Mary Balogh - The Devils Web

The
Devil's
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Contents

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF MARY BALOGH

SIMPLY MAGIC

Balogh continues her superb Simply romance series with another exquisitely crafted Regency historical that brilliantly blends deliciously clever writing, subtly nuanced characters, and simmering sensuality into a simply sublime romance. Booklist

SIMPLY LOVE

This superbly written, emotionally wrenching story of two wary people resigned to loneliness but surprised by love is classic Balogh and one of her best to date.Library Journal

SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE

When an author has created a series as beloved to readers as Balogh's Bedwyn saga, it is hard to believe that she can surpass the delights with the first installment in a new quartet. But Balogh has done just that. Booklist

A memorable cast refresh[es] a classic Regency plot with humor, wit, and the sizzling romantic chemistry that one expects from Balogh. Well-written and emotionally complex. Library Journal

SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS

Slightly Dangerous is the culmination of Balogh's wonderfully entertaining Bedwyn series. Balogh, famous for her believable characters and finely crafted Regencyera settings, forges a relationship that leaps off the page and into the hearts of her readers. Booklist

With this series, Balogh has created a wonderfully romantic world of Regency culture and society. Readers will miss the honorable Bedwyns and their mates; ending the series with Wulfric's story is icing on the cake. Highly recommended. Library Journal

SLIGHTLY SINFUL

Smart, playful, and deliciously satisfying Balogh once again delivers a clean, sprightly tale rich in both plot and character. With its irrepressible characters and deft plotting, this polished romance is an ideal summer read.Publishers Weekly (starred review)

SLIGHTLY TEMPTED

Once again, Balogh has penned an entrancing, unconventional yarn that should expand her following.Publishers Weekly

Balogh is a gifted writer. Slightly Tempted invites reflection, a fine quality in romance, and Morgan and Gervase are memorable characters. Contra Costa Times

SLIGHTLY SCANDALOUS

With its impeccable plotting and memorable characters, Balogh's book raises the bar for Regency romances.Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The sexual tension fairly crackles between this pair of beautifully matched protagonists. This delightful and exceptionally welldone title nicely demonstrates [Balogh's] matchless style. Library Journal

This third book in the Bedwyn series is highly enjoyable as part of the series or on its own merits.Old Book Barn Gazette

SLIGHTLY WICKED

Sympathetic characters and scalding sexual tension make the second installment in [the Slightly series] a truly engrossing read. Balogh's sure-footed story possesses an abundance of character and class.Publishers Weekly

SLIGHTLY MARRIED

[A Perfect Ten] Slightly Married is a masterpiece! Mary Balogh has an unparalleled gift for creating complex, compelling characters who come alive on the pages. Romance Reviews Today

A SUMMER TO REMEMBER

Balogh outdoes herself with this romantic romp, crafting a truly seamless plot and peopling it with well-rounded, winning characters. Publishers Weekly

The most sensuous romance of the year. Booklist This one will rise to the top. Library Journal

Filled with vivid descriptions, sharp dialogue, and fantastic characters, this passionate, adventurous tale will remain memorable for readers who love an entertaining read. Rendezvous

T HE CLIFFS OF THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND were visible to larboard, the morning mists having lifted, though the clouds still hung low and heavy and the sea was slate gray and heaving. The Adeona, one of the ships belonging to the North West Company of Canada, was bringing furs to the auction markets of London.

The cliffs of England. Of home.

A clerk of the company, one of those whose task it was to accompany the furs across the Atlantic and to transact the company's business in London, stood at the rail of the ship, one arm propping him against it, the other hand clinging to a taut rope attached to the rigging, his feet planted firmly apart for better balance, and tested the thought in his mind.

Home.

Soon he would set his feet again on his native soil, the very soil he had shaken from them four years before without a moment's hesitation. As he had once said to someone in England, though he did not care to remember whom, he had liked the sight of the sea because it represented his escape from England. And he had escaped.

But she had said that perhaps it was from himself he wished to escape and that it could not be done. For wherever he went, however far he ran, he must inevitably take himself along too.

She had been right. He had taken himself to Canadato Lower Canada to be precise, to Montreal. And since that had not by any means been far enough, then he had become a clerk with the North West Company, a group of merchants and traders in furs, and had taken himself off with a canoe brigade beyond Lower Canada, even beyond the limits of Upper Canada, beyond the limits of civilization.

Three thousand miles beyond Montreal he had journeyed. He had spent three years there, in the Athabasca country, with only a handful of other fur-trading men and the native inhabitants of the country for company.

He could have gone no farther without falling entirely off the end of the world, it had seemed, though some men had crossed the barrier of the mountains and reached the Pacific Ocean. And of course, it was true that he had taken himself every inch of the way. The only difference was that he had come to like himself a little better while that far away from home. While that far away from his memories.

But of course he could not escape memories as effectively as he had escaped from an island. They kept intruding. They were only as far away as his mind. And so he was coming back home for a few months. He might have stayed in the interior for yearsmost clerks of the company did, earning partnership by slow degrees and hard work. But he had requested, and been granted, a position in Montreal for a year. And because even there he could not be free of his past, he had requested, and been granted, the task of bringing the furs to auction.

And now he was almost back where he had started. Sometimes the mist and the water met so that he could no longer see the cliffs of southern England, but he knew they were there. And the Adeona was taking him very surely to London.

He did not want to be there. Or in any other part of England. Least of all in Yorkshire, where he had lived most of his life. But he would not go there. He would be working in London. There would be no time to make the ultimate journey home. And there was no point. There was nothing to be gained by going back there.

That particular episode in his life was long in the past. Long ago in his youth, when one could be expected to make mistakes. He had made onemore than one, perhapsand he had tried to put it right. Tried until he had thought he was going mad. And failed. There was nothing he could do about it now.