AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR

by

Heather Boyd

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR

Copyright 2014 by Heather Boyd

Published March 2014

LLD Press

ISBN: 978-0-9875614-7-3

Edited by Anne Victory

Cover Design by Heather Boyd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.

For more information visit:

www.heather-boyd.com

London’s ballrooms and bedrooms thrive on scandal and decadent pleasure and the summer of 1814 will be no exception for the Distinguished Rogues in Heather Boyd’s latest Regency romance.

An Accidental Affair

Widowed beauty, Arabella Lawson, Lady Farnsworth, knows the value of independence after being trapped in a marriage that left her unfulfilled. Although she longs for a lover at last, she’s expected to chaperone her flirtatious niece during her first season. However, given the way the girl keeps disappearing every chance she gets, there is little hope of a good or speedy result. While searching for her charge yet again, she blunders into one of Lord Rothwell’s scandalous assignations. This time it’s Arabella’s turn to be on the receiving end of his hungry kisses, and she’s far from prepared to make the most of the opportunity.

Gossip may paint Merrick Bishop, the Earl of Rothwell, as a notorious scoundrel when it comes to women, but this season his intentions are honorable. Duty bound to marry, he’s determined to discreetly court an open-minded bride and prove the gossipmongers wrong by being on his very best behavior… until in his frustration, he mistakenly kisses the wrong lady and discovers that everything about the encounter feels so very right. Merrick never once believed he had a chance with shy Arabella, and when the unthinkable happens, she turns to him not for an affair or hopes of marriage but for his friendship and protection from her own family.

Can a rogue with a reputation for breaking hearts convince a widow who only hopes for an affair that their feelings are not only the stirrings of desire but the beginnings of the deepest and truest love?

DEDICATION

For Crystal. 

Because you made me want to write this story so very badly.

Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

CHAPTER ONE

Being good was a damned nuisance. Merrick Bishop, Lord Rothwell, steered Lady Harrison away from curious onlookers for a moment’s privacy.

When they were alone and safe from prying eyes, Louisa’s eyes lit up with mischief. “I thought you came to my ball to further your search for a wife, Rothwell?”

“I did.” He sighed at her suggestion that he was after more than just information from her tonight. Louisa might be very lovely and have curves enough to tempt a man away from honorable intentions, but she had connections he needed to make use of first. Merrick wanted a wife this season, not a potential scandal. He’d put the decision off long enough. He was thirty and at an age when the future, not just his but others, preyed on his mind. “There is still much you can tell me about my quarry. What did you discover?”

She smiled at him fondly and ran her hands over his forearms. “A pity it must be so, but I agree it is high time you married. With your connections and wealth you should have had even the most cautious of fathers lining up to offer up their daughters for marriage to you by now.”

He frowned. “That has not been my experience. I only need one.” If he wanted to find himself the right sort of wife, then he needed access to information about the candidates and their families before he approached them. Louisa had her ear in the right circles, and the wrong ones too. Merrick cast an anxious glance along the hall, hoping no one was lingering close enough to overhear their conversation. He didn’t want to ruin what he’d started before he’d truly begun. “Where is your husband tonight?”

“Oh, the card room, I imagine. You know how he is when there are high stakes involved. Except”—her brow furrowed and her head turned toward the hall door—“he did seem rather interested in the guest list, so I think he may have his eye on someone I invited tonight. I do hope it’s not one of your possibilities.”

Merrick studied her face, wondering if Louisa had it in her to be the least bit jealous of another woman. “Does that disturb you? That he might be meeting with a lover of his own even now?”

She made a face and then laughed. “Only if he chooses someone I dislike. I do not like to share with my enemies.”

He laughed along with her, but he wasn’t the least bit amused. Marriage was a serious business. When he found the right woman, Merrick would not share. He knew his own mind well enough to believe that when he found a woman who matched his criteria and married her, he would be entirely possessive about her company. “Tell me.”

Louisa’s gaze softened. “It is as you feared.”

He cursed under his breath. “Why?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” She frowned. “The old rumors about your father’s frequent dalliances are circulating again, as well as whispers of your own more recent affair with that dreadful actress. I warned you anyone who named herself after fruit would be trouble. But she has cried so convincingly over the loss of your affection and everyone thinks you were a monster to her.”

Merrick scowled at the memory of his last affair with Josephine Peach. He was not sorry to have ended things as abruptly as he had. “I found her in bed with not one but two grubby stage hands when she’d claimed to be indisposed for dinner. I brought her flowers for heavens sake to brighten her bloody room.”

“Well, she is an actress and they do lie for a living.” Louisa shrugged. “Couple that with your new interest in balls and even attending the odd picnic, and your behavior has taken on a wholly different light than what you wished for. I imagine every father with a daughter fresh to the marriage mart is watching you closely, and they don’t believe you intend to marry. It’s no wonder there’s a chill greeting you.”

Merrick slumped against the wall. “I’m nothing like my father.”

“I know. We’ve been friends a long time and that is why you have me on your side. I’ll help ease your way into their good graces, though I’m not sure how much good it will do. You’ll have to prove you have honorable intentions, at least for a while.” Lady Harrison eased closer, her hands caressing his chest fleetingly. “So, the Howard chit is rumored to prefer books to balls, and there is Lady Cecily, who seems meek and mild at first glance, but she has more spirit than most beneath the well-polished exterior.”

She paused for a moment, thinking. “You also asked about Miss Milne’s family. Her father has built a reputation as a shrewd businessman, thanks in no small part to the weight of his pocketbook, though that also makes her less appealing when compared to other young ladies coming out this year. The girl is quiet but always the first to supper. Nerves, I expect. Some women eat when they are anxious. She will regret that later in life, I believe.”