Temptation In Regency Society: Unmasking the Duke's Mistress
Unmasking the Duke's MistressWhen Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, sees the woman who shattered his heart at Mrs Silver’s House of Pleasures, he is stunned. He offers Arabella a way out – by making her his mistress! The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic’s body is hard to resist, but Dominic will need only to look into the Furneaux-blue eyes of her son to uncover Arabella’s deepest secret…A Dark and Brooding GentlemanSebastian Hunter’s life of pleasure has come to an end; now his nights are spent in the shadows of Blackloch Hall. That is until the mysterious Phoebe Allardyce, his mother’s new and far too pretty companion, interrupts his brooding. After catching her thieving, the master of the house has no choice but to keep a close eye on this provocative temptress.
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SEDUCTION in Regency Society August 2014
DECEPTION in Regency Society September 2014
PROPOSALS in Regency Society October 2014
PRIDE in Regency Society November 2014
MISCHIEF in Regency Society December 2014
INNOCENCE in Regency Society January 2015
ENCHANTED in Regency Society February 2015
HEIRESS in Regency Society March 2015
PREJUDICE in Regency Society April 2015
FORBIDDEN in Regency Society May 2015
TEMPTATION in Regency Society June 2015
REVENGE in Regency Society July 2015
MARGARET McPHEE loves to use her imaginationâan essential requirement for a trained scientist. However, when she realised that her imagination was inspired more by the historical romances she loves to read rather than by her experiments, she decided to put the ideas down on paper. She has since left her scientific life behind, retaining only the romanceâher husband, whom she met in a laboratory. In summer, Margaret enjoys cycling along the coastline overlooking the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, where she lives. In winter, tea, cakes and a good book suffice.
Temptation in
Regency Society
Unmasking the Dukeâs Mistress
A Dark and
Brooding Gentleman
Margaret McPhee
Table of Contents
Unmasking the Dukeâs Mistress
Margaret McPhee
For Patriciaâ
I hope that itâs not too saucy for you!
April 1809
Within the large and tastefully decorated drawing room of Mrs Silverâs House of Rainbow Pleasures in the St Jamesâs district of London, Arabella Marlbrook paced and tried to ignore the feeling of dread that coiled deep in the pit of her stomach.
The black silk dress she was wearing had been made for a thinner woman and clung in an indecent fashion to the curves of her hips and breasts and she was all too aware that she was wearing neither petticoats nor stays. Her skin was like ice to touch, yet she could feel the smear of clamminess upon her palms. And she worried that the black feathers of the mask across her eyes did not obscure her identity well enough.
There were five other women artfully arranged around the drawing room, each one in a different colour and all in attires that made Arabella look positively overdressed.
âDo sit down, Arabella,â Miss Rouge said from where she reclined in her scarlet underwear and stockings upon one of the sofas. âYou are making me quite dizzy. You would do better to save your strength for thereâll be gentlemen aplenty and eager tonight. And some of what theyâll ask for will be demanding, to say the least.â She gave a sly smile and from behind the bright red feathers of her facemask her eyes looked almost black.
âLeave her be, Alice. Think how you felt on your first night. It is only natural that she is nervous,â said pale pink Miss Rose who was leaning against the mantelpiece so that the flicker of the flames illuminated her legs through the pale pink silk as if she were not wearing a skirt at all. Then she looked across at Arabella. âYouâll be fine, girl. Donât you worry.â
Arabella shot Miss Rose a grateful look, before turning to Miss Rouge, âPlease do not address me by my given name. I thought we were supposed to use the names Mrs Silver told us.â Arabella had no wish for the man she must lie with this nightâher stomach turned over again at the thoughtâto know her true identity. It was vital that not the slightest hint of her shame attach itself to those that she loved.
âItâs only a name, Miss Noir, keep your skirt in place!â snapped Miss Rouge.
âLeastways till she gets her gent upstairs!â quipped the small blonde in the armchair who was all in blue. She cackled at the joke and all of the other women, except for Arabella, joined in.
Arabella turned away from them so that they would not see the degree of her humiliation, and moved to stand before the bookcase as if she were perusing the titles upon the shelf. Only when her expression was quite composed did she face the room once more.
Alice, Miss Rouge, was buffing her nails. Ellen, Miss Vert, yawned and closed her eyes to nap upon the day bed. Lizzie, Miss Bleu, and Louisa, Miss Jaune, were engaged in a quiet conversation and Tilly, Miss Rose, was reading a romantic novel.
Arabella studied the décor of the room in an attempt to distract her mind from the prospect of what lay ahead. It was a fine room, she noted, perhaps one of the finest she had seen. The floorboards were polished oak, and covered with a large gold-and-blue-and-ivory Turkey carpet. The walls were a pale duck-egg blue that lent the room a peaceful ambience. In the centre of the ornate plasterwork ceiling was a double-layered crystal-drop chandelier and around the room several matching wall sconces sat against large, elegant looking-glasses so that the light of the candle flames was magnified in glittering excellence. The furniture was mainly oak, all of it finely turned, understated and tasteful.
