The Arrangement

The Arrangement
Lyn Stone

Which Was The True Jonathan Chadwick? The childlike innocent or the sophisticated cynic who despised society? Whatever the man's mysteries, Kathryn Wainwright was determined to uncover them. Especially when her incessant questions uncovered a passionate soul that she found herself helpless to resist.Jonathan Chadwick swore there could not exist a more maddening woman than Kathryn Wainwright. The cheeky writer for an outrageous gossip sheet seemed hell-bent on destroying him. And the desire that flared between them was becoming impossible to ignore!

Praise for Lyn Stone’s first book,THE WICKED TRUTH (#u8e0ba19f-bdc8-50bc-961d-5a47be5a99de)Kathryn must make her feelings about their union absolutely clear this very moment (#u767bd0a5-3a47-563c-9c30-6bccd2eaa6dc)Letter to Reader (#u731129f5-9328-5382-a514-5360ccc82b38)Title Page (#ud1a9929f-de0d-5df8-ae1f-8fee105987de)About the Author (#udebaeb38-d90d-53de-94f3-1540943143d2)Dedication (#ue08c56ad-50f4-58bb-b9fc-c0d70d4e836b)Chapter One (#u2fafec65-c54e-56cb-a713-17ce9ec2df80)Chapter Two (#ud72c8604-d53d-5d1f-8fe0-11a85aba6d83)Chapter Three (#u4f1794f6-d767-516b-b20c-72b16d36a3d8)Chapter Four (#u4e5b360a-95ab-5d86-8be3-e67ff13a39fd)Chapter Five (#u7620b86d-eb5d-5126-857c-8565c6830519)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Praise for Lyn Stone’s first book,THE WICKED TRUTH

“...Stone has an apt hand with dialogue and creates characters with a refreshing naturalness.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A great adventure...witty dialogue and bold subjects... Lyn Stone could well be a writer ahead of her time.”

—Affaire de Coeur

“...a skillfully written mystery laced with passion and humor that intrigues and delights.”

—Romantic Times

Kathryn must make her feelings about their union absolutely clear this very moment

She might never be able to muster the courage to approach the subject later. Especially when this newly regained confidence of Jon’s wreaked havoc with her body’s needs. He was terribly appealing at his worst, and this looked as though it definitely might be one of his better days. With a sharp intake of breath, she prepared to speak.

He interrupted. “There can be no further incidents like last evening.” Kathryn noted the blunt determination in his voice as he continued. “If we are to succeed in this endeavor, nothing personal must get in our way. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Kathryn raised her chin and stared. Damn him, that was supposed to be ber line. She had expected him to argue when she refused him his rights, but apparently he didn’t even want them...!

Dear Reader,

Lyn Stone’s first book, The Wicked Truth, was one of the featured titles in this year’s March Madness promotion and earned the author a favorable review in Publishers Weekly. Her second book, The Arrangement, is another unique and touching story about a young female gossip columnist who sets out to expose a notorious composer and winds up first agreeing to marry him, then falling in love with him. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy this exciting new talent.

Kit Gardner’s The Untamed Heart, a Western with a twist, has a refined English hero who happens to be an earl, and a feisty, ranch hand heroine who can do anything a man can do, only better. And this month also brings us a new concept for Harlequin Historicals, our first in-line short-story collection, The Knights of Christmas. Three of our award-winning authors, Suzanne Barclay, Margaret Moore and Deborah Simmons, have joined forces to create a Medieval Christmas anthology that is sure to spread cheer all year long.

Our final title is Susan Amarillas’s new book, Wild Card, the story of a lady gambler who is hiding in a remote Wyoming town, terrified that the local sheriff will discover she’s wanted for murder in Texas.

Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you enjoy all four books, available wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Arrangement

Lyn Stone

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

LYN STONE

A painter of historical events, Lyn decided to write about them. A canvas, however detailed, limits characters to only one moment in time. “If a picture’s worth a thousand words, the other ninety thousand have to show up somewhere!”

An avid reader, she admits, “At thirteen, I fell in love with Brontë’s Heathcliff and became Catherine. Next year, I fell for Rhett and became Scarlett. Then I fell for the hero I’d known most of my life and finally became myself.”

After living four years in Europe, Lyn and her husband, Allen, settled into a log house in north Alabama that is crammed to the rafters with antiques, artifacts and the stuff of future tales.

For my mother, Louise Pope, who encouraged

me through all those years of music lessons.

You were right—no bit of learning is ever wasted.

This one is for you.

Chapter One

London, September 1889

“Follow that carriage,” Kathryn Wainwright ordered as her coachman folded up the steps and closed the door. “Make certain the driver doesn’t notice. When he gets where he’s going, drive on by without stopping. All I want is his destination.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the man answered, climbing up to his seat.

Two hours later, they passed through a tatty, run-down village. A mile past the outskirts, the carriage ahead turned off onto a small side road through the trees. Kathryn knew she couldn’t follow it without revealing her presence, and probably her purpose, if the rutted track was no through road.

She tapped on the inside roof and stuck her head out the window. “Drive on up that rise, Thorn, and see if we can look down and see where that road leads.”

When the carriage reached the top, she could indeed see quite clearly, with her father’s old field glass to one eye. In the moonlight, an old manor house rose out of the summit of the adjoining hill.

No welcoming lights shone in the windows, nor could she see anyone about the place. She watched until she saw his carriage pull up to the wide circular drive. Jonathan Chadwick alighted, spoke with the driver, and then strode into the dark house. Kathryn collapsed the spyglass and clapped her hands in glee. So this was his lair.

She had followed him before, always to a modest set of rooms near the theater district. And she knew from trying to bribe her way past the landlady that he rarely stayed there, except on the nights when he was performing somewhere in town. He disappeared for days on end, sometimes a week or more, the woman had said. Now Kathryn knew where he had gone.

This must be his family home, she guessed. From the deserted look of the place, he must live alone.

Kathryn smelled a fine story here. Perhaps there was something to the gossip that he was of some impoverished noble family. No one seemed to know very much about him, except that he had once been a child prodigy, traveling Europe since he was in short coats. Then, on reaching manhood, he had dropped out of sight. He had returned this summer with a vengeance. London’s drawing rooms and concert halls fought to book him, while he stubbornly played hard to get. The ploy had worked nicely for him. He accepted only the plummiest offers.

Even if his music was not as marvelous as it was, the man’s mystique would have put him in demand. Yes, there was a grand old mystery about Jonathan Chadwick and she meant to uncover it.

Excited by the prospect, Kathryn knew exactly what she had to do. “Turn around, Thom, and let’s make for the village. We’ll see if they have an inn.”