by Sheila Walsh
The face seemed strangely familiar. But yes ‒ there was a picture of Satan in the prayer book she had as a child with just such a face ‒ high-moulded cheekbones and a hooked nose with deep etched lines running down either side of a full, sensual mouth. And the eyes! Mon Dieu! Such eyes. She shivered deliciously, remembering how she had feared that portrait.
When he stood at last before Madalena, she was able to observe that the Duke’s eyebrows also had a curious upward flick, so that one might imagine them to be horns!
Kit performed his introductions. Phoebe blushed prettily and murmured something unintelligible, but Miss Varley, being included as one of the party, was much more willing to engage the Duke’s interest. However, beyond a brief nod, he paid her scant attention; his brilliant blue eyes were fixed with a curious intentness upon Madalena.
She returned the look with a complete lack of shyness and challenged in mock reproof, ‘Monseigneur le Duc, you have been staring at me!’
He agreed imperturbably. ‘I hope you do not mean to take exception, mademoiselle, for you will have noticed that I am continuing to do so.’
Madalena gurgled with delight and Miss Varley’s lips tightened visibly.
The waltz was announced and amid a buzz of mingled excitement and disapproval, Lady Serena took the floor with Lord Palmerston.
Above the swell of the music Devereux said abruptly, ‘Do you waltz, mademoiselle?’
‘But of course, monseigneur. I regret, however, that I am already claimed.’
‘That can soon be arranged.’ He took her card and scanned it casually. ‘Ah, it’s only Freddie Egerton.’ He turned to an eager young exquisite who hovered anxiously at his elbow, and bent a commanding eye upon him. ‘There you are, Egerton ‒ you won’t mind giving up your place to me, will you, lad?’
Without waiting for answer, he swept Madalena on to the floor, where some four brave couples were now dipping and swirling to the pulsating rhythm of the music.
‘Freddie will not love you, Duc,’ she protested breathlessly. ‘He has waited so patiently to show me his waltz.’
‘My heart bleeds for him!’ he drawled. ‘Shall I restore you to him?’
Her huge, gamine grin flashed swiftly. ‘No, no, I beg you, for I am sure your performance is so much superior!’
Devereux laughed, and his arm tightened just a fraction, causing her to feel even more breathless. Madalena sighed, and abandoned herself to the ecstasy of being whirled round in strong arms.
‘You are very masterful, are you not?’ she sighed.
His eyes glinted down at her. ‘And you are a most provocative young lady. Tell me, mademoiselle, do your partners always have to wait in line for the favour of a dance with you?’
Madalena chuckled. ‘They are just silly boys. It is that I am French, you understand. I think they all mean to be in love with me, but it will not last, for I am not a great beauty or a wit even.’
It was said without guile; was she then so totally unaware of her own attractions? Devereux accorded her the benefit of any doubt as she presently whispered with unholy glee: ‘See how the dowager ladies frown upon us! Is it that they consider me too jeune fille to waltz with such panache?’
‘Very likely,’ he said, amused. ‘Though the waltz itself is sufficient to sour their humour. It is still frowned upon by some of the Patronesses of Almacks ‒ and theirs is the criterion by which all such social niceties are judged. Have you visited Almacks?’
‘No. One must have vouchers, you know. Tante Vernon hopes to obtain them and Phoebe speaks of it with awe, but in truth it sounds a very dull place.’
‘It is ‒ excessively dull, but obligatory if one would be fashionable.’
‘Then I shall not repine if we do not go! Perhaps,’ she persisted wickedly, ‘the dowagers frown because I am with you?’
‘That is also entirely possible. Does their disapproval distress you?’
‘No!’ It was a too vehement denial. For a moment the laughing mouth trembled and then it firmed again. ‘Already there are many who shun me. Not everyone, you see, loves me for being French.’ She shrugged philosophically.‘ One cannot blame them.’
One satanic eyebrow flickered upwards in surprise. He said softly, ‘Yet I, mademoiselle, was impatient to renew our acquaintance.’
Madalena stared, her hurt forgotten. ‘But we have not met. No! It is impossible that I should forget such a one as you!’ she continued with amusing frankness. ‘It was perhaps my brother, Armand. We are very like.’
‘No. It was not Armand.’
‘Then you will tell me please,’ she demanded, ‘where was this mysterious meeting?’
On an impulse he said, ‘Ride with me in Hyde Park tomorrow at midday ‒ and I will tell you.’
Madalena looked up, considering him through her lashes. ‘I do not at all believe you ‒ and I do not think that I should ride with you. Tante Vernon would undoubtedly consider you not at all a respectable person for me to know.’
She became aware that the music had come to an end and that everyone was leaving the floor. ‘Monseigneur le Duc!’ she entreated. ‘People are staring. Please to take me back!’
The Duke tightened his hold and smiled down at her in such a way! ‘At midday,’ he repeated softly. ‘Your promise, mademoiselle?’
‘Yes … yes!’ she agreed in a panic. ‘I will come!’
‘Good.’ Imperturbably he escorted her across the now deserted ballroom floor, watched by the entire assembled company.
‘See what you have done!’ Madalena muttered. She walked very straight, trying not to blush. ‘It would serve you very right if I did not come tomorrow.’
‘But you will. Your curiosity will not allow you to stay away.’
They had by now arrived back beside a speechless Phoebe.
The Duke took Madalena’s hand. ‘You do not play fair, Duc,’ she reproached him with a rueful grin.
‘Oh, hardly ever, my dear!’ He raised the hand to his lips. ‘A bientôt. Your servant, Miss Vernon.’
Lady Serena was waiting in the doorway to steer him away from the card room. She linked an arm casually through his and her laugh trilled out as she chided him good-naturedly.
‘Dev ‒ you are a fraud! After all your protestations, you lay siege to our little émigrée ‒ a positive babe!’
‘Ah, but one, you must admit, who is quite out of the common!’ he murmured with the faintest glimmer of a smile. He realized he was being manoeuvred into a quiet corner and added quizzically, ‘Why are you abducting me, Serena? Did I not know you better, I might imagine you to be jealous.’
Lady Serena’s manner became a little abstracted; she appeared to be examining minutely a mammoth arrangement of spring flowers. ‘You have a visitor,’ she said quietly.
The Duke’s expression hardly altered. ‘Leclerc?’ he muttered. She nodded.
‘Damn him for a fool!’ he exploded softly. ‘Has he no more sense than to show himself here when the house is full of people?’
‘I gathered it was urgent. He was not seen, except by my servants ‒ and they know how to be discreet. I have had him shown into the small back parlour, but you had best go to him directly or he will work himself into a state!’
The Duke descended the staircase without apparent haste. He waved away the two footmen who sprang forward at his approach and walked to a door at the back of the hall.
As he opened it, a taut figure ‒ slight, with a pallid face, curiously scarred — paused in the act of pacing the floor and threw up his hands in a torrent of French.
‘Taisez-vous!’ the Duke rapped out in a voice that Madalena would have instantly recognized. ‘Do you wish to lay all we have worked for in ruins?’
Continue reading Madelena by Sheila Walsh
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Four Riddles for Jane Austen by Gabriel
le Mullarkey
The No.1 Regency Historical Fiction ebook on Amazon. A gripping page-turner full of intrigue and edge-of-the-sedan chair adventure as Jane Austen risks her life to solve a quartet of baffling crimes.
‘Jane Austen fans ‒ in fact, anyone who loves a good page-turner ‒ will love this. I did!’ Sue Thomas (former Features Editor of Woman)
At 31, impoverished spinster and keen observer of life Jane Austen uses her marginal place in society to team up with her loyal maid, Tilly Marshall, and unmask the malicious, vengeful and desperate in a world where money and status are all, not everyone is who they seem and secrets are worth killing – and dying – for.
Full of witty dialogue, pacy action and memorable characters (both above and below stairs), Jane and Tilly’s encounters cement their lasting bond and provide inspiration for Jane’s best-known works.
Along the way, Jane pioneers the Heimlich manoeuvre and speed dating, gets ‘more knocked about than a shuttlecock’ and wonders if she’ll ever rest her quill in a permanent home of her own …
‘Cheeky and inspired ... the book lovingly recreates both the Georgian world and Jane Austen herself ... with shafts of Janeite wit and wisdom.’ Belle About Town
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The Queen’s Midwife by Lozania Prole
The Number 1 Biographical Fiction ebook on Amazon. A moving and atmospheric novel about a young midwife in King Henry VIII’s court.
Henry VIII’s desperate longing for a male heir, and the dilemma it poses for two of his queens, is seen through the eyes of young Alice, the Queen’s midwife.
This fictional biography vividly brings to life the menacing mood in the royal palaces as first Catherine of Aragon, then Anne Boleyn are expected to provide a prince for England.
Alice becomes the confidante of two very different queens, faces the wrath and unpredictability of King Henry VIII, and experiences her own romances and heartache in this gripping tale.
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Promises by Catherine Gaskin
The gripping story of a remarkable woman and the promises she must keep to those she loves.
A sweeping family saga, from the grand homes of Yorkshire and London in the Edwardian era, to the heartbreak of a French nursing station during World War I, and the glamour of American high society in the 1920s.
Lally Leeds is just a baby when wealthy Black Jack Pollock finds her abandoned in a Yorkshire street and decides to raise her alongside his own children. As Lally blossoms into a young woman, the love and loyalty she feels towards her adoptive family bring her both happiness and heartache.
Over time, it is Lally’s strength and devotion which hold the Pollock family together: her dashing brother, Jon; her selfish and self-destructive sister Margaret; and fragile Alice, who must been protected from herself. And the family’s fortunes become entwined with those of another foundling ‒ the mysterious, self-made businessman Brock Weymouth. Lally discovers to her cost that sometimes the most difficult promises to keep are to those we love.
By the ‘Queen of Storytellers’ ‒ over 40 million book sales worldwide.
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Victoria Four-thirty by Cecil Roberts
London, 1937. A world famous composer, a honeymooning couple, a novelist in search of a plot, a German film star, a young crown prince and a sister of charity are among the disparate group of travellers on the boat train to continental Europe.
‘It would be very interesting to know the life history of everybody on this train – why we are travelling on it …’
Set amid the political upheaval of the 1930s, this is the witty, insightful and bittersweet story of the passengers on the Four-thirty from Victoria. Each is facing a different journey, with their own hopes, fears and challenges; and for some, their lives will cross in unexpected ways.
The 80th anniversary edition of the newly rediscovered classic bestseller from the 1930s.
A splendid achievement, with a classic quality.” Daily Telegraph
‘What a good novelist …’ Sunday Times
‘A book of considerable imaginative quality.’ The Guardian
‘A marvel of construction and execution …’ Yorkshire Post
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Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom
Thirtysomething Ann Clements takes a Mediterranean cruise which opens her eyes to the wider world, and to herself.
London, 1934. Ann Clements is thirty-five and single, and believes nothing exciting will ever happen to her. Then, she wins a large sum of money in a sweepstake and suddenly can dare to dream of a more adventurous life. She buys a ticket for a Mediterranean cruise, against the wishes of her stern brother, the Rev. Cuthbert, who has other ideas about how she should spend her windfall.
Ann steps out of the shadows of her mundane life into the heat of the Mediterranean sun. Travelling to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Malta and Venice, Ann’s eyes are opened to people and experiences far removed from her sheltered existence. As Ann blossoms, discovering love and passion for the very first time, the biggest question is, can there be any going back?
An engaging and witty story about an unforgettable 1930s woman; Ann Clements will stay with you long after the last page.
‘Ursula Bloom writes in a delightful way, with a deep understanding of human nature and a quick eye for the humorous things in life. Wonder Cruise … is one of the most entertaining novels we have read for a long time.’ Cambridge Daily News
‘Vividly entrancing.’ Scotsman
‘… with every book she adds something to her reputation … related with all Miss Bloom’s liveliness and easy skill.’ Daily Telegraph
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The Founder of the House by Naomi Jacob
The seven-volume family saga, spanning generations of the Gollantz family.
Book 1: Set in nineteenth century Paris, Vienna and London, this is a novel about family ties and rivalries, love and ambition.
The Founder of the House introduces us to Emmanuel Gollantz, the son of a Jewish antique dealer, Hermann Gollantz.
Hermann lives his life according to the principles of loyalty, honesty and honour instilled in him as a child. But these ideals are ruthlessly exploited by his wife’s family, threatening everything that is important to him. Protecting his beloved wife, Rachel, from the truth carries a great cost.
As a young man, Emmanuel, becomes involved with the inner circle of the Viennese Court, where his passion for the married baroness, Caroline Lukoes, has far-reaching consequences both for himself and the House of Gollantz.
The Founder of the House is the first book in the bestselling Gollantz Saga ‒ an historical family saga tracing the lives and loves of the Gollantz family over several generations. This seven-novel series explores how one family’s destiny is shaped by the politics and attitudes of the time, as well as by the choices and actions of its own members.
What they’ve said about The Gollantz Saga:
‘Recommended. Ms Jacob writes skilfully and with that fine professional assurance we have come to expect of her.�
� The Times
‘Impressive.’ London Evening Standard
‘A good family chronicle.’ Kirkus Reviews
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A Shaft of Light by John Finch
The poignant story of young people growing up during the beginning of the Second World War.
Life in a Yorkshire mining village is tough, as families struggle to survive the harsh deprivations of working class life, and to keep hope, spirit and dignity alive.
Denis and Ted are best friends, but in some ways their lives are world’s apart. Shopkeeper’s son Denis questions what the future may hold for him. The advent of war shows him the possibilities of a life far from all he knows. Yet Ted, from the poorest part of the village, dreams only of becoming a man and starting to work down the pit, like his father before him. Both boys are drawn to Jean, a bold, spirited young woman from their village, but only one of them can win her heart.
The youngsters face the challenges and responsibilities of growing up, as they experience love, death and desire, and the consequences which will change their lives forever.
From the acclaimed creator and writer of the classic television family sagas A Family at War and Sam, and former Coronation Street scriptwriter, John Finch. Previously published as Cuddon Return.
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Wyndham Books publishes the first ebook editions of bestselling works by some of the most popular authors of the twentieth century. Enjoy our Historical, Family Saga, Regency, Romance and Medical fiction and non-fiction.
