Chessmen-Masters of Seduction 2 - The Notorious Lord Knightly by Heath Lorraine

Author:Heath, Lorraine [Heath, Lorraine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Victorian, General, Women
ISBN: 9780063114685
Google: lZeHEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B0BDD714MP
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-06-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I could not help but touch him in return. His dark hair. His broad shoulders. His strong back. His taut buttocks. Yes, I even dared to squeeze there. His attentions were setting me free from any inhibitions.

—Anonymous, My Secret Desires, A Memoir

June 19, 1875

The following afternoon, as her coach carried her into the heart of London and Millie sat opposite her, a weariness deep enough to make her bones feel as pliable as melting wax settled over Regina. As much as she enjoyed riding, she wasn’t looking forward to this outing. She’d not slept after returning home from the ball. Every time she closed her eyes, Knightly was over her, his hair brushing her forehead, his eyes heated, his voice rough as he assured her, Everything will be all right.

And her body would grow warm and ache in places that longed for a man’s attentions. She tried to think of Chidding. Why couldn’t visions of him come to her when she had these dreadful yearnings? Because he’d yet to kiss her? Because she had no sexual experiences with him to draw upon?

The very last thing she wanted was to spend time with Knightly.

No, the very last thing she wanted was to lose her trusts. She could find employment somewhere, surely. For a newspaper perhaps. Although she was fairly certain the income wouldn’t be nearly as generous as the yearly amount she was presently accustomed to receiving. She’d be unable to afford servants, except perhaps for Millie who might be content with a roof over her head and food. In exchange for which, she could watch over Arianna. Regina would need someone to care for her daughter if she herself had to be out searching for stories.

Then there was the matter of someone learning she’d given birth to a child out of wedlock. That sort of situation was terribly frowned upon. No one would hire her under those circumstances. She could claim to be a widow. She’d considered it when she’d first returned to England, but the deception didn’t sit well with her—now, however, she was turning to deception at Knightly’s urging in order to protect herself and her daughter.

She could devote herself more enthusiastically to her writing. She had earned a tidy little sum on her first book, although little was the important word there. But if she wrote novels of romance and adventure, with heroines to capture ladies’ imaginations, perhaps she could eke out a modest living. She’d received several letters sent to Anonymous or Author of My Secret Desires via her publisher who had passed them on to her solicitor who had, of course, delivered them to her. Most praised her writing and encouraged her to write another tale. Oddly, she’d not had a single woman complain about My Secret Desires. Only the men. Perhaps they were threatened by the notion of a female protagonist who would not be cowed.

In spite of the current upheavals, she was making good progress on the second volume. Writing the first

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