An accomplished beauty...
But a most unsuitable match!
Natalya Fairchild can’t help but be drawn to Tristan Quintrell, Lord Dalmorren, with his effortless charisma, even if he’s not her intended bridegroom. Tristan is an eligible society catch...whereas Natalya’s unknown heritage could label her ruined. As Tristan helps Natalya investigate her mysterious past, she starts to hope the truth of her conception won’t destroy her prospects...of a life with Tristan!
“You have spoken to my uncle,” Natalya said. “What did he tell you about me?”
“Nothing.”
“Then you know as much as I.” Suddenly she was tired of the pretense. “I have no idea who my mother or father was. I am accepted in Bath because the Pridhams are rich and claim me as their kin, but I am not considered a suitable match...for anyone. You would be advised to stay away from me.”
“Why? I am responsible to no one for my actions. If I ride beside you it is because I want to do so. I enjoy the company and conversation of an intelligent woman. Many men do, you know, Miss Fairchild.”
She stared straight ahead, blinking away a sudden rush of tears.
“Now, what have I said to make you cry?”
“Why, nothing. I am merely being foolish.”
She forced a smile. Tristan’s words confirmed her fears. She had read of girls being educated to a high standard and given all the accomplishments to amuse a rich and powerful man. Not with the aim of becoming his wife, but his courtesan.
Author Note
Genealogy is very popular at the moment. Many of us are keen to learn more about our history, who we are, where we came from. Today we can even find out most of this information without ever leaving the house. For a small fee we can delve into the records online and even take a DNA test to discover more about our ancestors. For a young lady in Regency England, things were much more difficult.
At the start of this story Natalya, “the mysterious Miss Fairchild,” knows nothing about her parents and her questions are met with silence. Growing up, her fertile imagination has imagined all kinds of scenarios, but as she nears her twenty-first birthday, she has no idea if she is the daughter of a countess or a courtesan and it begins to worry her. Because until she knows about her past, she can make no decisions about her future.
I hope you will enjoy Natalya’s journey, with its twists and turns. It was a joy to write, and I admit to giving a little sigh of satisfaction when she finally discovers who she is, what she is and, more important, what she wants.
Happy reading!
SARAH MALLORY
The Mysterious
Miss Fairchild
Sarah Mallory grew up in the West Country, England, telling stories. She moved to Yorkshire with her young family, but after nearly thirty years living in a farmhouse on the Pennines, she has now moved to live by the sea in Scotland. Sarah is an award-winning novelist with more than twenty books published by Harlequin Historical. She loves to hear from readers; you can reach her via her website at sarahmallory.com.
Books by Sarah Mallory
Harlequin Historical
The Scarlet Gown
Never Trust a Rebel
The Duke’s Secret Heir
Pursued for the Viscount’s Vengeance
His Countess for a Week
The Mysterious Miss Fairchild
Saved from Disgrace
The Ton’s Most Notorious Rake
Beauty and the Brooding Lord
The Highborn Housekeeper
The Infamous Arrandales
The Chaperon’s Seduction
Temptation of a Governess
Return of the Runaway
The Outcast’s Redemption
Brides of Waterloo
A Lady for Lord Randall
Visit the Author Profile page
at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For my family. All of them.
Wherever they are.
Contents
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
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Excerpt from The Master’s New Governess by Eliza Redgold
Chapter One
‘Tristan, I want to take a wife!’
Tristan Quintrell, Lord Dalmorren, paused a moment before replying to the young man standing on the other side of the desk.
‘Well, that has surprised me,’ he said at last. ‘I knew you wanted something, Freddie, but I thought you needed me to bail you out.’
‘Good God, no!’ Young Mr Erwin looked aggrieved at the suggestion. ‘I ain’t always in dun territory, you know.’
‘Forgive me,’ murmured his host drily, ‘but it has been the reason for all your other visits to Dalmorren this past year.’
The young man flushed slightly. ‘Well, a fellow has to kick up a bit of a dust when he is first on the town, you know. And besides, you told me to come to you rather than Mama if I needed funds. But that’s not why I am here, Tristan. I am in love!’
This statement, delivered in ecstatic accents, did not impress his host. It was on the tip of Tristan’s tongue to retort that, having not yet reached one-and-twenty, Freddie would fall in and out of love a dozen times before settling down, but he held back. The glowing look in the young man’s eyes and his beatific smile persuaded him that Freddie was well and truly smitten.
A mere eight years separated the two men. Freddie was the son of Tristan’s sister. She was sixteen years older than he and his only remaining sibling, the others having failed to survive beyond the nursery years. Her late spouse had taken the precaution of making his brother-in-law joint guardian of his only child. Tristan had barely reached his majority when his own father died and that circumstance, together with the responsibility for his widowed sister and her son three years later, had weighed heavily upon the young Lord Dalmorren, giving him a maturity well beyond his years. He therefore did not mock Freddie for his infatuation. Instead he got up from his desk and walked across his study to the side table, where he poured two glasses of Madeira.
‘Here.’ He handed one to Freddie. ‘I think you had best sit down and tell me all about it.’
The boy needed no second bidding. He pulled a chair close to the desk and sat down, saying eagerly, ‘We met in Bath, in February. Do you recall I told
