The Husband Season. Mary Nichols

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       ‘What are you playing at?’ Adam murmured in Sophie’s ear, startling her; she hadn’t realised he was so close.

      ‘“Playing at”, my lord?’ she said sweetly. ‘What can you mean?’

      ‘You know very well what I mean. You manoeuvred Miss Malthouse to sit beside me at supper; it was so obvious I wondered others did not notice it.’

      ‘Now, how could I, a mere slip of a girl, manoeuvre you, of all people? And why would I?’

      ‘I do not know, but it was unkind of you. I had to endure her idle chatter throughout supper, and afterwards while we walked. Listening to her is exhausting. I am persuaded you must have some motive.’

      ‘My lord, I have been accused of being a hoyden and a flirt, and Cassie is convinced that I am trying to put her out with you. I had to make her see otherwise.’

      ‘And you wouldn’t be doing anything of the sort, of course?’

      ‘Certainly not. I should be wasting my time, would I not? Have you not declared you are not looking for a second wife?’

      ‘Indeed I have.’

      ‘And I am not prepared to be one, so let us be friends.’

      He laughed. ‘Oh, Sophie, if anyone could make me change my mind it would be you.’

      Born in Singapore, MARY NICHOLS came to England when she was three, and has spent most of her life in different parts of East Anglia. She has been a radiographer, a school secretary, an information officer and an industrial editor, as well as a writer of some sixty novels and a biography. She has three grown-up children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

      The Husband

      Season

      Mary Nichols

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      The Husband Season features characters that also appear in Mary Nichols’s previous novel. If you enjoy this book, make sure you don’t miss Jane Cavenhurst’s story in Scandal at Greystone Manor.

      Contents

       Cover

       Excerpt

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Dedication

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

       Extract

       Copyright

       Chapter One

      1819

      Miss Sophie Cavenhurst was not renowned for her patience or tact. Nor, come to that, for her common sense. This lack was balanced by a comely face and figure, a soft heart and a sunny disposition. Young gentlemen frequently proposed and were as frequently turned down. ‘You see,’ she would say with a smile meant to soften the blow, ‘it just would not do.’ Which, according to her fond papa, showed she had more sense than she was generally credited with.

      The trouble was that Sophie measured all prospective husbands against the husbands of her two older sisters, and her swains had always been found wanting. Mark, Lord Wyndham, who was Jane’s husband, was gentle and kind and dependable; Isabel’s husband, the recently knighted Sir Andrew Ashton, was dashing and exciting and was always taking Isabel off to foreign climes to have adventures. They were both wealthy, though their wealth came to them in very different ways: Mark’s through inheritance, СКАЧАТЬ