The Major and the Pickpocket
Книга "The Major and the Pickpocket", авторами которой являются Литагент HarperCollins EUR}, Lucy Ashford, представляет собой захватывающую работу в жанре Историческая литература. В этом произведении автор рассказывает увлекательную историю, которая не оставит равнодушными читателей.
Автор мастерски воссоздает атмосферу напряженности и интриги, погружая читателя в мир загадок и тайн, который скрывается за хрупкой поверхностью обыденности. С прекрасным чувством языка и виртуозностью сюжетного развития, Литагент HarperCollins EUR позволяет читателю погрузиться в сложные эмоциональные переживания героев и проникнуться их судьбами. EUR настолько живо и точно передает неповторимые нюансы человеческой психологии, что каждая страница книги становится путешествием в глубины человеческой души.
"The Major and the Pickpocket" - это не только захватывающая история, но и искусство, проникнутое глубокими мыслями и философскими размышлениями. Это произведение призвано вызвать у читателя эмоциональные отклики, задуматься о важных жизненных вопросах и открыть новые горизонты восприятия мира.
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Praise for
Lucy Ashford
writing as Elizabeth Redfern:
THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
‘Unputdownable…[a] remarkable debut…a glittering
tale of London in 1795, full of science, intrigue, war,
revolution, and obsessive passion.’
—Guardian
‘An engrossing read and a rich,
pungent evocation of the period.’
—The Observer
‘…brilliantly handled to keep the reader guessing
right to the end.’
—Charles Palliser
‘Striking and original…a star is born.’—Literary Review
‘Quite wonderful…It is Redfern’s ability to
bring each scene, each character alive
that makes this such toothsome reading.’
—USA TODAY
AURIEL RISING
‘Intelligent.’—The New York Times
‘Richly atmospheric…Redfern’s strength
is in recreating a morally corrupt world…’
—Publishers Weekly
‘You do have qualities in which I am interested,’ Marcus said.
‘There is a man in London on whom I wish, very badly, to be revenged. He has several weaknesses, and I intend to attack accordingly. Firstly he is a gambler, who cannot resist a challenge when the stakes are high. And secondly he has a marked liking for pretty women who are skilled at card play.’
‘So I’m ruled out for certain, surely, if you are looking for someone pretty? Since you make it quite clear that I am nothing of the kind!’
She saw a half-smile flicker across his strong mouth—a dangerous, all-male smile. ‘Those weren’t my precise words, minx,’ he said softly. ‘I think, in fact, that you could be very, very pretty.’
Tassie felt the colour rising in her cheeks. ‘You jest with me.’
‘I assure you, this is not jest.’ No, indeed. His voice, his expression told her he was in deadly earnest. ‘To put it briefly, Tassie, you and I could help each other out quite considerably.’
Lucy Ashford, an English Studies lecturer, has always loved literature and history, and from childhood one of her favourite occupations has been to immerse herself in historical romances. She studied English with history at Nottingham University, and the Regency is her favourite period.
Lucy has written several historical novels, but this is her first for Mills & Boon. She lives with her husband in an old stone cottage in the Peak District, near to beautiful Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall, all of which give her a taste of the magic of life in a bygone age. Her garden enjoys spectacular views over the Derbyshire hills, where she loves to roam and let her imagination go to work on her latest story.
This is Lucy Ashford’s debut novel for Mills & Boon® Historical Romance.
AUTHOR NOTE
I’ve always adored historical romances. I grew up daydreaming about King Arthur’s knights, Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman heroes, the Scarlet Pimpernel and, of course, Georgette Heyer’s Regency rakes.
So you can imagine that, although I’d had some success writing historical thrillers, I was really longing to create a romance set in a bygone age. And who else to approach but Mills & Boon?
After a lot of fun dreaming up my plot and characters, and with a great deal of help from skilled and sympathetic editors, I finally became a Mills & Boon author with THE MAJOR AND THE PICKPOCKET. The story is set in 1780, at a time when gambling fever was really starting to take the nation in its grip. Great lords and ladies would lose and win mighty fortunes in all-night sittings. My feisty heroine, Tassie, is as skilled as any of them at tricking her way out of trouble at the turn of a card—that is, until the wounded war hero Major Marcus Forrester calls her bluff!
So here it is—my first Mills & Boon® Historical Romance. I do hope you enjoy the story of how the Major and the mischievous pickpocket Tassie discover true love together.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
London—February 1780
Heavy rain that night meant the streets were almost deserted, and so it was even more startling for the few pedestrians in the vicinity of Pall Mall to see a big chestnut mare being pulled up in a frenzy of sparking hooves outside the porticoed entrance of one of London’s most discerning clubs. The mare had been ridden hard. Its glossy flanks were heaving, and its eyes rolled whitely in the gleam of the yellow lamplight. Swiftly the horse’s rider dismounted, thrusting the reins and a few coins towards a hovering groom before swinging round to face a footman who watched him uncertainly from the shelter of the imposing doorway. At this time of night, and in this sort of foul February weather, club members usually arrived by carriage or sedan, not like some whirlwind from hell on horseback.
But before the footman could issue a challenge, the dark-haired rider, his mouth set in a grim line, was already striding up the wide steps. It was noticeable now that he had a slight limp, but it didn’t seem to slow him in the least. His long riding coat, glistening with rain, whirled out behind him as he crashed open the door, and his whip was still clutched in his hand. As the gust of cold air he’d let in billowed through the lofty reception hall, all the candles were set a-flicker, and a number of disdainful faces turned to stare. A plump butler started busily towards the intruder, but found himself brushed aside, like a moth.
