The Master Of Calverley Hall
'So, you’re back.'But can he put her world to rights?It should be Connor Hamilton’s final triumph to return to Calverley Hall as its master, rather than the poor blacksmith’s boy he once was. But he’s shocked to find the previous owner’s daughter, his old friend Isobel Blake, has lost everything—including her good reputation. Now the fragility beneath her shabby clothes and brave smile makes him want to protect her and hold her close…
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“So, you’re back.”
But can he put her world to rights?
It should have been Connor Hamilton’s final triumph to return to Calverley Hall as its master, rather than the poor blacksmith’s boy he once was. He’s shocked to find that the previous owner’s daughter, his old friend Isobel Blake, has lost everything, including her good reputation. Now the fragility beneath her shabby clothes and brave smile makes him want to protect her and hold her close...
“Ashford creates charming characters.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Rake’s Bargain
LUCY ASHFORD studied English with history at Nottingham University, and the Regency is her favourite period. She lives with her husband in an old stone cottage in the Derbyshire Peak District, close to beautiful Chatsworth House, and she loves to walk in the surrounding hills while letting her imagination go to work on her latest story.
You can contact Lucy via her website: lucyashford.com.
The Major and the Pickpocket
The Return of Lord Conistone The Captain’s Courtesan The Outrageous Belle Marchmain Snowbound Wedding Wishes The Rake’s Bargain The Captain and His Innocent
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
ISBN: 978-1-474-07383-7
THE MASTER OF CALVERLEY HALL
© 2018 Lucy Ashford
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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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.
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For Alan
Contents
Gloucestershire—June 1816
Seven years ago, Connor Hamilton had vowed to turn his back for good on the English countryside. But today, as he felt the warm summer sun on his face and breathed in the scent of freshly mown hay, he realised he’d never actually forgotten how beautiful it could be.
He’d chosen to drive from the Hall in his phaeton, with nine-year-old Elvie sitting at his side and Tom, the elderly groom, perched on the back. His two matched bays set a smart pace along the road to Chipping Calverley, but as their destination grew closer Connor reined them to a walk and took a swift glance down at Elvie. Not that he could see a great deal of her, thanks to that huge sunbonnet her grandmother had insisted the child wear.
‘I promise I’ll bring her back in one piece, Laura,’ Connor had teased.
‘I know! I know I’m fussing!’ Laura had laughed. But then she’d added, more quietly, ‘You realise, Connor, how very much my granddaughter means to me.’
An unspoken grief coloured her words and Connor had replied, ‘Of course. She means a great deal to me also.’
Poor Elvie. Poor silent, orphaned Elvie. But she was taking everything in, Connor was sure, with quiet pleasure. And suddenly the little girl tugged at the sleeve of his driving coat and whispered, ‘Look,Connor. There’s a fair!’
She was pointing to the colourful tents set out on a grassy meadow in the distance, the spaces between them already thronged with people and stalls. ‘A fair?’ he echoed teasingly. ‘Never, Elvie. Surely not.’
‘But there is, Connor. There
