Delilah Marvelle - Forever a Lord

Lady Imogene Norwood

Lady Imogene Norwood lives a sheltered life of quiet respectability and routine…until she meets the wild and broken Lord Atwood. He is wholly unexpected among London’s elite, and the very shy English rose suddenly realizes that a little chaos might just be what her heart desires.

Lord Nathaniel James Atwood

Lord Nathaniel James Atwood doesn’t believe true love exists. Since scandal tore him away from his family at an early age, he has spent his life fighting for what he wants. That attitude has made him a rising star in bare-knuckle boxing, and now leads him back to London to reclaim the life that was stolen from him. But upon meeting the innocent Imogene, his beliefs are trounced…as guarding his heart against her proves to be the fight of his life.

Praise for the novels of

“Marvelle seamlessly weaves two distinct threads into a sizzling yet tender romance…satisfying and worthy of a cheer.”

—Publishers Weekly on Forever a Lady

“Marvelle adeptly explores the best and worst of social class divides in this unforgettable story.”

—Booklist on Forever and a Day (starred review)

“Marvelle not only crafts highly sensual novels, her innovative ideas and plot twists invigorate the genre.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Not only is it intriguing and mysterious, it’s highly addictive.”

—Fresh Fiction on Forever Mine

“Showcases Marvelle’s ability to heat up the pages while creating a tender love story that touches the heart.”

—RT Book Reviews on Once Upon a Scandal

“Marvelle’s story of Radcliff coming to know himself, and Justine’s faith in him, is a quintessential romance.”

—Booklist on Prelude to a Scandal

Forever a Lord

Delilah Marvelle

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

We all carry secrets, be they small or large, and we all carry them for very different reasons. We do it to protect ourselves and/or others. Regardless, secrets aren’t meant to be kept forever. They are meant to be shared with someone we can genuinely trust, so that the burden of the shame we feel by holding on to our secrets can be taken away from our souls.

In Forever a Lord, welcome to the world of what happens when a secret goes too far and the burden leaches its way into everything. Here you will meet a bare-knuckle boxer who is on the path of learning that only one thing can save his burdened soul: the genuine love of a good woman. Imogene is my version of what the hero could never have imagined. Though Imogene has seen very little of the real world due to her overprotective brother and her illness, it doesn’t make her any less viable. In fact, it enables her to see our hero in a way few can. Our hero, in turn, who never thought himself capable of love, discovers that he is capable of something even better: true love.

I believe each of us has a soul mate waiting in the most unexpected of places and it is up to us to know when to cradle that one person who is meant to carry us through life with unwavering love. I hope you enjoy reading about what happens when two very different souls meet and discover that their differences are what saves them both.

Much love,

Delilah Marvelle

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my husband and children, who continue to support me through my writing career at every turn. I love you all.

Thank you to my marvelous editor, Emily Ohanjanians. Your incredible feedback pushes me to see beyond my own nose. And boy, do I ever need it. Thank you to Harlequin HQN for continuing to have faith that I have stories worth telling and selling. Thank you to my bow-worthy agent, Donald Maass, who nudged me away from being too vanilla. Heaven forbid!

And last but certainly not least, thank you to Maire Claremont, who has cheered me on through every sentence and every page. I adore you. Always.

To Jessa Slade, my incredible friend and critique partner, who asked one simple “what if” that not only blew my mind but made this story possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.

Contents

Prologue

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

Chapter Twenty-Six

Epilogue

Author’s Note

PROLOGUE

The cries of “Foul! Foul!” now resounded.

—P. Egan, Boxiana (1823)

27th of September, 1800

Somewhere in New York City

A LARGE, WARM hand pressed itself against the closed lids of Nathaniel’s eyes, drawing him out of a deep sleep. The lingering, tangy sweetness of a cigar clung to his nostrils as the linen sleeve of a male shirt brushed his cheek.

It was him. Nathaniel didn’t dare move.

The hand slowly drew away. “Are you awake?” someone whispered in a heavy accent from beside him on the bed.

Nathaniel swallowed and opened his eyes, candlelight fingering its way through the shadows of the dank cellar. He couldn’t breathe. Nausea seized him. “I want to go home,” Nathaniel choked out, rocking against the ropes binding his hands to his waist. He didn’t care that he sounded pathetic or scared anymore. Being ten, he had every right to be pathetic and scared, didn’t he?

The golden glow of a lone candle revealed a young man with sun-tinted hair sitting on the narrow bed beside him. It was the same man who had lingered outside his family’s window all those nights in the shadows.

Amber eyes met Nathaniel’s for a somber moment. The man held up a wooden soldier whose military uniform had been painted red. He angled it toward Nathaniel. “For you.”

“I don’t want it.”

“If I untie you, and give this to you, do you promise not to hit me? Do you promise to be good?”

Nathaniel fisted his hands and tried to swing his arms up at that face, but his movement was cut short and burned against the tight ropes that bound each arm against his waist. “Why are you doing this?” he choked out.

“You are his son. Are you not?”

Tears blinded Nathaniel, realizing the man wasn’t about to let him go. “Perhaps my father misunderstood. Send him another missive. Please.”

The man lowered his gaze to the wooden soldier he held. “He understood. He chose to ignore it.”

A sob escaped Nathaniel. “No. He wouldn’t. I know he wouldn’t!”

“We think we know someone until they betray us. That is…how do you English say?…the lesson.”

Nathaniel shook his head and rasped, “Send a missive to my sister. Augustine. She…she will come for me. I know she will. Or my mother. Ask them for whatever you want and they will ensure you get it. I know they will!”

“No.” The man fingered the wooden soldier but didn’t meet his gaze. “To involve anyone but your father would only see us all hanged.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

Nathaniel swallowed. “Are you going to kill me?”

The man’s mouth quirked. “I am a good many things, but I am not a murderer, little friend. In Venezia, even when we are angry, we do things with…honor. Nothing like you British.”

Nathaniel swallowed again. What had his father done to this man? He dared not fathom.