I am thrilled and honoured to be a part of the launch of Mills & Boonâs exciting new e-book program UNDONE! In my Regency tale, The Unmasking of Lady Loveless, I have written a special short story for you that I hope you find fun and very, very sexy!
Welcome to Christmas in my favourite Yorkshire village of Peacock Oak, where a mysterious author is outraging the Ton with her wicked, erotic novels! Who is the shocking Lady Loveless? Her unmasking is going to be sensual, romantic and very scandalousâ¦
Enjoy!
Elsewhere in Peacock Oak, thereâs marriageâ¦murderâ¦and mayhem! To be found in Nicola Cornickâs novel UNMASKED Available March 2009
Coming Soon from Mills & Boon
a scandalous new trilogy BRIDES OF FORTUNE
where the rules of engagement are never what they seem!
The Confessions of a Duchess The Scandals of an Innocent The Undoing of a Lady
Chapter 1
London, December 1806âthree weeks beforeChristmas
When Lord Alexander Beaumont entered Whites that night the entire room fell silent. No man would meet his eyes; their gazes slid away to study the pattern on the carpet or the brandy in their glasses. Throats were cleared, cuffs inspected with startling intensity.
âGentlemen?â He raised one quizzical dark brow. âWould anyone care to enlighten me as to what is wrong?â
There was silence.
âCharles?â he prompted.
âDevil take it, Alex,â his friend Charles Wheeler complained, âI knew you would ask me.â
âThatâs what friends are for, Charles,â Alex said smoothly. âWell?â
Charles stood up. He loosened his neck cloth, palpably ill at ease. âDonât know where to start, old fellow.â
âTry the beginning,â Alex advised.
âGood luck, Charlie,â someone said sotto voce.
âItâs Lady Melicent,â Wheeler blurted out. âYour wife.â
His wife.
No one ever spoke to Lord Alexander Robert Jon Beaumont about his wife.
âThank you, Charles,â Alex said. âWe may have been apart for a couple of years now, but I am still aware who Melicent is.â
Wheeler winced. Several men drew in their breath in sympathy.
âSheâs⦠Sheâs written a book,â Wheeler said. âSeveral books. This is the most recent.â He grabbed a slim tome from the hands of a man at a nearby table and handed it to Alex.
âSteady on, Charlie,â the man protested. âI was enjoying that!â
âBentleyâ¦â Wheeler said in a warning tone. The manâs eyes flickered to Alexâs hard face and he fell silent.
ââThe Adventures of a Woman of Pleasure by Lady Loveless.ââ Alex read the gold lettering aloud. He flicked open the book.
ââBeing naked and laid open to him kindled so great a rapture in her that she lay in wanton pleasure waiting for him to plunge his hugeâââ
A great harrumphing and clearing of throats followed. Alex closed the book softly and looked at his friend. âYou are claiming that Melicent, my wife, is this Ladyâ¦Loveless?â
âYes! Donât call me out,â Wheeler added as Alex took a purposeful step toward him, murder in his eyes. âBentley bribed the publisher and found out that the manuscripts are sent from someone called Mrs. Durham, from Peacock Oak in Yorkshire.â¦â He made a pleading gesture. âYou know that was Lady Melicentâs maiden name and that she resides there now.â He shook his head. âShe has to be stopped, Alex. She bases the characters in her books on members of the Ton and they are too accurately portrayed for comfort.â He gestured to Bentley again. âWillâs betrothal to Miss Flynn was ruined because there is a scene in the book where a character called Bill Gentley ravishes an actress in a box at the theater during a performance!â
âWe all know that happened,â Alex said dryly.
âThat isnât the point!â Bentley piped up.
âBentley lost an heiress worth sixty thousand,â Wheeler said. âLady Lovelessâs sources are impeccable. Which is why she has to be stopped.â
Alex tapped the book thoughtfully against the palm of his hand. âShe will be.â
âWhat are you going to do?â Wheeler asked.
âI am going to Yorkshire,â Alex said. He smiled at the look of horror on his friendâs face. âNo need to fear, Charlesâit is the north of England, not the North Pole.â
âYorkshire in winter,â Wheeler spluttered.
âYes,â Alex said, âand I will take this with me.â He raised the book, and the candlelight gleamed on the gold-lettered name, Lady Loveless, on the cover. âIt will prove usefulâ¦for research purposes.â