Miranda. Susan Wiggs

      

      WHO WAS SHE?

      In Regency London, a woman escapes from a burning warehouse only to realize she doesn’t know her own identity. Although the locket around her neck bears the name Miranda, she has no recollection of her past. Nor does she know why two very different men want her—the devilishly handsome Scotsman Ian MacVane, and Lord Lucas Chesney, the nobleman who claims to be her betrothed.

      In a race against time to discover who she is and which man she can trust, Miranda embarks on a soul-stirring journey that takes her from the dazzling salons of London to the craggy Highlands of Scotland. All of her beliefs—about herself, her world and the nature of love—are tested to their limits as she seeks the truth about her past and finds an unexpected passion that ignites the hidden fires within….

       Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs

      “Wiggs’s storytelling is heartwarming…clutter free…[for] romance and women’s fiction readers of any age.”

      —Publishers Weekly

      “Susan Wiggs writes with bright assurance, humor and compassion.”

      —Luanne Rice

      “Wiggs’s talent is reflected in her thoroughly believable characters as well as the way she recognizes the importance of family by blood or other ties.”

      —Library Journal

      “Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.”

      —Jodi Picoult

      Miranda

      Susan Wiggs

      

www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

Praise

       Title Page

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Twelve

       Thirteen

       Fourteen

       Fifteen

       Sixteen

       Seventeen

       Eighteen

       Nineteen

       Twenty

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Copyright

       Prologue

      London

      June 1814

      The writing paper held the scent of violets, and that was the first clue.

      The difficult cipher, based on a momentous day in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, became clear after study. The key was not his birthday, after all, but an event far more significant: the date the defeated emperor went into exile on the Isle of Elba—4 May 1814. And that was the second clue.

      The Allies believed the wars were finally over. At last a Bourbon king again sat upon the throne of France. Bonaparte would never return to seize power.

      But the sender of the message disagreed.

      M——

      The hour of glory approaches. The crowned despots of Europe and their butchering battle commanders will all arrive in England before the end of summer.

      They believe they have come to celebrate a lasting peace. Only you and I know their true destiny.

      The final solution lies within our grasp, thanks to Miranda Stonecypher. Once we learn her secret, she must die. Else half the men of England will be after Miranda.

      La Couleuvre

      The hand holding the message clenched into a fist, crumpled the perfumed paper and hurled it into the hearth fire.

       One

      How weak and powerless I am in this

      whirlwind of plotting and treachery.

      —Empress Marie-Louise,

      second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte

      London

      June 1814

      In the beginning, there was a single point of light. It narrowed to the tiniest tip