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Counting on a Countess: The most outrageous Regency romance of 2019 that fans of Vanity Fair and Poldark will adore
Eva Leigh
‘Delightful banter and delicious passion…simply divine’, New York Times bestselling author Tessa DareThe Scandalous Ladies of London series returns for book two with the ultimate Regency romance for 2019.For a shameless libertine and a wily smuggler in the London Underground, marriage is more than convenience—it’s strategy . . .Christopher “Kit” Ellingsworth, war veteran and newly minted Earl of Blakemere, buries his demons under every sort of pleasure and vice. His scandalous ways have all but emptied his coffers . . . until a wealthy mentor leaves him a sizeable fortune. The only stipulation? He must marry within one month to inherit the money. Kit needs a bride and the bold, mysterious Miss Tamsyn Pearce seems perfect.Husband hunting isn’t Tamsyn’s top priority—she’s in London to sell her new shipment of illicit goods—but she’s desperate for funds . When a handsome earl offers to wed her and send her back to Cornwall with a hefty allowance, Tamsyn agrees.But when an unexpected proviso in the will grants Tamsyn control of the inheritance, their arrangement becomes anything but convenient. Now, Kit’s counting on his countess to make his wildest dreams a reality and he plans to convince her, one pleasurable seduction at a time…Praise for Eva Leigh:‘magnificent… a fast-paced and seductive treasure.’ Publishers Weekly ‘Leigh’s heroines are complex, vivid characters who seem to have stepped out of an enviable time and place, and not just because of all the satisfying, sexy romance they get to have.’ Sarah MacLean for the Washington Post‘ divine blend of depth, wicked heat and sparkling wit. Eva Leigh’s characters leap off the page and linger long after you’ve closed the book. She’s a wonderful writer.’ Julie Anne Long, USA Today bestselling author‘Strong characters—a truly “kissable” hero, a courageous heroine and a couple of witty friends—blend with the unique plotline to create a novel full of passion, adventure, sensuality and seductiveness that’s impossible to put down. Leigh is at the top of her game!’ RT Book Reviews
EVA LEIGH is the pen name of a RITA® Award-nominated romance author who writes novels chock-full of smart women and sexy men. She enjoys baking, tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ’80s. Eva and her husband live in central California.
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM EVA LEIGH AND MILLS & BOON
The Scandalous Ladies of London series
FROM DUKE TILL DAWN
Counting on a Countess
Eva Leigh
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-0-008-27263-0
COUNTING ON A COUNTESS
© 2018 Eva Leigh
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Zack
Contents
Cover (#u8b92453c-f391-5d19-ac14-e6736546c3bf)
About the Author (#u5e3ff39c-63df-546d-ae74-04bdae35dc79)
Booklist (#u103fbc80-5016-5879-8931-76b1c8053dbb)
Title Page (#u5dcc168b-ba97-51be-be39-488efad7800a)
Copyright (#uaf767f05-4d58-520e-9112-21327163de46)
Dedication (#u84fd262a-2bbe-5845-a683-662df3cf2770)
Chapter 1 (#uecd2210f-25fc-5558-a6da-4d01ee71b53d)
Chapter 2 (#u6f388e8c-4f26-5a12-aa02-2c07909de385)
Chapter 3 (#ua8569f1d-273d-546d-aa4c-473b17b74415)
Chapter 4 (#u6ccf58bd-96d6-57a0-86ca-a5a567961d35)
Chapter 5 (#u7ec148fc-c391-5602-baf0-568c9a027062)
Chapter 6 (#u43aa6c2e-d21e-5bf5-b950-623febaac427)
Chapter 7 (#ua3655ea9-f132-50e7-bf95-3a8fab1829a5)
Chapter 8 (#ub4009546-1c6e-5de5-a96f-1c1651779bf2)
Chapter 9 (#u344154fd-2743-57b1-a8a1-049fd80e53a4)
Chapter 10 (#u6273ac04-fdd7-5be2-b3ef-ed045d2a7745)
Chapter 11 (#ud247ca1c-a2a8-5ca0-949a-53cf247e8452)
Chapter 12 (#ub5a16e12-d392-5381-ad2d-824df8b72998)
Chapter 13 (#u4a01dff6-f713-54cb-bd00-8b379dc9b304)
Chapter 14 (#uc4579a99-58c3-53cc-98d6-a5e38a5502b1)
Chapter 15 (#udc9a8506-5592-500c-9204-915547aee18c)
Chapter 16 (#ufddcddb6-c328-55f5-9cff-9314fa244f3c)
Chapter 17 (#u37ab3188-9ec9-5d07-97f3-242a80b37c53)
Chapter 18 (#u7f97354f-e419-5c47-b6aa-cdb2b6e8d5c9)
Chapter 19 (#u8af3fb36-94e4-59b5-88c4-c1c0fa9cc2b7)
Chapter 20 (#u4b15dfef-8807-5529-a066-10e24455df73)
Chapter 21 (#u4032a6ac-d90a-5c32-8b42-50981a217bb0)
Chapter 22 (#u4e26644f-645a-50d3-b638-49193293bda8)
Chapter 23 (#u1f89cc19-4cc3-5674-a48f-8ad586189855)
Chapter 24 (#u71685e7b-35eb-5375-a25b-f9ae3d1dc39e)
Chapter 25 (#u27f9b42d-7d72-5c9f-9a79-892f73d14235)
Chapter 26 (#ub48d4fb2-4bf3-57cf-ae2f-19a76291ce00)
Chapter 27 (#u34cef3cd-5ccb-5c30-8c69-62d1799d3d15)
Chapter 28 (#u55f9307b-4634-566d-9a70-9bf2e3441d15)
Chapter 29 (#u87a4c288-4a0d-5c4b-9f28-012c54daea2f)
Chapter 30 (#ue0a56d83-1de1-57ba-a3aa-bc2ad4d56664)
Epilogue (#u185ddfb3-759c-543e-a92f-06dd2e833f9e)
Acknowledgments (#ua6063452-31ba-5133-9763-8cc39d36a985)
About the Publisher (#u77393991-fc95-5e3f-833f-419737be66d4)
Chapter 1 (#u7a856a6e-ba40-5dfc-9b62-df53e767eb99)
London, England
1817
Though he had been the Earl of Blakemere for nearly six months, Christopher Ellingsworth rarely entertained sober or virtuous guests in his bachelor lodgings. Today was no exception.
Kit lounged on a sofa in his parlor, a glass of wine in his hand. Warm, indolent pleasure made his limbs and eyelids heavy. His other hand beat time on the back of the sofa as Jeanette plinked out a merry tune on the pianoforte and the unlikely named Bijou pirouetted around the chamber and twirled brightly colored scarves.
“Bravo, my dears,” he murmured as the melody and performance came to a stop.
“Another, my lord?” Bijou asked breathlessly. Her French accent wavered, revealing she was more likely born in Leeds, not Lyon, but it hardly mattered. She wasn’t in Kit’s rooms to provide lengthy discussion about the philosophy of Voltaire. He’d brought them home from the Royal Opera last night—or rather, very early this morning—and they had been such good company, he hadn’t sent them away. It was nearly dusk, and he contemplated with anticipation what the night had in store for him.
“Come and join me,” he said, patting his thigh.
“Which of us shall join you?” Jeanette asked.
“Both of you,” Kit replied magnanimously.
The two women giggled before fluttering over to where he sprawled. Bijou perched on his outstretched leg while Jeanette snuggled beneath his arm. They were silky and fragrant and lively—precisely what Kit wanted.
Bijou’s fingers trailed up his torso and dipped beneath the neckline of his open shirt. Agreeable curls of pleasure blossomed on his skin wherever she touched. “I thought earls weren’t supposed to have muscles,” she said with a playful pout.
“His lordship was a soldier,” Jeanette noted, her fingers toying with his hair. “He’s had to become very hard, you know.”
“I’m much harder in peacetime.” Kit grinned lazily as the two women twittered.
“Shall we put that to the test?” Jeanette nipped at his earlobe.
Before he could answer, a smart rap sounded at the parlor door. He frowned. His staff knew not to bother him when he entertained.
“Go away,” he called.
Yet the door opened anyway and his butler’s apologetic face appeared. The servant didn’t so much as glance at the two opera dancers draped over Kit. “Apologies, my lord. I told the gentleman you weren’t to be disturbed, but he insisted you had an appointment.” He held up a calling card.
Kit disentangled himself from Jeanette and motioned for the butler to approach. Taking the card from the servant, he glanced at the name.
Herbert K. Flowers, Esq.
The Law Offices of Corran and Flowers
Lincoln’s Inn Fields
“Damn,” Kit swore softly. He had a vague recollection of a letter from Flowers, requesting to meet at Kit’s earliest convenience, as the solicitor had a matter of some urgency to discuss. “Send him in.”
“Yes, my lord.” The butler bowed before hurrying away.
Bijou plucked the card from Kit’s hand and squinted at the writing. “What’s this mean?”
“It means that this Mr. Flowers deals with tedious and exhausting matters all day,” he answered.
She made a face. “How horrid.”
“Exactly.” Surely whatever this Flowers wanted, it would be dull and require the kind of serious, thoughtful consideration Kit avoided as much as possible.
Another knock sounded at the door, and after receiving Kit’s permission to enter, the butler stepped inside.
“Mr. Herbert Flowers, Esquire,” the butler intoned.
A hale, middle-aged man in well-tailored clothing entered the room carrying a leather portfolio. “My lord, thank you for . . .” Flowers’s steps slowed and his polite smile flickered as his gaze fell on Jeanette and Bijou. Face reddening, he coughed into his fist. “Forgive me, my lord, but it would perhaps be best if we conducted our meeting in private. The concerns are of a . . . delicate and confidential manner.”
Kit sighed. He did not, however, sit up. “Ladies, if you would be so kind as to await me upstairs.”
The women swayed to their feet and ambled past the solicitor, trailing perfume and laughter as they exited the chamber.
Kit waved Flowers toward a nearby chair. “Care for a drink? I might be able to cajole the cook into preparing something edible.”
“Your consideration is appreciated, my lord,” the solicitor said quickly. “But once we conclude our business, I am bound for home, where my wife and supper await me.”
“I suppose you could eat both,” Kit offered after taking a sip of wine. “Or take all of them to bed.”
Flowers’s cheeks blazed. “Ah . . . well . . . yes.” He cleared his throat. “Perhaps we might address the matter at hand.” Smoothing a hand down his waistcoat, he said with gravity, “I understand you were an intimate of the late Lord Somerby.”
A throb of grief squeezed Kit’s heart just hearing the old man’s name. “I first met him in Roliça in ’08.”
Flowers’s businesslike expression shifted into restrained melancholy. “The marquess had been an esteemed client of my firm for four decades. The news of his death was met with considerable sorrow.” The solicitor gazed at Kit with sympathy. “I imagine that you must also feel distress at the passing of your friend.”
Kit gave a wry half smile. “I keep expecting him to show up at my door and demand that I join him at his favorite chophouse. He never allowed me to beg off. Said my wenching and carousing could wait two hours.”
