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Lady Cecily And The Mysterious Mr Gray
Janice Preston
Love or family…How can she choose between them?Lady Cecily Beauchamp has always put her family first. Until she falls under the spell of the mysterious Zachary Gray—a man of Romany descent. Knowing her family will forbid their match, Cecily steels herself to do her duty and marry elsewhere. Only she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Zach as the spark between them ignites a passion neither can deny!
Love or family...
How can she choose between them?
Lady Cecily Beauchamp has always put her family first. Until she falls under the spell of the mysterious Zachary Gray—a man of Romany descent. Knowing her family will forbid their match, Cecily steels herself to do her duty and marry someone else. Only she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Zach as the spark between them ignites a passion neither can deny!
The Beauchamp Betrothals miniseries
Book 1—Cinderella and the Duke
Book 2—Scandal and Miss Markham
Book 3—Lady Cecily and the Mysterious Mr. Gray
Book 4—Lady Olivia and the Infamous Rake—coming soon!
“A captivating, sweet tale of heartbreak and hope.”
—RT Book Reviews on “Awakening His Sleeping Beauty” in Regency Christmas Wishes
“The adventure is delightful [...] it truly is an enjoyable read.”
—RT Book Reviews on Scandal and Miss Markham
JANICE PRESTON grew up in Wembley, North London, with a love of reading, writing stories and animals. In the past she has worked as a farmer, a police callhandler and a university administrator. She now lives in the West Midlands, with her husband and two cats, and has a part-time job as a weight management counsellor—vainly trying to control her own weight despite her love of chocolate!
Also by Janice Preston (#ulink_dc4b065f-11ea-5a76-a0c4-fb16b00d7ff0)
Mary and the Marquis
From Wallflower to Countess
The Governess’s Secret Baby
Regency Christmas Wishes
Men About Town miniseries
Return of Scandal’s Son
Saved by Scandal’s Heir
The Beauchamp Betrothals miniseries
Cinderella and the Duke
Scandal and Miss Markham
Lady Cecily and the Mysterious Mr Gray
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Lady Cecily and the Mysterious Mr Gray
Janice Preston
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07366-0
LADY CECILY AND THE MYSTERIOUS MR GRAY
© 2018 Janice Preston
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 the ladies of the Anti-Doubt Crow (ADC) novelists.
Who’d have believed that within three years of our first meeting we’d all be published authors?
Our monthly get-togethers keep me sane—thanks for the many, many laughs, the sympathy when the going gets tough and the sage advice when needed.
Here’s to more coffee and cake,
and much more success. xxx
Contents
Cover (#u6757fc6d-7437-54b9-89e9-ebe66cc95b90)
Back Cover Text (#u6337582c-9cb9-59d2-95fe-083ca7428682)
About the Author (#u29bbf4f7-80fe-5fc7-b867-ca7dc82876dd)
Booklist (#ulink_89390b04-4e88-5a14-a3e4-ef51ad30eb3b)
Title Page (#u29d406b7-e5a9-52b0-a34b-b3d59edb098b)
Copyright (#u63c6c5d0-09c4-5f9e-9a2b-4eaeca043970)
Dedication (#u0e9c2f89-71bc-5453-a314-6ebab652316d)
Chapter One (#uf71db07b-a33f-5f25-833a-c182ea543449)
Chapter Two (#udc71357c-c006-5571-872c-07d8ddc64ab1)
Chapter Three (#u04f72a1a-8e44-57fa-bddb-d35ebdd6a9e3)
Chapter Four (#u955930e0-0013-5040-9690-f0abd8190a11)
Chapter Five (#u0108a298-3143-5a4a-a54d-2c551150763d)
Chapter Six (#uc866a207-a043-5b6d-8521-6254caf8138d)
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)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_5504f891-35e7-54c4-a744-1d0e59f993f0)
Early June 1812—Worcestershire
Lady Cecily Beauchamp’s face ached with the effort of maintaining her smile. Not for the world would she reveal the sudden misery and doubt that assailed her as she watched her brother, Vernon, walk his new bride back up the aisle of the little country church where they had just made their vows. The happy couple were followed by Cecily’s oldest brother, Leo, Duke of Cheriton, his new Duchess on his arm. In the space of four months both of Cecily’s brothers had found love and wed, totally shaking Cecily’s comfortable, settled world. She had spent her entire adult life in charge of the Beauchamp household and had raised Leo’s three children from his first marriage with as much love and care as if they were her own.
But now...
Cecily stifled a gasp as a touch to her elbow almost catapulted her out of her skin. She glanced sideways into the face of a stranger and pressed her hand to her chest to quell the sudden thump of her heart as a pair of the darkest eyes she had ever seen captured her gaze. Black unruly locks framed his face, harshly handsome with chiselled cheekbones, skin the hue of dark honey and a hint of dark stubble shadowing his jaw, even though it was still before noon. A swift sweep of his body—tall and powerfully built—offered the solution to his unkempt appearance and tanned face. His clothing was clean and serviceable, but well-worn.
No doubt he is a servant of the Markhams, invited to attend the wedding.
Dismissing both the stranger and her own wayward twinge of regret—servants were servants, after all—Cecily smiled graciously and moved out of the pew to allow the man to pass.
She had arrived late at the church, very nearly missing the ceremony entirely after one of the carriage horses threw a shoe that morning, delaying the final leg of their journey. Rather than cause a disturbance, she and Dominic—Leo’s eldest son, who had escorted her on the journey from London to Worcestershire—had slipped quietly into the back pew.
Her gaze swept the interior of the church. Dominic had already gone, as had the remainder of the small congregation. She had barely noticed the exodus, too caught up in her own sudden awareness of the changes that had rocked her world.
‘Are you unwell? Should I fetch someone?’
The rich voice came from behind her. She turned. The stranger, his brooding gaze on her, stood by the open church door. Cecily felt a flush start low on her chest and rise to wash over her face, although she did not know why she should feel embarrassed by what a servant might think of her standing and wool-gathering when she should be outside, congratulating her brother and her new sister-in-law.
‘I am quite well, thank you.’ She walked towards the door. ‘There really was no need for you to wait or to be concerned.’
He filled her vision as she neared him and a glint caught her eye. She blinked. She was not mistaken. She felt her eyes widen. The man had a diamond in his earlobe.
How very...exotic.
Quickly, she wiped any hint of surprise from her expression. The stranger still watched her, his features impassive, but she got the impression he missed nothing with those ebony eyes of his. Sure enough, as her gaze locked with his, amusement glimmered in their depths before he swept a bow.
‘After you,’ he said.
Cecily stalked past him, her nose in the air. Her heels clacked rapidly against the flagstones as she continued through the church porch and outside, blinking as she emerged into bright sunlight.
‘Cecily!’ Vernon swept her into a hug and then kissed her soundly on the cheek. ‘I’m so pleased you decided to come.’
Cecily thrust aside her troubles and doubts. This was Vernon’s day. She loved her brother dearly and she would not cast a shadow by revealing her fears. She could not be that selfish.
‘You gave us very little notice, Brother dear. We only just made it in time.’
