Read Online A Scandalous Publication by Sandra Heath - Free Book Online

splendid model would Max Talgarth be for a similar story…. The thought slid into her head almost before she realized it, and then the more she thought about it, the more excellent a notion it seemed. The terrible things she’d heard said of him the previous day provided plots in plenty, and Max himself, so darkly handsome, satirical, and infamous, was surely a villainous hero second to none.
    Oh, how tempting a thought. Slowly she put her cup down. It was too tempting —how could she possibly resist? And what harm would there be? It wasn’t as if, like Lady Caroline, she ever intended trying to publish her scribbles….
    She glanced outside, where the rain of the previous day had gone and the sun was shining warmly from a clear May sky. She would go for a walk in Regent’s Park and give the matter of a book of her own some very careful thought.
    * * *
    Mr. Nash’s magnificent new thoroughfare, Regent Street, now stretched as far north as the old royal park at Marylebone, where it ended in the gracious curve of Park Crescent. The royal land was being laid out at Regent’s Park, a fine, landscaped area to be a fitting end to the new road, which started at the Prince Regent’s residence, Carlton House.
    There were originally intended to be at least forty elegant villas in the park, including one for the prince himself, set among groves of specially planted trees and beside the three-branched, serpentine lake, but now it seemed that very few of them would be built. The lake was there, however, glittering brightly beneath the sun, and the only sound, apart from the background noise of the city, came from the workmen on nearby St. John’s Lodge, one of the few buildings to have been begun.
    It was just after midday when Charlotte entered the park, strolling at a very leisurely pace as she enjoyed the scenery and thought about her book. After a while she began to sense that someone was watching her. It was an uncomfortable feeling, making her glance around. Away to her right there were two gentlemen riding toward some trees, while down to her left by the lake a laughing party of ladies and children were seated on the grass. There didn’t seem to be anyone paying particular attention to her, but as she walked on again, the feeling that she was being watched became more and more strong. At last she couldn’t bear it anymore and turned around to retrace her steps.
    A short while before, she had passed a little pavilion set among flowering shrubs, and as she walked back toward it, a lady suddenly appeared, strolling in the direction Charlotte had been taking herself but a moment before. She was tall and stylish, with short dark hair. Her pelisse was of sapphire-blue velvet, and her ruffled gown of the sheerest cream lawn, its hem enviably stiffened in the very latest fashion. Her shoes were particularly pretty, their cream satin slashed to reveal blue beneath, and she carried a frilled pagoda parasol that she twirled a little as she walked. There was something oddly familiar about her.
    The distance between them lessened, and then quite suddenly the lady halted a few feet away. “Good morning, Miss Wyndham.”
    Charlotte gave a start as she realized abruptly who the other was: Sylvia Parkstone. “How do you know who I am?” she asked, so caught by surprise that the rather lame inquiry was all that sprang to mind.
    “When I saw you with Max Talgarth yesterday, I made it my business to find out.”
    Charlotte didn’t care for the thought of someone making secret inquiries about her. “Did you, indeed?” she replied a little stiffly.
    “Please don’t be angry,” said the other quickly, “for I mean no insult or impertinence. I’m just deeply concerned that you, of all people, should not fall under that man’s influence. You mustn’t see him again, Miss Wyndham, for it’s my firm conviction that he deliberately brought about your father’s death.” She hesitated, putting out an anxious hand. “Forgive me for