Margaret McPhee - Unlacing the Innocent Miss (Harlequin Historical)

The Lord and the Wayward Lady
by Louise AllenJune 2010

Paying the Virgins Price
by Christine MerrillJuly 2010

The Smuggler and the Society Bride
by Julia JustissAugust 2010

Claiming the Forbidden Bride
by Gayle WilsonSeptember 2010

The Viscount and the Virgin
by Annie BurrowsOctober 2010

Unlacing the Innocent Miss
by Margaret McPheeNovember 2010

The Officer and the Proper Lady
by Louise AllenDecember 2010

Taken by the Wicked Rake
by Christine MerrillJanuary 2011

May 1815, London

O utside in the darkness of the night a dog was barking.

A necklace of diamonds lay within a nest of black silken rope coiled on Lord Evedons desk. The diamonds glittered beneath the light of the candelabra as he picked up the necklace, letting it dangle and sway from his fingers, all the while watching the woman standing so quietly before him across the desk.

Well? he finally said, and his expression was cold. What have you to say for yourself, Miss Meadowfield?

A look of confusion crossed Rosalind Meadowfields face. The concern that she had felt at being summoned to attend Lord Evedon in his study had become fear. The hour was too late, and they were alone. His mood was not good, and it could be no coincidence that he was holding his mothers missing jewels.

Lady Evedons diamonds, they have been found? She did not understand what else he expected her to say.

Indeed they have. He spoke quietly enough, politely even, but she could hear the anger that lay beneath. Do you know where they were found? Her puzzlement increased, along with her sense of foreboding. I do not.

His eyes seemed to narrow and he glanced momentarily away as if in disgust. The crime is ill enough, Miss Meadowfield. Do not compound it by lying.

The tempo of her heart increased. She eyed him warily. I am sorry, my lord, but I do not understand.

Then understand this, he spoke abruptly. The diamonds were found hidden in your bedchamber, wrapped within your undergarments.

My undergarments? She felt her stomach turn over. That is not possible.

He did not answer, just stared at her with angry accusation. And in that small pregnant silence she knew precisely what he thought and why he had called her here.

You cannot believe that I would steal from Lady Evedon? Her words were faint, their pitch high with in credulity. I would not do such a thing. There must be some mistake.

There is no mistake. Graves himself was there when the diamonds were discovered within your chamber. Do you mean to call into question the propriety of the butler who has worked for the Evedon family for over forty years?

I do not, but neither do I know how the diamonds came to be hidden within my clothing. She gripped her hands together, her palms sliding in their cold clamminess, and bit at her lower lip. I swear it is the truth, my lord.

And what is the significance of this? From the surface of the desk he lifted the rope, and even in the subdued lighting from the candles and the fire, she could see its dark silken sheen. With one end of the rope secured tight within his fingers, he released the rest; as it dropped, Rosalind saw, to her horror, that it had been tied in the shape of a noose. She could not prevent the gasp escaping her lips.

Well? One movement of his fingers and the noose swung slightly.

I have never seen that rope before. I know nothing of it. Her heart was hammering so hard that she felt sick. All of her past was back in an instanteverything that she had fought so hard to hideconjured by that one length of rope.

He made a sound of disbelief. I warned my mother against taking on a girl without a single name she could offer to provide her with a character. But Lady Evedon is too kind and trusting a spirit. What else have you been stealing these years that you have worked as her companion? Small items perhaps? Objects that would pass unnoticed? And now you become brave, taking advantage of a woman whose mind has grown fragile.