough what money remained to her into another of his schemes. When she had received his note yesterday, requesting an audience, she had believed he intended to come and beg forgiveness for letting her down so badly. She had even harboured a hope that he might speak of recompense. Not so much of it! Barely had he settled on a chair before proffering a new parchment for signature as though she were a gullible fool.
‘I do not want to seem dictatorial, Miss Shawcross, but I beg you will reconsider my proposal. I’m sure your fiancé would direct you to listen to me, were he here.’
‘But he is not, and neither is his presence required. I need no further time, or advice, sir. I have clearly said I have made my decision and have terminated my contract with you. Goodbye.’
A moment ago Faye had employed the small brass bell on the table by her side; her housekeeper had promptly appeared and was now hovering, awaiting an instruction.
‘Mr Westwood is leaving, Mrs Gideon.’
A barking cough from the servant reminded the man she was ready to show him out.
Westwood had sprung to his feet as Miss Shawcross did, an angry blush burning in his cheeks at her curt dismissal; but he managed to jerk a bow. ‘As you wish; but I make no apology for striving to assist you in restoring your fortunes.’
‘Perhaps you might instead like to apologise for having depleted them in the first place,’ Faye replied coolly, anger and impatience sparking green fire in her eyes.
‘I mentioned to you there was a risk attached,’ he intoned piously.
‘But not quite as fulsomely as you bade me to pay no heed to it. Had I an inkling that my money might disappear within a short while of you handling it, sir, I would not have listened to a word you uttered.’
Westwood’s eyes popped, but Faye was not intimidated by his display of fury. She indicated he should leave with a nod.
Barely had the parlour door closed on his ramrod-straight back when it again opened and a boy hurtled over the threshold.
‘Are we poor?’
‘Of course not, my dear.’ Faye held out her arms to her half-brother, catching Michael into her embrace. ‘We are just not quite as well off as once we were.’
‘I can still go to school in Warwick?’
‘Indeed you can! And I hope to have some better reports from your headmaster when you return in the autumn, young man.’
Michael looked sheepish at the reminder of his misbehaviour. ‘I know I shouldn’t have got into that fight.’
‘No you shouldn’t...but neither should you allow those boys to bully you.’ Faye ruffled her half-brother’s fair hair. She felt guilty that Michael had been mocked by some older pupils when the news circulated about his overdue school fees. The headmaster’s letter had been one of the first indications that all was not well. She had accepted Westwood’s explanation that the matter was just an oversight. How she regretted having been so naive!
But now she had terminated the lawyer’s contract the periodic sum the charlatan had charged to nurture her investments would again be available for essentials. They weren’t poor...but neither were they rich, nor even comfortably off as they had once been. Faye bitterly regretted having employed Westwood; but he had come recommended by the man she was to marry and thus she’d trusted the fellow to deliver what he’d promised. Now she suspected he was incompetent at best and corrupt at worst, but she had no proof that he’d done anything underhand. She’d willingly signed the documents, handing him control of half her father’s bequest. Fighting Westwood in court and losing the battle would certainly end in her destitution. With her younger siblings relying on her she couldn’t afford any such action...and no doubt Mr Westwood was aware of that fact.
At twelve years old Michael had many more years at school; further economies would need to be made if her half-brother were to stay in Warwick. Yet she must be even-handed; she also had her half-sister’s future to consider. As though that young lady were aware of Faye’s reflection she skipped into the room.
‘May we go out this afternoon?’ Claire asked excitedly. ‘I saw the caravans from my window. There are crowds gathering already on the village green.’
‘I saw them, too! May we go?’ Michael interrupted his sister to add his own plea to be allowed to visit the local midsummer fair. The Romanies arrived annually and stayed for a few days to entertain the locals before moving on to another town.
