The Regency Season: Blackmailed Brides: The Scarlet Gown / Lady Beneath the Veil. Sarah Mallory

on her guard once their guests arrived. She sighed, realising how happy she had been for the past week, but it could not continue. She had been employed for a reason, and she must play her part. Lucy blinked. The inky blackness around her was almost total, only relieved by the bluish square of the window. Silently, she slipped out of bed and padded across the room. After wrestling for a moment with the catches, she threw both casements wide.

      Balmy night air flooded in, bringing with it the heavy fragrance of the newly scythed lawns and the faint, tantalising hint of roses from the flower garden. Lucy curled up on the window seat and rested her arms on the sill, leaning out to catch the cool air on her face. With a sigh, she dropped her chin on her arms and gazed across the drive to the park beyond. She felt the heavy weight of the single plait of her hair slide over her shoulder to dangle into nothingness. The darkness was not so thick out of doors, for although there was no moon the clear sky was sprinkled with stars.

      “Well, Rapunzel, what are you doing out of bed at this hour?’

      Lucy jumped and looked down to see a figure standing beneath her window. His face was little more than a pale blur in the darkness, but the deep voice was instantly recognisable.

      ‘One might ask the same of you, Lord Adversane,’ she retorted. ‘And what did you call me?’

      ‘It is from a German folk tale. Rapunzel is a maiden who is locked in a high tower and the only way her lover can reach her is to climb up her hair.’