Virginia Heath - The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

Life as a duchess...

Or something much more dangerous?

Part of The King’s Elite: constantly told her beauty and charm are all she has to offer, Lady Clarissa is intent on marrying a duke. And intriguing spy Sebastian Leatham will help her! Only, first she’ll assist him with his new assignment—playing the part of confident aristocrat Lord Millcroft. Sebastian awakens a burning desire within Clarissa that leaves her questioning whether becoming a duchess is what she truly longs for...

The King’s Elite miniseries

Book 1—The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

Look out for the next book, coming soon!

“The Wild Warriners steal hearts, but none more than youngest brother Jake, whose secrets and sensuality draw readers into Heath’s lively, stylish romance filled with adventure and unforeseen passion.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Warriner to Seduce Her

“The third of the Wild Warriners series shines with compassion and intense emotions as Heath tackles some thought provoking themes... A Warriner to Tempt Her is tender and loving, powerful and poignant.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Warriner to Tempt Her

When VIRGINIA HEATHwas a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older the stories became more complicated—sometimes taking weeks to get to their happy ending. One day she decided to embrace her insomnia and start writing them down. Virginia lives in Essex with her wonderful husband and two teenagers. It still takes her for ever to fall asleep.

Also by Virginia Heath

Her Enemy at the Altar

The Discerning Gentleman’s Guide

Miss Bradshaw’s Bought Betrothal

His Mistletoe Wager

The Wild Warriners miniseries

A Warriner to Protect Her

A Warriner to Rescue Her

A Warriner to Tempt Her

A Warriner to Seduce Her

The King’s Elite miniseries

The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

And look out for the next book

coming soon.

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Mysterious Lord Millcroft

Virginia Heath

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07403-2

THE MYSTERIOUS LORD MILLCROFT

© 2018 Susan Merritt

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

For Ruby Graham-Lovett.

Because special little girls deserve to

have the whole world know they are lovely.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Deepest, darkest, dankest Nottinghamshire —March 1820

The bullet hole still hurt like the devil, but to add to Seb’s current misery, this morning it had started itching, as well. So badly that he was sorely tempted to poke a buttonhook down the tightly bound, pristine bandages encasing his abdomen and vigorously flay the blasted irritation away. Instead he subtly scratched at the area with his fingers, only to have them slapped away by his diligent hostess who was listening to his chest with something which resembled a miniature wooden trumpet.

‘You have to leave the wound alone, Seb. The stitches have only just come out and the area is still delicate.’

As was he. With a huff he flung his head back on the pillow and, to his shame, pouted like a petulant child. ‘I’m going mad, Bella. Slowly around the twist at the sight of these four walls.’ He’d been in bed almost three weeks. Granted he hadn’t remembered the first ten days of that, he’d been too busy fighting for his life, but he had been improving steadily for the last ten and was desperate to get back to work. He had smugglers to catch and one in particular. The Boss. The elusive nameless, faceless mastermind behind a highly organised, extremely dangerous smuggling ring linked to Napoleon himself, which not only threatened the English economy, but had also been indirectly responsible for killing two of Seb’s best men as well as aerating his chest.

‘How much longer is your husband going to keep me chained to this bed?’ Not that he wasn’t grateful. Doctor Joe Warriner had saved his life. The musket ball had gone deep and the blood loss had been so significant that most physicians would have sent for a parson to administer the last rites. But Joe wasn’t most physicians and had battled to dig the thing out, and had worked tirelessly to snatch Seb from the snapping jaws of death in the week afterwards. Who wouldn’t be grateful? But one could still be indebted for ever and frustrated at being gaoled by the same man simultaneously. Doctor Joe was both a genius and a tyrant...and now Seb was thinking petulantly, as well. Being indoors for long periods of time clearly brought out the worst in him.

‘Actually, after your astounding show of ill-tempered belligerence yesterday, he has agreed you can come downstairs today. But only to sit in a chair. And only for a few hours. Once you’ve taken your medicine, I shall send someone in to help you get cleaned up while I sort out something appropriate for you to wear. I’m sure Joe must have something that will fit you.’

Whilst sitting in a chair didn’t sound the least bit exciting, it was better than lying in a bed like an invalid and, once he was downstairs, they really would have to chain him up to stop him moving around. For a man used to being out in the elements, being cooped up was anathema. Mind you, Seb couldn’t complain about the luxury. A soft mattress, warm blankets, clean sheets and three excellent meals a day were a rarity in his line of work. Ten days’ worth was unheard of. He might be in purgatory, but it was a sweet-smelling, comfortable cocoon-like ordeal and it could be much worse. He could be worm food.