A Compromised Innocent
Book three of the Fortney Follies series
Elaine Golden
MILLS & BOON
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Under intense pressure to secure a marriage contract, Miss Lizzie Talbot doesn't dare hope that handsome Oliver Fortney, Duke of Wainsborough, would ever be interested in her. Though she longs to know his taste and touch, he is far above her station.
So Lizzie is shocked when Oliver promises to show her pleasure she never imagined…. Yet she doesn't expect more than a brief dalliance. For Oliver is destined for a match of importance and wealth, neither of which Lizzie can offer….
Book three of the Fortney Follies series.
Since the very first book of the Fortney Follies series, readers have been asking for Ollie’s story. And ever since Oliver Fortney told us how passionately he hated the idea of marrying Miss Milligrew all of those years ago, well… I just knew Roberta played a role in his eventual happily-ever-after. A woman scorned, and all that. Heh.
He was right, too. Roberta was not the right woman for him. You see it’s Roberta’s niece, Lizzie Talbot–or Miss Elspeth Talbot, as her aunt prefers–who blunders into Ollie’s heart and takes it for her own. Quite literally, for Lizzie is not known for her graceful ways.
But Roberta is not about to make things easy for Ollie. At all. In fact, she’ll go to great lengths to pay him back for spurning her.
I’m delighted to bring you this new Undone! short story, A COMPROMISED INNOCENT, the third book in the Fortney Follies series, how Ollie and Lizzie find love and happiness together.
I hope that you enjoy their story and I would love to hear from you! Please visit my website at www.elainegolden.com or email me at [email protected].
Happy Reading!
To Rodney. Always.
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
About the Author
Chapter One
“Stop slouching, Elspeth. Chin up and smile. You don’t want to embarrass us, do you?”
“My name is Lizzie,” she muttered just loudly enough to ensure her aunt, but no one else, could hear her.
“I’ve told you I won’t use that awful name, Elspeth. Whatever your father was thinking to call you that, I don’t know.”
Lizzie Talbot—or Miss Elspeth Talbot, as her aunt preferred—didn’t bother to correct her aunt this time. Reminding Aunt Roberta that Lizzie was the nickname her mother, Roberta’s older sister, gave her was pointless. She’d believe whatever she chose to as usual.
Sometimes it was hard to think of Aunt Roberta in a maternal way. Despite being Lizzie’s guardian, Roberta was only a dozen or so years older than her.
“And what have you done with your hair since we left? It looks like you’ve been fidgeting with it again.” When her aunt jerked at a loose curl more forcefully than was necessary, Lizzie stifled a grimace. As they neared the end of the reception line, she held as still as possible and let her aunt fuss.
You can do this. Just don’t rush and all will be well.
This might be her third Season, but she still wasn’t used to large gatherings, had never managed to get comfortable enough to exhibit the grace her aunt would have her show in public.
“Whatever was Lady Delcourt thinking to allow her daughter to purchase such a dress? She looks ready to tread the boards.” The daughter, Lady Cecilia, stood beside her parents as she greeted their guests. The dress in question was a bright turquoise silk, which Lizzie thought did lovely things with the woman’s pale complexion. The feathers, however, were…excessive. They covered the bodice and hem and had even been pinned into her coiffure. She looked like an exotic parrot.
Lizzie trailed her aunt and uncle and smiled as they introduced her to their hosts. Lord and Lady Delcourt greeted her so politely that she almost forgot to be nervous, especially when she executed her curtsies under her aunt’s critical eye.
Slowly.
This was not the place to rush and prove herself clumsy. Her aunt would never forgive her the embarrassment.
Lizzie released a sigh of relief when the greetings were completed without incident, though she nearly trod upon her uncle’s heels when her aunt paused at the ballroom threshold for dramatic effect. Lizzie barely stepped to the side quickly enough to avoid disaster.
The room was alight with movement from the swirl of dancers and the glow of candlelight. Fans fluttered, jewels glittered and the heat of so many bodies pressed in on them.
Lizzie was excited and scared at the same time. Even after years of being out in society, the room seemed full of strangers—influential and intimidating strangers. She’d always been nervous meeting people, but now her anxiety was multiplied by the growing urgency to secure a marriage contract before she was considered to be on the shelf and passed over entirely.
Lizzie didn’t think she deluded herself when she chalked up the reason for a lack of offers to something other than her appearance. She was atleast passable, and her dowry was not unattractive. Rather, it seemed fairly certain that her discomfort around strangers and tendency toward bumbling to be the culprit. Even her dance partners managed to disappear after she tramped on their toes once too often.
Thankfully, few took notice of their arrival. It helped to settle her nerves a bit, though she was grateful when they finally made it across the room so her aunt could join her friends and her uncle could make his escape from his wife’s side. That left Lizzie to stand alone on the perimeter, hoping for anonymity. At this point, her biggest desire was to make it through the evening without embarrassment.
She took a deep breath and scanned the room for a familiar face, but recognized few. Now that Angelica Fortney—oh, but it was Lady Vinedale now, wasn’t it?—was back in town from her wedding trip, Lizzie had hoped to find her at the event. As luck was not her strong suit, her friend didn’t appear to be present.
She