скачать книгу бесплатно
A Marriage of Notoriety
Diane Gaston
The scars she keeps hidden…The mysterious pianiste is the Masquerade Club's newest attraction, captivating guests with her haunting music. What is the true identity of the lady concealed beneath the mask?Only Xavier Campion, the club's new proprietor, recognizes Phillipa Westleigh, the lady with whom he once shared a dance. Concerned for her safety, Xavier escorts her home each night. But when their moonlit strolls are uncovered, the only protection Xavier can offer is marriage!The Masquerade ClubIdentities concealed, desires revealed…
The servant brought her cloak and Xavier took it from him.
He stepped towards Phillipa and placed it around her shoulders, so close she felt the warmth of his body. The touch of his hands on her shoulders caused a frisson of sensation down her back.
She disliked being so affected by Xavier Campion. It made her think of how she’d felt dancing with him. The thrill of coming close to him, of touching him.
The servant opened the door and the cool evening air revived her.
Phillipa crossed over the threshold with Xavier right behind her. ‘I do not need an escort.’
He fell in step with her. ‘Nevertheless, I need to do this.’
She scoffed. ‘Do not be absurd. You can have the company of any woman you like. One of the gentlemen told me so.’
His step slowed for a moment. ‘Phillipa, if any danger should befall you on this walk home I would never forgive myself for not preventing it.’
He sounded so serious.
‘So dramatic, Xavier. I am not your responsibility.’
His voice turned low. ‘At this moment you are.’
Welcome to
Diane Gaston’s
THE MASQUERADE CLUB
Identities concealed, desires revealed …
This is your invitation to Regency society’s most exclusive gaming establishment.
Leave your inhibitions at the door, don your disguise and indulge your desires!
Club proprietor Rhys, the most renowned gambler in London, finally meets his match in
A REPUTATION FOR NOTORIETY
Already available
And now Rhys’s friend Xavier, the most devilish rogue in town, prefers to gamble with ladies’ hearts in
A MARRIAGE OF NOTORIETY
A Marriage of Notoriety
As a psychiatric social worker, Diane Gaston spent years helping others create real-life happy endings. Now Diane crafts fictional ones, writing the kind of historical romance she’s always loved to read. The youngest of three daughters of a US Army Colonel, Diane moved frequently during her childhood, even living for a year in Japan. It continues to amaze her that her own son and daughter grew up in one house in Northern Virginia. Diane still lives in that house, with her husband and three very ordinary housecats. Visit Diane’s website at http://dianegaston.com
Previous novels by the same author:
THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M
THE WAGERING WIDOW
A REPUTABLE RAKE
INNOCENCE AND IMPROPRIETY
A TWELFTH NIGHT TALE
(in A Regency Christmas anthology) THE VANISHING VISCOUNTESS SCANDALISING THE TON JUSTINE AND THE NOBLE VISCOUNT† (#ulink_4595a737-ea6e-5466-ad94-8e1a2def7125) (in Regency Summer Scandals) GALLANT OFFICER, FORBIDDEN LADY* (#ulink_e66bf655-0324-534d-9ce7-373ab04f2b31) CHIVALROUS CAPTAIN, REBEL MISTRESS* (#ulink_e66bf655-0324-534d-9ce7-373ab04f2b31) VALIANT SOLDIER, BEAUTIFUL ENEMY* (#ulink_2f8ba29d-3095-5c10-9708-fda11c1b8459) A NOT SO RESPECTABLE GENTLEMAN?† (#ulink_4595a737-ea6e-5466-ad94-8e1a2def7125) BORN TO SCANDAL A REPUTATION FOR NOTORIETY** (#ulink_e66bf655-0324-534d-9ce7-373ab04f2b31)
† (#ulink_d81f61c7-fcf0-5031-8239-ee6da7384bee)linked by character
* (#ulink_d81f61c7-fcf0-5031-8239-ee6da7384bee)Three Soldiers mini-series
* (#ulink_d81f61c7-fcf0-5031-8239-ee6da7384bee)The Masquerade Club
and in Mills & Boon
HistoricalUndone! eBooks:
THE UNLACING OF MISS LEIGH
THE LIBERATION OF MISS FINCH
Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks?
Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
AUTHOR NOTE
The timeless theme of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast often reappears in romance novels, as well as in Disney movies, Phantom of the Opera, King Kong and more. Do we ever tire of this story? I’ve written it before, in my Mills & Boon
Historical Undone! eBook THE UNLACING OF MISS LEIGH (my Phantom of the Opera story), and now in A MARRIAGE OF NOTORIETY. I dare say I will write it again.
Part of the appeal of the Beauty and the Beast theme is its message—genuine beauty is what one has on the inside, not the way one appears on the outside. How many of us look in the mirror and forget this as we examine every flaw? How often do we gaze at models in magazines or celebrities on the red carpet and feel like garden gnomes in comparison? And how much do all of us want to be loved for who we are, not the way we appear?
I enjoyed exploring this issue once more, and giving my hero and heroine their own chance to discover that beauty isn’t just skin-deep.
Dedication
For my new daughter-in-law Beth, beautiful on the inside and the outside,
and a wonderful addition to our family.
Contents
Prologue (#u40251d0f-2bc8-5141-858c-b7c45aa5a8ff)
Chapter One (#u2765be96-668b-596e-9d7a-915db7f5cde4)
Chapter Two (#u79defafa-9e4f-5449-a4ea-0f146b4665e1)
Chapter Three (#u6f7e52d8-2754-5e10-97c0-36917158d137)
Chapter Four (#ucbe76b78-19d8-5e2e-9a74-c79b0ef9da14)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
Prologue
London, Spring 1814
‘Mr Xavier Campion,’ Lady Devine’s butler intoned in a baritone voice.
‘Adonis is here!’ gasped one of the young ladies standing near Phillipa Westleigh. The others shared furtive smiles.
Phillipa knew precisely who her friends would see when their gazes slipped towards the doorway. A young man tall and perfectly formed, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and muscled limbs. His hair would be as dark as the ebony keys on a pianoforte and longer than fashionable, but an excellent frame for his lean face, strong brow, sensitive mouth.
The young ladies had been tittering about him the whole evening. Would he come to the ball? Could they contrive an introduction? He’d been the main topic of conversation since they’d discovered him at the opera the night before. ‘He is an Adonis!’ one had proclaimed and the name stuck.
Phillipa had not attended the opera that night, but heard before all of them that he’d come to town. She, too, glanced to the doorway.
Clad in the formal red coat of the East Essex infantry, Xavier Campion looked as magnificent as a man could look in regimentals.
He scanned the room, his brilliant blue eyes searching until reaching Phillipa. His lips widened into a smile and he inclined his head before pivoting to greet Lord and Lady Devine.
‘He smiled at us!’ cried one of Phillipa’s friends.
No. He’d smiled at her.
Phillipa’s cheeks flushed.
Did he remember her? They’d been childhood friends in Brighton during the summers, especially the summer when she fell and suffered her injury.
Phillipa’s hand flew to her cheek, to where the jagged scar marred her face. Not even the clever feather her mother insisted be attached to her headpiece could hide the disfigurement.
Of course he remembered her. How many scar-faced girls could be known to handsome Xavier Campion?
She swung away, while the others giggled and whispered to each other. She heard their voices, but could not repeat a word any of them spoke. All she could think was how it might be if her appearance were different, if her right cheek were not branded with a jagged red scar. How she wished her complexion was as unflawed as her friends’. Then she could merely have a pretty ribbon threaded through her hair instead of the silly headpiece with its obvious feather. She wished just once Xavier Campion could look upon her and think her as beautiful as he was handsome.
Her companions suddenly went silent and a masculine voice spoke. ‘Phillipa?’
She turned.
Xavier stood before her.
‘I thought that was you.’ He’d noticed her scar, he meant. ‘How are you? It has been years since I’ve seen you.’
The other young ladies stared in stunned disbelief.
‘Hello, Xavier,’ she managed, keeping her eyes downcast. ‘But you have been at war. You have been away.’ She dared glance up to his face.
His smile made her heart twist. ‘It is good to be back in England.’
One of her friends cleared her throat.
Phillipa’s hand fluttered to her cheek. ‘Oh.’ She looked from Xavier to the pretty girls around her. It was suddenly clear why he had approached her. ‘Let me present you.’
When the introductions were complete the other young ladies surrounded him, asking him clever questions about the war, where he’d been and what battles he’d fought.
