Louise Allen - Tarnished Amongst the Ton

* Those Scandalous Ravenhursts ** The Transformation of the Shelley Sisters † Danger & Desire

TARNISHED AMONGST THE TON

features characters you will have already met in

FORBIDDEN JEWEL OF INDIA

and in the Silk & Scandal mini-series:

THE LORD AND THE WAYWARD LADY

THE OFFICER AND THE PROPER LADY

and in Mills & Boon ®Historical Undone! eBooks:

DISROBED AND DISHONOURED

AUCTIONED VIRGIN TO SEDUCED BRIDE ** * Those Scandalous Ravenhursts ** The Transformation of the Shelley Sisters † Danger & Desire TARNISHED AMONGST THE TON features characters you will have already met in FORBIDDEN JEWEL OF INDIA and in the Silk & Scandal mini-series: THE LORD AND THE WAYWARD LADY THE OFFICER AND THE PROPER LADY and in Mills & Boon ® Historical Undone! eBooks: DISROBED AND DISHONOURED AUCTIONED VIRGIN TO SEDUCED BRIDE ** Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

www.millsandboon.co.uk

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

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First published in Great Britain 2013

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

1 London Bridge,

London SE1 9GF

© Melanie Hilton 2013

eISBN: 978-1-472-00378-2

Version: 2018-10-26

Dedication:With love for AJH— and thanks for all the London walking!

3 March 1816—the Pool of London

‘It is grey, just as everyone said it would be.’ Ashe Herriard leaned on the ship’s rail and contemplated the wide stretch of the River Thames before him through narrowed eyes. It was jammed with craft from tiny skiffs and rowing boats to those that dwarfed even their four-masted East Indiaman. ‘More shades of grey than I had realised existed. And brown and beige and green. But mostly grey.’