Chapter 1 The pinch came in the space between two smiles, and it was timed to the second. It landed on the soft, pale inside of Diana Cranidge’s elbow, two inches above the wrist, hidden under a loose brown sleeve, delivered by a hand that had practiced this exact cruelty for seven years. Upstairs, in…
Chapter 1 The beeswax candles had burned down an inch and a half when the Duke of Marnfeld understood, with a clarity that tasted like cold coffee, that he had become a side of beef being examined at a market. Eight pairs of eyes. Eight practiced smiles. Eight women who had each been dressed, drilled,…
Chapter 1 She Fled Her Faithless Suitor Into a Dark Room—Unaware England’s Most Feared Duke Was Hiding There “If you intend to cry on my waistcoat,” a deep voice said from the darkness, “I should warn you that the fabric is expensive, and I have no intention of paying the laundress for your distress.” Pride…
Chapter 1 Rain hammered the glass roof of the abandoned ballroom, and the only light in the world was one candle, guttering. He had kissed her before she could decide whether she wanted him to. Her eyes dropped — not to his mouth, not to his hands — to the cane lying on the floor…
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