One of M. C. Beaton’s best Regencies features a young woman betrothed at the tender age of ten to the gentleman that had kidnapped her.
Lady Lucinda Esmond's swine of a father, the Earl of Sotheran, was forever fleecing young bucks in London's gaming halls with impunity—until he cheats Captain Mark Chamfrey, who kidnaps ten-year-old Lucinda for ransom.
But when Chamfrey has a change of heart and returns the girl, Earl Esmond nonetheless exacts his own price: Chamfrey can only redeem himself and save his skin by marrying his little victim nine years hence.
Lucinda's father could not have foreseen what a beauty Lucinda would become, nor that Chamfrey, a newly made Marquess, would find that what was supposed to be his punishment turns out be exactly what he desires!
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“[Beaton] is a romance writer who deftly blends humor and adventure…[sustaining] her devoted audience to the last gasp.”
— Booklist, praise for the author
“Nobody writes Jane Austen like [M. C. Beaton]…[She] gets it right every time.”
— Detroit Free Press, praise for the authorM. C. Beaton (1936–2019), hailed as the “Queen of Crime” by the Globe and Mail, was the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Agatha Raisin novels—the basis for the hit series on Acorn TV—as well as the Hamish Macbeth series. Born in Scotland, Beaton also wrote nearly one hundred historical romances under several pseudonyms. Her books have been translated into nineteen languages and sold more than twenty-two million copies worldwide.
Vanessa Benjamin (a.k.a. Roe Kendall) is a native of the British Isles. Some twenty-five years ago she moved to the United States with her family and set down roots in Maryland. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, receiving their silver medal as well as the Sir Emile Littler and Caryl Brahms awards. Benjamin has performed on stage in the Washington, DC, area for several years and at many venues and has performed at the Kennedy Center as Mrs. Schubert in the long-running show Shear Madness. An accomplished actress and narrator, she has recorded over two hundred books. Her work as a freelance voice-over artist and narrator has led her in many interesting directions, from technical government materials to eighteenth-century romance novels to hotel advertising, but narrating books is what she really enjoys. “I really love playing all the parts when I narrate a book. It’s an adventure, a challenge, and above all I feel that I learn something new with each book I read. I do a lot of reading for the Library of Congress’ Blind and Physically Handicapped program, and it is so rewarding for me especially when I get a letter from a patron; it’s a great service for the listener.”