Merlins Maidens - Secuced by Spy - Pickens, Andrea

by Seduced by Spy (mobi)

  About the Author

  ANDREA PICKENS started creating books at the age of five, or so her mother tells her. And she has the proof—a neatly penciled story, the pages lavishly illustrated with full-color crayon drawings of horses and bound with staples—to back up her claim. Andrea has since moved on from Westerns to writing about Regency England, a time and place that have captured her imagination ever since she opened the covers of Pride and Prejudice.

  A graduate of Yale University, she lives in New York City. Her work lets her travel to a number of interesting destinations around the world—but her favorite spot is, of course, London, where the funky antique markets and used-book stores offer a wealth of inspiration for her stories.

  Please visit Andrea’s Web site at www.andreapickensonline.com. She loves to hear from her readers!

  THE DISH

  Where authors give you the inside scoop!

  From the desk of Amanda Scott

  Dear Reader,

  The idea for BORDER WEDDING (on sale now)—which is about a Scottish Border reiver, who is captured and forced to choose between marriage and hanging—stemmed from an ancient Scott family anecdote that has also inspired authors such as James Hogg, Sir Walter Scott, and Lady Louisa Stuart, among others. Most authors include the capture, the threat of the hanging, and the captor’s demand that the wedding take place at once. Then, optimistically, the authors simply declare that the pair lived happily ever after.

  I decided to tell the rest of the story.

  Since the reiver of that ancient tale was a nobleman and the bride a lady, one might like to understand something about the nature and identity of Border reivers. They existed on both sides of the ever-shifting line between Scotland and England and were, by definition, “raiders” or “marauders.” But reiving was also, for nearly 350 years, the basis of the Borderers’ economy. And, since the landowners were nobles, it was not rare for the leader of such a raid to be a nobleman.

  The minor seventeenth-century poet/historian Walter Scot [sic] of Satchells, who published the first known history of the Scott family in 1688, said of the reivers,

  I would have none think that I call them thieves…

  The freebooter ventures both life and limb,

  Goodwife, and bairn, and every other thing;

  He must do so, or else must starve and die,

  For all his livelihood comes of the enemie.

  Mind you, that enemy might be anyone other than his own family, Scot or Englishman, a neighbor, or someone fifty miles away.

  In the case of Sir Walter “Wat” Scott of Rankil-burn and Lady Margaret “Meg” Murray in BORDER WEDDING, the reiving began with Meg’s father taking Wat’s cattle. Wat is just taking them back (along with a few of Murray’s for good measure). Nevertheless, on both sides of the line, the penalty for capture was hanging. That was simply the way of the fascinating Scottish and English Borderers, who feuded and married among each other, and who accepted such a life and its risks as normal.

  I do hope you enjoyed BORDER WEDDING.

  Suas Alba!

  Amanda Scott

  http://home.att.net/~amandascott

  From the desk of Andrea Pickens

  Dear Reader,

  I learn many interesting things whenever I visit Mrs. Merlin’s Academy for Select Young Ladies. As you may know, the school does not teach an ordinary curriculum of study. Oh, to be sure, there are lessons in dancing and deportment. But swordplay and seduction are by far the most important classes, along with basic training in yoga and Eastern martial arts.

  Needless to say, the students are not your usual Regency debutantes. They are, well, the truth is, they are swashbuckling secret agents, trained to defend England from its most dangerous enemies. And as proof, I offer the following snippet of conversation between two “Merlins,” overheard outside the headmistress’s office as I was researching their exploits for my latest book, SEDUCED BY A SPY (on sale now).

  Sofia: “Bloody hell, you are really in trouble now.”

  Shannon: “To the devil with rules. If Lord Lynsley and Mrs. Merlin wish to expel me for riding to Siena’s rescue, so be it. I believed her to be in dire trouble, and though it turns out I was wrong, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

  Sofia: “I know, I know, but do try to keep a rein on your temper during the meeting. Remember our lessons in discipline and duty.”

  Shannon: [Expletive deleted.]

  Sofia: “If you are going to ask for a second chance, I would suggest a different choice of words.”

  Shannon: “Never fear—I will be a paragon of reason and restraint.”

  Sofia: “Ha! And pigs may fly.”

  Shannon: “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Fifi.” [A long pause.] “I’m awfully good with blades and bullets. Shouldn’t that be a mark in my favor?”

  Sofia: “Hmmm.”

  Shannon: “Perhaps I could offer to go after the Russian rogue, who eluded Lord Lynsley’s forces at Marquand Castle. The dratted man is a menace to our country—not to speak of every woman within its borders.”

  Sofia: “Nonnie, I am getting a bad feeling about this.”

  Shannon (blithely ignoring her friend): “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to get my hands on Mr. Orlov.”

  Sofia (rolling her eyes): “Be careful what you wish for …”

  Unfortunately, the door fell shut at that moment and I heard no more. However, be sure to visit www.andreapickensonline.com, just in case I discover further news about Shannon and the mysterious Mr. Orlov.

  Enjoy!

  Andrea Pickens