The Devil's Necklace
To British privateer Ethan Sharpe, Grace Chastain was nothing but a pawn for vengeance against Harmon Jeffries, the traitor responsible for his brutal years in prison.Believing Grace to be Jeffries' mistress, he plans to humiliate his enemy by seducing her. Grace fears her priceless heirloom necklace has begun to live up to its curse when Captain Sharpe makes her his prisoner aboard his schooner. Defiantly she resists his coarse advances, but suspects there is more to this complex sea captain than his brooding anger and silent accusations.And Ethan quickly realizes that she is not the wicked woman he imagined her to be. Grace is as headstrong as she is lovely, and the battle of wills that ensues weakens his resolve. But can Ethan settle the demons of his past and follow the destiny his heart commands?
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Praise for The Devilâs Necklace
âFull of spirited romance and nefarious skulduggeryâ¦. Lively emotional skirmishes between two strong-willed characters propel the plot toward one of Martinâs trademark nail-biting endings.â
âPublishers Weekly
âThere is something to be said for a pirate-turned-gentleman who is tortured by his need for revengeâ¦. Martinâs second entry in the Necklace trilogy is an entertaining storyâ¦. The Devilâs Necklace started strong and was engaging, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the readerâs attentionâ¦it stayed with me after I was done.â
âThe Romance Reader
â[A] wonderful captive/captor romanceâ¦[a] delightful, sexy and highly satisfying readâ¦Get set for another winner by a writer who knows how to steal your heart.â
âRT Book Reviews
âKat Martin writes romance that stays with the reader long after finishing the book. Fans of historical romance will fall in love with Ms. Martinâs newest release. It is without a doubt a blessing that she continues to bring us stories that warm the heart and satisfy the romantic. Her books are sexy, fast-paced and entertaining. What more can you ask for?â
âA Romance Review
KAT MARTIN
THE DEVILâS NECKLACE
To family and friends everywhere.
May you all live long and happy lives.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Epilogue
One
London 1805
The hour of her rendezvous was nearly upon her.
Worry made Graceâs heart pound and her hand tremble as she stepped into her bedchamber and quietly closed the door. The music of a four-piece orchestra drifted upward from the drawing room downstairs. The house party, a gala event that had cost a small fortune, was another of her motherâs unending attempts to fob her off on one of the tonâs aged aristocrats. Grace had stayed as long as she dared, forcing herself to make dreary conversation with her motherâs guests, then pled a headache and retired upstairs. She had urgent business to attend this night.
Outside the window, a winter wind whipped leafless branches against the sill as Grace stripped off her long white gloves. Her palms were sweating. Uncertainty coiled like a snake in her stomach, but her course was set and she refused to turn back now.
Hurrying toward the bellpull, she kicked off her kidskin slippers along the way, rang for her ladyâs maid, then reached up to work the clasp on the diamond-and-pearl necklace around her neck. Her hand lingered there, testing the smoothness of the pearls, the rough facets of the diamonds set in between each one.
The necklace had been a gift from her best friend, Victoria Easton, countess of Brant, and Grace treasured it, her only possession of any real worth.
âYou rang, miss?â Her maid, Phoebe Bloom, was a bit of a featherhead at times but good-hearted nonetheless. She poked her dark-haired head through the door, then hurried in.
âI could use a little help, Phoebe, if you please.â
âOf course, miss.â
It didnât take long to get out of the gown. Grace managed a nervous smile for Phoebe, pulled on her quilted wrapper, and excused the girl for the balance of the evening. The music downstairs continued to play. Grace prayed she could complete her mission and return to the house before anyone discovered she was gone.
The moment Phoebe closed the door, Grace tossed aside her robe and hurriedly changed into a simple gray wool gown. She blew out the whale oil lamp on the dresser and the one beside the bed, leaving the room in darkness. Stuffing a pillow beneath the covers to create the illusion that she was sleeping if her mother chanced to look in, she grabbed her cloak and swung it around her shoulders.
As she headed for the door, she picked up her reticule, the purse heavy with the weight of the money she had received from her great-aunt, Matilda Crenshaw, Baroness Humphrey, along with a ticket for a cabin aboard a packet sailing north at the end of the week.
Raising the hood of her cloak to cover her auburn hair, Grace checked to be certain no one was out in the hall, then slipped down the servantsâ stairs and left the house through a door leading out to the garden.
Her heart was pumping, her nerves on edge, by the time she reached Brook Street, hailed a hackney carriage and climbed into the passenger seat.
âThe Hare and Fox Tavern, if you please,â she said to the driver, hoping he wouldnât hear the tremor in her voice.
âThat be in Covent Garden, eh, miss?â
âThat is correct.â It was a small, out-of-the-way establishment, she had been told, chosen by the man whose services she intended to purchase. She had gleaned the manâs name from her coachman for a few gold sovereigns, though she didnât tell him the nature of her business.
