A Stranger at Castonbury

A Stranger at Castonbury
Amanda McCabe

‘It’s hard to admit, but you’re not the son I once knew…’The obliterated battlefields of Spain are a world away from the privileged life of James Montague. Only nurse Catalina Moreno eases the deafening roar of mortar fire—and in a crumbling chapel by candlelight they make their vows. But before the sheets cool from their scorching wedding night Jamie has to leave on a brutally dangerous mission…Two years later, believing her husband dead, Catalina is shocked to see a man who looks and sounds like her Jamie at Castonbury—but where once there was warmth and charm, now unflinching torment lies in the gaze of the man she barely recognises…

Survival of the fittest is fine, so long as you’re the one on top … but the family that has everything is about to lose it all …

The Montagues have found themselves at the centre of the ton’s rumour mill, with lords and ladies alike claiming the family is not what it used to be.

The mysterious death of the heir to the Dukedom, and the arrival of an unknown woman claiming he fathered her son, is only the tip of the iceberg in a family where scandal upstairs and downstairs threatens the very foundations of their once powerful and revered dynasty …

August 2012

THE WICKED LORD MONTAGUE – Carole Mortimer

September 2012

THE HOUSEMAID’S SCANDALOUS SECRET – Helen Dickson

October 2012

THE LADY WHO BROKE THE RULES – Marguerite Kaye

November 2012

LADY OF SHAME – Ann Lethbridge

December 2012

THE ILLEGITIMATE MONTAGUE – Sarah Mallory

January 2013

UNBEFITTING A LADY – Bronwyn Scott

February 2013

REDEMPTION OF A FALLEN WOMAN – Joanna Fulford

March 2013

A STRANGER AT CASTONBURY – Amanda McCabe

Duke of Rothermere

Castonbury Park

Jamie,

After months of heartache and uncertainty, seeing you again still leaves a hole in my heart. It’s hard for me to admit, but you’re not the son I once knew and, whilst you bear a physical resemblance to Jamie Montague, I cannot be certain that you are really him. The pain and the darkness in your eyes is consuming you. I thought that learning what had happened would bring this family closure, but my biggest fear now is that your return to Castonbury Park will turn a contained scandal into one that’s rapidly getting out of control.

Father

About the Author

AMANDA McCABE wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen—a vast epic, starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class. She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA

, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers’ Choice Award and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma, with a menagerie of two cats, a pug and a bossy miniature poodle, and loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs and watching the Food Network—even though she doesn’t cook.Visit her at http://ammandamccabe.tripod.com and http://www.riskyregencies.blogspot.com

Previous novels by the same author:

TO CATCH A ROGUE* (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) TO DECEIVE A DUKE* (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) TO KISS A COUNT* (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) A NOTORIOUS WOMAN + (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) A SINFUL ALLIANCE + (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) HIGH SEAS STOWAWAY + (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) THE SHY DUCHESS THE TAMING OF THE ROGUE

And in Mills & Boon

HistoricalUndone!eBooks:

SHIPWRECKED AND SEDUCED + (#ulink_f777f595-d717-5677-b60e-65dc7736c5db) TO BED A LIBERTINE THE MAID’S LOVER TO COURT, CAPTURE AND CONQUER GIRL IN THE BEADED MASK UNLACING THE LADY IN WAITING ONE WICKED CHRISTMAS

* (#ulink_1507893f-ab81-51b5-9591-942d8a1adf48)The Chase Muses trilogy + (#ulink_1507893f-ab81-51b5-9591-942d8a1adf48) linked by character

AUTHOR Q&A

Apart from your own, which other heroine did you empathise with the most?

That is such a hard question! I was really fascinated by everyone else’s characters and the way they developed—both in their own stories and as characters in the series as a whole. I did really admire Phaedra in Unbefitting a Lady—she seemed like such a free spirit, determined to follow her own heart and passions wherever they would lead her. Plus, she was my hero’s favourite baby sister!

Which Montague do you think Mrs Stratton the housekeeper let get away with the most?

I loved Mrs Stratton! She almost seemed like a second mother to the Montague children, watching them grow up and showing them affection when their own parents could not. I think maybe she had a soft spot for my hero, Jamie—he was the oldest and the most solemn (even when he was a child!), and she might have felt just a bit sorry for him …

Which stately home inspired Castonbury Park and why?

We decided to take Kedleston Hall as our model for Castonbury. It’s a large, grand, built-to-impress house, unusual in many of its architectural features, and has extensive and beautiful grounds (with lots of places for secret romantic meetings!). There is a great deal of information and many images available and also several of the authors had visited, so it seemed like a good spot for our characters. (And in spirit it’s a lot like Downton Abbey, a place that has its own character.)

Where did you get the inspiration for Jamie and Catalina?

I love the idea of wartime romance—a whirlwind, passionate affair surrounded by danger and uncertainty—and when Jamie first came into my mind I could see him as a man who would be surprised to find love at such a time and would be even more passionate for that. I also love the country of Spain, its landscape and turbulent history, so I loved it when a Spanish heroine appeared who was perfect for him.

What are you researching for your forthcoming novel?

I am starting another Regency series, centred around a family at the centre of a small, almost Cranford-esque village! I can’t give away too much about it yet, but I am loving the characters and the trouble they can get into in such an unexpected place …

What would you most like to have been doing in Regency times?

I think I would have loved to be doing just what I do now—writing stories! I have always loved the image of Jane Austen devising her stories in the midst of a busy Regency house, finding inspiration in the people and environment around her. But probably I would be scrubbing pots in the scullery …

AUTHOR NOTE

When I was first asked to take part in this project I was so excited! I loved the one collaborative project I’d done before (The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor with Diane Gaston and Deb Marlowe) and this one was even more extensive and involved. I would get to try a new writing method, as well as work with authors I’ve admired for a long time. Also, I am a huge Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs fan! The challenge and fun of creating a similar world in the Regency—a family and a house caught up in the tides of enormous change and scandal—was too much to resist. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve found in writing to help build such a world.