Beauty in Disguise. Mary Moore

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      Hidden in Plain Sight

      After her scandalous first Season, Lady Kathryn needs a new beginning. Concealing her stunning hair and sapphire eyes beneath a dowdy facade, she’s grateful to earn her keep as companion Kate Montgomery. Until she comes face-to-face with her past in Lord Dalton, the only man she has ever loved.

      The debutante Dalton fell in love with years ago was beautiful beyond compare. The gentle, mysterious young woman he encounters at a country house has qualities he now values more highly—until he learns of her deception. Kate has broken his heart not once, but twice. Can faith help him see that love, like true beauty, always comes to light?

      “I must go.”

      Kathryn could feel the tears welling in her eyes; she could not stay any longer and talk to Dalton as if she did not know him. She did know him—he was the only man she had ever loved. And she had left him...a gullible girl importuned by a dashing rogue. It had ruined her life. Now she was being touched by her past in a tangible way.

      “Am I not to be granted the same privilege before you leave?” he asked gently. “As far as introductions go, this one falls sadly flat, but shall we blame our circumstances for the impropriety?”

      His hair was a bit longer now; it hung a little over his collar. It suited him. She had to stop this!

      Kathryn must flee and she knew it. She could spend no more time in his company and risk all she had worked for over the past four months. His strength and magnetism now scared her—she wanted to stay.

      No! she screamed in her head.

      “I cannot” was all she said.

      MARY MOORE

      has been writing historical fiction for more than fifteen years. After battling and beating breast cancer, Mary is even more excited about her career, as she incorporates some of her struggles throughout her books, dedicated to encouraging others in the Lord and using her writing for God’s glory.

      Her debut novel, The Aristocrat’s Lady, won several acclaimed awards, including the 2011 Reviewers’ Choice Award from RT Book Reviews for Best Love Inspired Historical, and the 2011 Holt Medallion from VRW for Best Book by a Virginia Author.

      Mary is a native of the Washington, D.C., area, but she and her husband, Craig, now live in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia. When not writing, she loves to read, minister in her church and spend time with her husband and black Lab, Darcy.

      Mary would love to hear from you! She can be reached by visiting her website at www.marymooreauthor.com.

      Beauty in Disguise

      Mary Moore

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

      — Ephesians 4:32

      This book is dedicated to

      Carol Taylor O’Leary

      My Sister-In-Law

      My Sister in Christ

      My Very Dear Friend

      Whom I Dearly Love!

      Without her encouragement, support

      and not-so-gentle persuasion

      my writing career would still be

      in a box in the attic,

      and my heart might not belong to Jesus.

      To God Be the Glory!

      Contents

       Quotation

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Dear Reader

       Questions for Discussion

       Excerpt

      Quotation

      She walks in beauty, like the night

      Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

      And all that’s best of dark and bright

      Meet in her aspect and her eyes...

      —Lord Byron

      Chapter One

      Sussex, 1814

      “You!”

      Kathryn had pulled her hood more closely around her face and turned to leave the bridge. What she ran into almost knocked the breath out of her. Two strong hands gripped her shoulders to steady her. When she looked up at the man towering over her, she spoke out of shock. It was him. Lord Dalton was here, and she almost said his name. She would have known him anywhere, even after nine years. He wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow. She was prepared for tomorrow, not for this.

      “I beg your pardon?” he said, as he searched for her eyes in the shadows of her hood. “What did you say?”

      “I...um...you...you frightened me.” She was still shaky, though she knew complete safety in his grip.

      “Steady there, waif. You have been too reflective this night. With your head in the heavens, you did not see me.”