The Aikenhead Honours
Three gentlemen spies:bound by duty, undone by women!
Introducing three of Englandâs
most eligible bachelors: Dominic, Leo and Jack code-named Ace, King, Knave
Together they are
The Aikenhead Honours
A government-sponsored spying ring,
they risk their lives, and hearts, to keep Regency England safe!
Follow these three brothers on a dazzling
journey through Europe and beyond as they serve their country and meet their brides, in often very surprising circumstances!
Meet the âAceâ, Dominic Aikenhead,
Duke of Calder, in HIS CAVALRY LADY
Meet the âKingâ and renowned rake
Lord Leo Aikenhead, in HIS RELUCTANT MISTRESS
Meet the âKnaveâ and incorrigible playboy
Lord Jack Aikenhead, in HIS FORBIDDEN LIAISON
âKeep your distance,â Marguerite hissed, âor I warn you, I shall scream.â
Jack lunged for her, pulling her close against his body so that she could not strike him, and clamped his large hand across her mouth.
âYou waited too long, maâam. Donât be afraid. I will let you go, but only if you promise not to scream. And if you tell me what you have done to Herr Benn.â
She responded by sinking her teeth into the fleshy part of his thumb.
âArgh!â he gasped, instinctively pulling his hand away. She was still pressed firmly to his chest, but she was opening her mouth to scream at the top of her lungs.
There was no help for it. He kissed her.
Joanna Maitland was born and educated in Scotland, though she has spent most of her adult life in England or abroad. She has been a systems analyst, an accountant, a civil servant, and director of a charity. Now that her two children have left home, she and her husband have moved from Hampshire to the Welsh Marches, where she is revelling in the more rugged country and the wealth of medieval locations. When she is not writing, or climbing through ruined castles, she devotes her time to trying to tame her house and garden, both of which are determined to resist any suggestion of order. Readers are invited to visit Joannaâs website at www.joannamaitland.com
Recent novels by the same author:
A POOR RELATION
A PENNILESS PROSPECT
MARRYING THE MAJOR
RAKEâS REWARD
MY LADY ANGEL
AN UNCOMMON ABIGAIL
(in A Regency Invitation anthology)
BRIDE OF THE SOLWAY
HIS CAVALRY LADY*
HIS RELUCTANT MISTRESS*
*The Aikenhead Honours
âYou still look a bit groggy,â Ben murmured.
Jack shook his head. Now that he was safely on dry land again, he would soon recover from his confounded seasickness. More important was to stop Ben from betraying them, before their mission had even begun. Jack risked a quick glance over his shoulder. The port of Marseilles was crowded with people, but no one was close enough to have overheard Benâs unwary use of English.
Jack dropped an arm around Benâs shoulders, for all the world as if he needed his friendâs support for his shaky legs. âNo English,â he hissed into Benâs ear. Then, switching to French, he began to bemoan the state of his health in a voice that was loud enough to be heard by anyone within twenty yards. Jackâs French, learnt from his French mama, the Dowager Duchess of Calder, was flawless. He was able to pass for a Parisian without any trouble. Whereas Benâs French, though pretty fluent, had a definite foreign accent that might make him suspect. To avoid that, they had agreed, before leaving Vienna, that Ben would pretend to be a German.
It was still a hugely dangerous mission that the Duke of Wellington had given to these two members of the Aikenhead Honours spying band. From Marseilles on the Mediterranean coast, Jack and Ben were to travel slowly north to Paris and thence to Calais, gathering information as they went about the extent of rebellious feeling in the country. Wellington was very concerned that the restored French Kingâs harsh rule was provoking unrest, especially among ex-members of the army. He needed to know just how many Frenchmen would be ready to agitate for Bonaparteâs return and where rebellion was most likely to occur. In Wellingtonâs view, the strip of water dividing France from the island of Elba, Bonaparteâs place of exile, was not nearly wide enough.
Jack slumped down on to a bollard by the waterâs edge. His legs really were wobbly. Why on earth was he, alone among the Aikenhead Honours, cursed with seasickness? Ben looked much frailer than Jack, but he had not had a momentâs unease during their voyage. Jackâbroader, heavier and much more robust in appearanceâhad collapsed almost before the ship had left Genoa harbour. It was shaming.
A barefoot sailor scampered nimbly down the gangplank with a valise in each hand. Spying the two young passengers who had been so generous to the crew during their voyage, he hurried along the quayside and deposited the bags at Jackâs feet. Jack looked up. The sailor was waiting expectantly.
âGive the man some money, Benn,â Jack said, in French, using the nom de guerre they had been using since leaving Vienna. Ben, Baron Dexter, had become Herr Christian Benn and Lord Jack Aikenhead had become Mr Louis Jacques.