The Defiant Mistress

The Defiant Mistress
Claire Thornton

A time for revenge…For eight years Gabriel Vaughan, Marquis of Halross, has believed he was duped by a clever, money-grabbing harlot. He has tried to forget the beauty who left him at the altar, and then an accidental meeting in Venice places her entirely at his mercy!Although Athena Frances Fairchild claims to be innocent, maybe this is just another of her deceptions. It's time to exact a little revenge. So when Athena needs a safe passage back to England, Gabriel sees his chance. Years ago he would have been proud to have Athena accompany him as his wife. Now Gabriel will insist she travel…as his mistress!

“The entire household believes I am your mistress.”

“There is a solution to your unfortunate situation,” Gabriel said blandly.

“What?”

“You could become my mistress in fact as well as reputation.”

She stared at him, her lips parted in shock. Then the color drained out of her face. Her mouth worked for a few seconds before she managed to utter a word.

“How could you?” she whispered. “I was good enough to be your wife. But now… No! Never!” She sprang to her feet, knocking over the stool. “Is this your idea of revenge? Because I will never let you humiliate me like that!”

“It’s my price for providing you with safe passage back to England,” he said. “That is what you want from me, isn’t it?”

Praise for Claire Thornton

Raven’s Honor

“Claire Thornton has written an exciting historical unlike anything I’ve read this past year. She hooked me within the first few pages and kept me hanging on the edge throughout the rest of this beautifully written love story…. I highly recommend this intoxicating love story.”

—Romance Junkies

Gifford’s Lady

“Claire Thornton is truly gifted in creating stories that are so unusual—with charismatic characters, intriguing plots and subtle humor. Her hero steps off the page and into your heart with his bravery and sensibilities.”

—Romance Junkies

“Thornton offers an inventive plotline and paints a vivid picture with her descriptions.”

—Romantic Times BOOKclub

“[Abigail] and Gif share a wonderfully tender and intimate love scene that’s one of the best I have read this year…. It’s a standout.”

—All About Romance

The Defiant Mistress

Claire Thornton

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Author Note

The stories in the CITY OF FLAMES trilogy take place in Europe during the reign of Charles II. This was an era of great color, drama and variety. The king scandalized some of his subjects with his many mistresses, but his reign also saw the emergence of modern banking among the London goldsmiths. Actresses appeared for the first time in London theaters, while members of the Royal Society met every week to witness scientific experiments.

Athena Fairchild, Colonel Jakob Balston and the Duke of Kilverdale are cousins, but they’ve led very different lives. Athena grew up in England, Jakob in Sweden, and Kilverdale spent his childhood exiled in France as a result of the war between Charles I and Parliament.

The cousins’ romances take place in various locations, but London is at the heart of the CITY OF FLAMES trilogy. The cousins all meet the one they love in the city—although Athena’s happiness is destroyed almost before it begins.

Athena’s story, The Defiant Mistress, begins in May 1666 in Venice and the events span the rest of the summer. Jakob’s story, The Abducted Heiress, and Kilverdale’s story, The Vagabond Duchess, both begin in London at the start of September 1666. In the early hours of the morning of 2 September a fire in Pudding Lane will burn out of control….

While I was writing these books I fell in love with the characters and their world. I hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Contents

Prologue

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

Prologue

London, June 1658

T onight a maid…tomorrow a bride.

Athena’s heart sang with expectation. Her mood was as sunny as the afternoon as she stepped lightly along Cheapside, slipping with practised ease through the crowds that thronged one of London’s grandest thoroughfares. Her route took her past some of the City’s most renowned silk mercers’ and goldsmiths’ shops, but she didn’t spare them a second glance. She had finished her own less exalted shopping and she was on her way home.