The Escape Read online

  PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS

  OF MARY BALOGH

  THE ARRANGEMENT

  “Balogh can always be depended on to deliver a beautifully written Regency romance with appealing, unusual characters, and the second in her new Survivors’ Club series (after The Proposal) is no exception.… Future series installments promise more compellingly tormented heroes.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “[A] poignant and thoughtful romance.”

  —Booklist

  THE PROPOSAL

  “The Proposal is Mary Balogh at her riveting best. Everyone loves a wounded hero and Mary introduces us to an unforgettable one who discovers the healing power of love.”

  —New York Times bestselling author

  DEBBIE MACOMBER

  “Balogh begins a new series with one of her most beloved characters, Lady Gwendoline Muir, in the tender, heart-tugging story of a wounded soldier and an emotionally scarred woman who find unexpected love. It is a mature romance with unforgettable characters, and a sweetness and depth of emotion that only Balogh can create.”

  —RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, top pick)

  “In a strong opening for the Survivors’ Club series from prolific Regency doyenne Balogh (The Secret Mistress), a mismatched couple finds common ground in trauma and survival.… Beautifully characterized and with a gracefully developed romance, this is a historical romance of unusual thoughtfulness and depth from one of the best writers in the genre.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Two deeply damaged protagonists who need to forgive themselves finally acknowledge their love in this gently funny, heart-melting story that will tug at your emotions and beautifully launches Balogh’s new series.”

  —Library Journal

  “Austen would definitely endorse.… Balogh contravenes the conventions of historical romance by introducing an ingredient the genre is not always known for: intelligence.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Balogh’s richly dimensional characters are so very real as she makes the reader feel part of life and a great variety of relationships during the Regency era.”

  —Booklist

  THE SECRET MISTRESS

  “Regency romance doyenne Balogh … pairs a staid young nobleman with a vivacious debutante in this top-notch tale.… An unusually accurate portrayal of Regency society, laden with colorful period detail, makes a sparkling backdrop, and the supporting characters are delightful.… The charming mixture of sensual passion and hilarious confusion makes Balogh’s delightful tale a must-read for Regency fans.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “A grand mistress of Regency romance, Balogh always gifts readers with delightful, enthralling love stories layered with depth, humor, emotional intensity, grand passion and just a touch of the unconventional. This prequel to the Mistress series is utterly delightful, charming and intelligent—a winner!”

  —RT Book Reviews (4 stars, top pick)

  A SECRET AFFAIR

  “Hannah, widowed duchess of Dunbarton, has set her sights on Constantine as the ideal lover—a handsome man of experience that she can seduce and set aside once she is done with him.… Constantine—dark, wicked, and cryptic—has a perfect foil in Hannah, and their encounters are steamy, their romance believable. Though series fans will be disappointed to see it come to a close, they couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The exquisitely crafted chemistry that develops between Hannah and Con is pure passion deftly leavened with tart wit, which ensures that A Secret Affair, the concluding volume in Balogh’s Regency historical Huxtable series, is a sweetly romantic, deliciously sexy triumph.”

  —Booklist

  SEDUCING AN ANGEL

  “With her inimitable, brilliantly nuanced sense of characterization, elegantly sensual style, and droll wit, bestseller Balogh continues to set the standard to which all other Regency historical writers aspire while delivering another addictively readable addition to her Huxtable family series.”

  —Booklist

  “One of [Balogh’s] best books to date.”

  —A Romance Review

  AT LAST COMES LOVE

  “Sparkling with sharp wit, lively repartee, and delicious sensuality, the emotionally rewarding At Last Comes Love metes out both justice and compassion; totally satisfying.”

  —Library Journal

  “At Last Comes Love is the epitome of what any great romance should be.… This novel will leave you crying, laughing, cheering, and ready to fight for two characters that any reader will most definitely fall in love with!”

  —Coffee Time Romance

  THEN COMES SEDUCTION

  “Exquisite sexual chemistry permeates this charmingly complex story.”

  —Library Journal

  “Balogh delivers another smartly fashioned love story that will dazzle readers with its captivating combination of nuanced characters, exquisitely sensual romance, and elegant wit.”

  —Booklist

  “Mary Balogh succeeds shockingly well.”

  —Rock Hill Herald

  FIRST COMES MARRIAGE

  “Intriguing and romantic … Readers are rewarded with passages they’ll be tempted to dog-ear so they can read them over and over.”

  —McAllen Monitor

  “Wonderful characterization [and a] riveting plot … I highly recommend you read First Comes Marriage.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Peppered with brilliant banter, laced with laughter … and tingling with sexual tension, this story of two seemingly mismatched people struggling to make their marriage work tugs at a few heartstrings and skillfully paves the way for the stories to come.”

  —Library Journal

  “The incomparable Balogh delivers a masterful first in a new trilogy.… Always fresh, intelligent, emotional and sensual, Balogh’s stories reach out to readers, touching heart and mind with their warmth and wit. Prepare for a joyous read.”

  —Romantic Times

  SIMPLY PERFECT

  “A warm-hearted and feel-good story … Readers will want to add this wonderful story to their collection. Simply Perfect is another must-read from this talented author, and a Perfect Ten.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “With her signature exquisite sense of characterization and subtle wit, Balogh brings her sweetly sensual, thoroughly romantic Simply quartet to a truly triumphant conclusion.”

  —Booklist

  SIMPLY MAGIC

  “Absorbing and appealing. This is an unusually subtle approach in a romance, and it works to great effect.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Balogh has once again crafted a sensuous tale of two very real people finding love and making each other’s lives whole and beautiful. Readers will be delighted.”

  —Booklist

  SIMPLY LOVE

  “One of the things that make Ms. Balogh’s books so memorable is the emotion she pours into her stories. The writing is superb, with realistic dialogue, sexual tension, and a wonderful heart-wrenching story. Simply Love is a book to savor, and to read again. It is a Perfect Ten. Romance doesn’t get any better than this.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “With more than her usual panache, Balogh returns to Regency England for a satisfying adult love story.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  SIMPLY UNFORGETTABLE

  “When an author has created a series as beloved to readers as Balogh’s Bedwyn saga, it is hard to believe that she can surpass the delights with the first installment in a new quartet. But Balogh has done just that.”

  —Booklist

  “A memorable cast … refresh[es] a classic Regency plot with humor, wit, and the sizzling r
omantic chemistry that one expects from Balogh. Well-written and emotionally complex.”

  —Library Journal

  SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS

  “Slightly Dangerous is the culmination of Balogh’s wonderfully entertaining Bedwyn series.… Balogh, famous for her believable characters and finely crafted Regency-era settings, forges a relationship that leaps off the page and into the hearts of her readers.”

  —Booklist

  “With this series, Balogh has created a wonderfully romantic world of Regency culture and society. Readers will miss the honorable Bedwyns and their mates; ending the series with Wulfric’s story is icing on the cake. Highly recommended.”

  —Library Journal

  SLIGHTLY SINFUL

  “Smart, playful, and deliciously satisfying … Balogh once again delivers a clean, sprightly tale rich in both plot and character.… With its irrepressible characters and deft plotting, this polished romance is an ideal summer read.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  SLIGHTLY TEMPTED

  “Once again, Balogh has penned an entrancing, unconventional yarn that should expand her following.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Balogh is a gifted writer.… Slightly Tempted invites reflection, a fine quality in romance, and Morgan and Gervase are memorable characters.”

  —Contra Costa Times

  SLIGHTLY SCANDALOUS

  “With its impeccable plotting and memorable characters, Balogh’s book raises the bar for Regency romances.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “The sexual tension fairly crackles between this pair of beautifully matched protagonists.… This delightful and exceptionally well-done title nicely demonstrates [Balogh’s] matchless style.”

  —Library Journal

  “This third book in the Bedwyn series is … highly enjoyable as part of the series or on its own merits.”

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  SLIGHTLY WICKED

  “Sympathetic characters and scalding sexual tension make the second installment [in the Slightly series] a truly engrossing read.… Balogh’s sure-footed story possesses an abundance of character and class.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  SLIGHTLY MARRIED

  “Slightly Married is a masterpiece! Mary Balogh has an unparalleled gift for creating complex, compelling characters who come alive on the pages.… A Perfect Ten.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  A SUMMER TO REMEMBER

  “Balogh outdoes herself with this romantic romp, crafting a truly seamless plot and peopling it with well-rounded, winning characters.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The most sensuous romance of the year.”

  —Booklist

  “This one will rise to the top.”

  —Library Journal

  “Filled with vivid descriptions, sharp dialogue, and fantastic characters, this passionate, adventurous tale will remain memorable for readers who love an entertaining read.”

  —Rendezvous

  WEB OF LOVE

  “A beautiful tale of how grief and guilt can lead to love.”

  —Library Journal

  The Escape is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Dell eBook Edition

  Copyright © 2014 by Mary Balogh

  The Suitor by Mary Balogh © 2013 by Mary Balogh

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

  DELL and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

  The Suitor was originally published separately as an eBook original in the United States by Dell Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, in 2013.

  ISBN 978-0-345-53606-8

  eBook ISBN 978-0-345-53591-7

  Cover design: Lynn Andreozzi

  Cover illustration: Alan Ayers

  www.bantamdell.com

  Dell mass market edition: July 2014

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  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

  The Suitor

  Dedication

  Other Books by This Author

  1

  The hour was approaching midnight, but no one was making any move to retire to bed.

  “You are going to find it mighty peaceful around here after we have all left, George,” Ralph Stockwood, Earl of Berwick, remarked.

  “It will be quiet, certainly.” The Duke of Stanbrook looked about the circle of six guests gathered in the drawing room at Penderris Hall, his country home in Cornwall, and his eyes paused fondly on each of them in turn before moving on. “Yes, and peaceful too, Ralph. But I am going to miss you all damnably.”

  “You will be c-counting your blessings, George,” said Flavian Arnott, Viscount Ponsonby, “as soon as you realize you will not have to listen to Vince scraping away on his v-violin for another whole year.”

  “Or the cats howling in ecstasy along with the music it creates,” Vincent Hunt, Viscount Darleigh, added. “You might as well mention that too, Flave. There is no need to consider my sensibilities.”

  “You play with a great deal more competence than you did last year, Vincent,” Imogen Hayes, Lady Barclay, assured him. “By next year I do not doubt you will have improved even further. You are a marvel and an inspiration to us all.”

  “I may even dance to one of your tunes one of these days, provided it is not too sprightly, Vince.” Sir Benedict Harper looked ruefully at the two canes propped against the arm of his chair.

  “You are not by any chance harboring a hope that we will all decide to stay a year or two longer instead of leaving tomorrow, George?” Hugo Emes, Lord Trentham, asked, sounding almost wistful. “I have never known three weeks to pass by so quickly. We arrived here, we blinked, and now it is time to go our separate ways again.”

  “George is far too p-polite to say a bald no, Hugo,” Flavian told him. “But life calls us hence, alas.”

  They were feeling somewhat maudlin, the seven of them, the members of the self-styled Survivors’ Club. Once, they had all spent several years here at Penderris, recuperating from wounds sustained during the Napoleonic Wars. Although each had had to fight a lone battle toward recovery, they had also aided and supported one another and grown as close as any brothers—and sister. When the time had come for them to leave, to make new lives for themselves or to retrieve the old, they had gone with mingled eagerness and trepidation. Life was for living, they had all agreed, yet the cocoon in which they had been wrapped for so long had kept them safe and even happy. They had decided that they would return to Cornwall for a few weeks each year to keep alive their friendship, to share their experiences of life beyond the familiar confines of Penderris, and to help with any difficulty that may have arisen for one or more of them.

  This had been the third such gathering. But now it was over for another year, or would be on the morrow.

  Hugo got to his feet and stretched, expanding his already impressive girth, none of which owed anything to fat. He was the tallest an
d broadest of them, and the most fierce-looking, with his close-cropped hair and frequent frown.

  “The devil of it is that I do not want to put an end to any of this,” he said. “But if I am to make an early start in the morning, then I had better get to bed.”

  It was the signal for them all to rise. Most had lengthy journeys to make and hoped for an early departure.

  Sir Benedict was the slowest to get to his feet. He had to gather his canes to his sides, slip his arms through the straps he had contrived, and haul himself painstakingly upward. Any of the others would have been glad to offer a helping hand, of course, but they knew better than to do so. They were all fiercely independent despite their various disabilities. Vincent, for example, would leave the room and climb the stairs to his own chamber unassisted despite the fact that he was blind. On the other hand, they would all wait for their slower friend and match their steps to his as they climbed the stairs.

  “P-pretty soon, Ben,” Flavian said, “you are going to be able to do that in under a minute.”

  “Better than two, as it was last year,” Ralph said. “That really was a bit of a yawn, Ben.”

  They would not resist the urge to jab at him and tease him—except, perhaps, Imogen.

  “Even two is remarkable for someone who was once told he must have both legs amputated if his life was to be saved,” she said.

  “You are depressed, Ben.” Hugo paused midstretch to make the observation.

  Benedict shot him a glance. “Just tired. It is late, and we are at the wrong end of our three-week stay. I always hate goodbyes.”

  “No,” Imogen said, “it is more than that, Ben. Hugo is not the only one to have noticed. We all have, but it has never come up during our nightly sessions.”

  They had sat up late most nights during the past three weeks, as they did each year, sharing some of their deeper concerns and insecurities—and triumphs. They kept few secrets from one another. There were always some, of course. One’s soul could never be laid quite bare to another person, no matter how close a friend. Ben had held his own soul close this year. He had been depressed. He still was. He felt chagrined, though, that he had not hidden his mood better.

  “Perhaps we are intruding where no help or sympathy is wanted,” the duke said. “Are we, Benedict? Or shall we sit back down and discuss it?”