Mesmerized. Candace Camp

      Olivia Moreland has forever denied the possibility of clairvoyant abilities, working instead to discredit the mediums that flock to London. But when Lord Stephen St. Leger requests her help in investigating an alleged psychic’s claims, she can’t deny the ominous presence she feels within the walls of his ancient estate—or the intimately familiar connection she feels to Stephen himself.

      The last time he’d called Blackhope Hall home, Stephen had watched as his elder brother claimed both the family title and the woman he loved. Now, in the wake of his brother’s murder, Stephen has reluctantly returned to find his family ensconced in scandal. Who is responsible for his brother’s untimely death—a dark spirit or the psychic who claims to have channeled it? And what is it about psychic investigator Olivia Moreland that so thoroughly draws him in, reigniting a passion he hasn’t felt in years?

      As they search for answers, Stephen and Olivia discover that the only way to fight a powerful evil is with a powerful love.

      Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp

      “Camp’s newest Matchmaker novel features her usual vivid characterization, touches of subtle humor and plenty of misunderstandings, guilt and passion. You won’t want to miss this poignant and charming tale.”

      —RT Book Reviews on The Courtship Dance

      “Delightful…Camp is firmly at home here, enlivening the romantic quest between her engaging lovers with a set of believable and colorful secondaries.”

      —Publishers Weekly on The Wedding Challenge

      “A beautifully crafted, poignant love story.”

      —RT Book Reviews on The Wedding Challenge

      “Lively and energetic secondaries round out the formidable leads…assuring readers a surprise ending well worth waiting for.”

      —Publishers Weekly on The Bridal Quest

      “A clever mystery adds intrigue to this lively and gently humorous tale, which simmers with well-handled sexual tension.”

      —Library Journal on A Dangerous Man

      “The talented Camp has deftly mixed romance and intrigue to create another highly enjoyable Regency romance.”

      —Booklist on An Independent Woman

      “A smart, fun-filled romp.”

      —Publishers Weekly on Impetuous

      Mesmerized

      Candace Camp

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Contents

       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 ONE

      1876

      THE OIL LAMP in the center of the long table was turned low, eerily lighting the faces of the people around it, throwing eyes and hair into deep shadows and dancing along the sharp lines of brow and cheekbone, making the silent attendees look gaunt and mysterious. All eyes turned toward the large wooden box a few feet from the table, dark and looming. There was no sound from inside it.

      Then the lamp went out, and one of the women gasped. Blackness enveloped them. Hands turned cold, and pulses sped up. Everyone waited. There, in the dark hush, it was easy to imagine a ghostly finger trailing coldly across one’s shoulders, to think, with a heart-pounding combination of fear and anticipation, that someone might speak from across the black void of death.

      Even Olivia Moreland, despite the fact that she was there for a far different purpose, could not help but feel a little thrill dart up her back. But it was not enough to keep her from her business. Slowly, carefully, using the tricks she had learned from the very people she intended to expose, she eased backward, shielded by the blackness surrounding her, and separated herself from the ring of people around the table.

      She paused for a moment, giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the lack of light; then she started forward slowly. It was still difficult to see, as the only light in the room was the glow from the hallway creeping in around the door. She did not want to alert anyone to the fact that she was up and walking. It had to be a surprise to everyone when she reached the medium’s cabinet. All her attention was on the dark box before her; every nerve in her body seemed to quiver, tense with expectation. She was almost there....

      A hand lashed out and wrapped around her arm, fingers digging painfully into her flesh.

      Olivia shrieked and jumped. A deep masculine voice cried out, “There! I have you!”

      All around the table, women echoed Olivia’s shriek, and there was the clatter of a chair overturning and a general hubbub of voices and movements.

      Whatever instinctual, primitive fear had flooded Olivia at the sudden grasping of her arm, it subsided at the sound of a very real and human voice.

      “Let go of me!” she snapped, trying to pull her arm away.

      “I think not—until you have explained yourself.”

      She continued to struggle, hissing, “Stop! You are ruining everything!”

      “No doubt I am,” he replied in a faintly amused tone. “It is always so unpleasant to have one’s duplicity revealed.”

      “Duplicity?”

      As the two of them exchanged words, there was the sound of a thud, followed by a muttered curse, and at last a match flared into life at the table. A moment later, someone lit the oil lamp and there was light in the room. Olivia found herself staring down into the cool gray eyes of her captor.

      A faint shock passed through her, a feeling almost of recognition, though she realized immediately that she had never seen this man before. She was certain that, if she had, she would have remembered him.

      He was seated at