Black Widow: A Spellbound Regency Novel Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Black Widow

  A Spellbound Regency Book Two

  Lucy Leroux

  Black Widow © 2017 Lucy Leroux

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  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  http://www.authorlucyleroux.com

  ISBN: 978-1-942336-19-8

  * * *

  First Edition.

  All rights reserved.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Titles by Lucy Leroux

  Disclaimer

  Credits

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Books by Lucy Leroux

  Making Her His

  Confiscating Charlie

  Calen’s Captive

  Stolen Angel

  The Roman’s Woman

  Save Me

  Take Me

  Trick’s Trap

  Cursed

  Black Widow

  Writing as L.B. Gilbert

  Fire

  Air

  Kin Selection

  Titles by Lucy Leroux

  Making Her His, A Singular Obsession, Book One

  Available Now

  Confiscating Charlie, A Singular Obsession Novelette

  Book 1.5

  Available Now

  Calen’s Captive, A Singular Obsession, Book Two

  Available Now

  Stolen Angel, A Singular Obsession, Book Three

  Available Now

  The Roman’s Woman, A Singular Obsession,

  Book Four

  Available Now

  Save Me, A Singular Obsession Novella, Book 4.5

  Coming Soon

  Take Me, A Singular Obsession Prequel Novella

  Available Now

  * * *

  Cursed, A Spellbound Regency Novel

  Available Now

  Black Widow, A Spellbound Regency Novel, Book Two

  Available Now

  * * *

  Writing As L.B. Gilbert

  Fire: The Elementals Book One

  Available Now

  Air: The Elementals Book Two

  Available Now

  Water: The Elementals Book Three

  Coming Soon

  * * *

  Kin Selection

  Available as part of the Myths and Magic Box Set

  Disclaimer

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with someone else, please send them to the author’s website, where they can find out where to purchase a copy for themselves. Free content can be downloaded at the author’s free reads page.

  Thank you for respecting the author's work. Enjoy!

  Credits

  Cover Design:

  Robin Harper

  http://www.wickedbydesigncovers.com

  * * *

  Editor:

  Cynthia Shepp

  http://www.cynthiashepp.com/

  * * *

  Thank you to all of my readers especially to Jennifer Bergans for her editorial comments. And thanks to my husband for all of his support even though he won’t read my sex scenes!

  Introduction

  He wants to bring her to justice, but the secrets she holds may be the end of him.

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  Shattered by the death of his cousin, Gideon Wells, the Earl of Flint, is determined to prove his cousin’s widow is the one responsible. When Amelia Montgomery finally returns to town on the arm of her new lover, Gideon vows to bring her to justice. But getting close to her sparks a hunger that he can’t ignore. As he begins to uncover the truth about Amelia, he encounters an evil more sinister than he ever imagined. Can he destroy the threat or will he suffer the same fate as his cousin?

  Prologue

  The blood spread out like a ruby halo. It was a startling contrast to the white marble floor. It darkened the pink of her skirts, the white lace fringe soaked in a red so dark it was almost black.

  We should never have come home.

  “This is all my fault,” Amelia whispered. “What have I done?” She pulled her husband’s broken body closer until he was cradled in her arms.

  She hadn’t moved from that spot at the foot of the stairs since returning from her round of afternoon calls. That was when she had found him—a nightmare in full daylight.

  It was night now. Dusk had come and gone without her awareness. That was as it should be. Her world would be dark now. Her memory of other locations was faulty. Only this spot was solid earth, this and the grand staircase in front of her—the one she had so admired when they first let this house to be near Viscount Worthing.

  How many stairs were there? She hadn’t counted them before. How could she not know how many stairs were in her home? And did ev
erybody have this much blood? It covered the stones all around her in an endless pool. She was an island in a sea of blood.

  She and Martin should have stayed on the continent, in Italy where they had both been happy. She should have never let him convince her to come home. England was a cursed land, its society full of hypocrites and liars. It had taken her family and her home. And now it had taken Martin, her only solace in a life bereft of love and affection.

  She had nothing now.

  All around her, chaos reigned, but she barely took note of it. Servants ran to and fro, shouting, some weeping openly. Or was that her? She couldn’t tell. Her face was wet and her throat ached, so perhaps she was also crying. The only sensation in her numb body was in her hands, the ones clutching Martin’s shirt.

  Amelia ignored the footman trying to make her let go of his body. Shrugging him off, she tightened her grip on her husband’s thin shoulders.

  If she let go, they would take him away and he’d be gone forever.

  So, she held on. She was still cradling Martin to her when the great shadow passed over them. Blinking, she looked up into the darkness over the stairs and saw the glowing yellow eyes staring back at her. The next second, they were gone. The darkness was empty.

  Chapter 1

  A year later

  “She’s here.”

  Gideon Wells, Earl of Flint, schooled his expression until it had been wiped clean of all emotion. His stomach roiled, but there was no trace of the anger or disdain he felt knowing Amelia Montgomery had re-entered society, her year of mourning at an end.

  It was an event he’d been waiting months for, ever since he had been recalled from the continent.

  Gideon craned his neck, searching for Amelia’s dark curls, but the ballroom was crowded and he hadn’t seen her in years. He wasn’t sure what she looked like now. The last time he’d seen her she had been little more than a child.

  “Lord Worthing is with her,” Clarke whispered.

  In a flash, Gideon’s composure was gone. He fisted his large hands and inhaled sharply.

  “Steady, man,” Clarke said, raising a fine red eyebrow before casually looking away with a placid expression.

  “I’m fine,” Gideon lied, nearly choking on the words.

  He was as good as he was going to get knowing the woman who’d murdered his cousin was in this ballroom on the arm of her lover—the bastard who no doubt had helped her kill Martin.

  His heart ached at the injustice. His cousin had only been three and twenty when he died. Gideon remembered Martin as a slight and sweetly spoken young man.

  Though he had visited the Montgomery estate in Northumberland as a youth, their difference in age had kept them at arm’s length until Martin had gotten older. They had grown close when his younger cousin had attended the Abingdon School, near Gideon’s family home in Oxfordshire. Martin had often come for weekend visits. When he had, he’d spoken warmly of Amelia, his father’s ward. Gideon had liked her on principal. He’d been pleased Martin had a friend at home. Sir Clarence, his uncle, was a dour and cold man, overly concerned with his position in society, the kind who looked down on those beneath him.

  Once upon a time that had included Gideon himself. Sir Clarence hadn’t approved of the match his younger sister Anne had made. But things were different now. A series of accidental and premature deaths on his father’s side of the family had resulted in Gideon inheriting an earldom along with several prize estates. Sir Clarence had been forced to eat his words about his father. In fact, the last time Gideon had seen him, Sir Clarence had even hinted he would like to visit Tarryhall, the Earl of Flint’s family seat in Derbyshire.

  Martin had never seen his new estate. He had married Amelia when Gideon was still abroad in France. By the time Gideon returned, his cousin had already departed for the continent with his bride—something Sir Clarence still spoke of with bitterness.

  Gideon thought the couple’s return would settle some of his uncle’s ruffled feathers, but the old man was still bitter. Clarence complained they had settled too far from home, choosing to divide their time between London and Kent.

  He knew why now of course. Viscount Worthing’s principal estate was in Kent. Somehow, Amelia had manipulated Martin into settling a stone’s throw from her lover’s home. And no doubt his amiable cousin had seen nothing wrong with indulging her.

  Now he was dead.

  His friend shifted his weight, lifting a glass to hide his lips. “She’s there in that cluster straight ahead, in the cerulean gown. Worthing is the tall blond man on her right.”

  Gideon narrowed his eyes, turning to behold his quarry.

  The sight of her hit him like a physical blow. He shouldn’t have been surprised—a peacock like Worthing wouldn’t be involved with a homely woman. Nevertheless, he hadn’t expected this singularly beautiful creature.

  Though passably pretty as a child, Amelia had grown into a diamond of the first water, one who easily eclipsed every other woman in the room. Amelia’s complexion was pure, with rose-tinted cheeks. Her lips were a darker shade of pink, lush and full. A dark crown of jet curls gleamed in the candlelight. He was too far to see the color of her eyes, but her lashes were a thick fringe against her ivory and rose skin.

  Though her birth was low, Amelia Montgomery was captivating, a true siren whose looks and grace could lead a man to his doom. That fact, combined with her immense fortune, and he no longer wondered at the interest society had taken in the young widow.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Clarke muttered in an aside. “I know you feel you need a purpose now that your title prevents you from helping the war office, but is this how you want to spend your time? Chasing after a notorious widow? She’s been barred from the best houses. It’s only Lady Anderson’s interest in salacious gossip that won them entry here tonight.”

  Gideon scowled at his friend. Clarke was exaggerating, and he knew it. A few houses might be snubbing Worthing and his “friend,” but society loved a scandal. Having the season’s most disreputable couple attend one’s ball or soirée would be a feather in the cap of most of the ton’s hostesses.

  “I won’t let this go. Martin was an innocent, too trusting. He deserved better than this.”

  Clarke frowned. “Sending a young woman to the gallows is not the same thing as disarming an enemy agent or intercepting a spy’s intelligence. I know you are restless now, but I don’t believe this will satisfy your craving to serve your country.”

  Gideon took exception at the implication that he was trading one mission for another. “This has nothing to do with being recalled home,” he muttered, his eyes following Amelia’s movement across the room. “My new lands and tenants are my chief concern, which is why I spent the last few months buried with estate agents and stewards, untangling the messes my predecessors have made. But I also have a duty to my family—what’s left of it. I will have justice for my cousin.”

  Clarke sighed. “I just don’t think this is what Phineus had in mind when he asked you to come home.”

  Gideon snorted. “Phineus didn’t ask. It was an order—one I couldn’t disregard.”

  He’d tried to reason with his superior at the war office, but Phineus had been adamant. The Earl of Flint’s holdings were in chaos. Contradictory efforts at improving the lands, combined with the sheer number of times the title had changed hands in so few years, had rendered the old but valuable estates unproductive. Despite how much Phineus valued Gideon’s efforts on behalf of the crown, he had recalled him home to care for his unexpected inheritance. His reasoning had been that a strong economy at home was just as important as one spy’s efforts abroad, even when the country was on the brink of war.

  Deep down, Gideon knew the decision had been the right one, but…Clarke may have been right about the reality of coming home. Gideon now had wealth and position, but also responsibilities he had never expected. Though his work for the war office had played a small but pivotal role in ensuring the safety of the nation,
being a landholder meant people depended on him far more directly. His obligation had been transformed from a strong but formless concept of duty to king and country to a tangible demand in the form of his tenants. His burden now had a face, or rather, many faces.

  In some ways, it was true he was chafing under the restraints of his new position, but proving Martin was murdered wasn’t a distraction. He’d worked himself ragged the last few months to get his properties and other holdings back on sound financial footing. Though he hadn’t had time to implement all the agricultural improvements he wanted, he’d at least ensured his tenants wouldn’t starve this winter.

  Now that Amelia was out in society, he had a much better chance of getting close to her than when she was cloistered in the requisite year of mourning society demanded of widows.

  And I’m not the only one who wants to get closer.

  A fop named Binton was bending over Amelia’s hand, presumably asking for a dance. With a charming tilt of her head, she agreed, pairing with him for a Scottish reel while Lord Worthing observed with approving, but watchful, eyes.