Victoria Alexander - The Dance Before Christmas

Booklist Also By Victoria Alexander Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Praise CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN Extract About the Publisher The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen The Proper Way to Stop a Wedding in Seven Days or Less (novella) The Lady Travelers Guide to Larceny with a Dashing Stranger The Rise and Fall of Reginald Everheart (novella) Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Title Page The Dance Before Christmas Victoria Alexander www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-09542-6 THE DANCE BEFORE CHRISTMAS © 2018 Cheryl Griffin Published in Great Britain 2018 by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental. By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher. ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk Version: 2020-03-02

Praise Praise for Victoria Alexander’s Lady Travelers series “Alexander celebrates the spirit of adventure, elevates dubious scheming with good intentions, and advocates for the yielding of judgment and practicality to hedonism and happiness. Readers will savor every page.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review “Readers will immediately find themselves thoroughly disarmed by Alexander’s deliciously droll wit and flair for clever characterization, both of which are on full display in this exceptional start to the author’s sparkling new Lady Travelers Society series.” — Booklist “A delightfully humorous romantic adventure. Alexander enhances the missing person’s mystery with wonderful descriptions of London and Paris, but best of all is her cast of characters.... Add to this several laugh-out-loud escapades and a surprising ending, and you have the fun read of the season!” — RT Book Reviews “For love, laughter, and lots of fun, read Victoria Alexander.” —Stephanie Laurens, New York Times bestselling author

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

London 1875 Two weeks before Christmas

WESLEY GRANT STUDIED the wall of brass plaques engraved with the names of illustrious members of the Explorers Club who had perished through the years. The memorial wall greeted all who entered through the main door of the venerable club. It was an impressive display that was obviously designed to give new arrivals to the hallowed halls of the Explorers Club a not-too-subtle sense of the prestigious nature of the club’s membership, as well as honor those who had gone before. His father would have loved this.

“Good evening,” a female voice said beside him.

Wes turned. A pretty young woman, no taller than his shoulders, stared up at him. Dark curls pinned with pearls tumbled down her back. Her chin was slightly pointed, her lips decidedly lush and her green eyes fascinating, even if the expression they held was vaguely annoyed. He smiled down at her. “Good evening.”

“Good. I hoped it was you.” Relief rang in her voice. “I couldn’t be certain until I heard your accent. Aunt Lillian described you but she’s not good at that sort of thing and simply said you were tall, dark-haired and handsome.” Her gaze flicked over him in an assessing manner. “But then I suppose most actors are handsome, aren’t they?”

“I have no idea,” he said cautiously. What on earth was she talking about?

“It scarcely matters, I suppose.” She waved off his question. “You’re late, you know.”

“Am I?” As he was using his uncle’s invitation to the Explorers Club Christmas Ball, Uncle Nigel had suggested it would be best to arrive after the first onslaught of guests. He’d said those checking invitations were always a bit lax as the evening grew later.

She glanced around, as if to see if anyone was watching, then took Wes’s arm and steered him down the corridor. “I was afraid you might not be coming at all.”

“I think you have me confused—”

She pulled up short and stared at him. “She did pay you, didn’t she?”

“Pay me?” He frowned. “Who?”

“My aunt? Lady Farstead? The woman who hired you?”

“Ah yes, now I remember.” He didn’t, of course, but he was far too intrigued to stop now.

“If she didn’t pay you, we shall have to discuss payment, but it cannot be made until a later date. I hope you will agree to trust me in that regard. If not, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. I have no funds with me tonight.” She grimaced. “But I do hope you’ll stay. I am rather desperate.”

There were all sorts of things Wes could have—and probably should have—said at this moment. Prime among them that she had made a mistake, he wasn’t who she thought he was and he had no idea what she was talking about. Still, she was very pretty and obviously distressed. What kind of a man would he be if he didn’t come to her rescue? Besides, she’d aroused his curiosity and he’d surely regret not finding out what she was up to. “Of course I trust you, Miss... I’m sorry, I don’t recall your name.”

“Knowing my aunt, she forgot to tell you.” She shook her head in exasperation and continued pulling him down the corridor. “My aunt is a lovely woman and is brilliant when it comes to any kind of scheme. She and I came up with this idea only a few days ago, and the planning has been rather rushed, but we really have no time to waste. Unfortunately, she pays no attention whatsoever to details she deems unnecessary. Although I would have thought my name was necessary.”

“She said something about maintaining anonymity,” he said smoothly.

“An excellent idea but that won’t be at all possible.” She paused in front of tall double doors, glanced up and down the corridor, and then pulled open a door and waved him in. “I’m Miss Snelling. Anabel Snelling.”

He nearly tripped stepping over the threshold. “Then your father is—”