His Lordship Possessed

S Simon & SchuSter

eGalley DiSclaimer

Do not quote for publication until verified with the finished book.

This advance, uncorrected reader’s proof is the property of Simon

& Schuster. It is being made available for promotional purposes and review by the recipient and may not be used for any other purpose or transferred to any third party. Simon & Schuster reserves the right to terminate availability of the proof at any time. Any duplication, sale or distribution to the public is a violation of the law. This file will no longer be accessible upon publication of this book.

For more information on Simon & Schuster’s eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com.

EGalley Disclaimer REV 1P.indd 1

10/16/09 3:27 PM

Disenchanted & Co., Part 2: His Lordship Possessed

Lynn Viehl

__________________________________________________________________________________

Volume 2 of the Disenchanted & Co. series

Charmian "Kit" Kittredge isn't sure who to trust. At the end of HIS LADYSHIP'S

CURSE (Vol 1 of the Disenchanted & Co. series), the mysterious deathmage Lucien Dredmore kidnapped her and locked her in his remote castle/dungeon. (Really, the difference between a castle and a dungeon is all in the attitude, right?) But now it seems he might have been...trying to keep her safe?

Something is rotten in the West Coast town of Rumsen (akin to Seattle), an outpost in a Victorian reality in which America never managed to throw off its colonial status. As a private detective / magic debunker living in the rougher part of town, Kit avoided the wealthy society of the Hill and definitely did not believe in magic. However, strange events have led her down an investigative trail that will force her to question everything she's known. A secretive group of elite society men have been dabbling in some dark arts, and it seems that close encounters of the demonic kind might be the next social event of the season. Kit has never been a belle of the ball, but she sure knows how to crash a party...

_____________________________________________________________

Since 2000,
Lynn Viehl
has published fifty novels in nine genres, including her
New York
Times
bestselling Darkyn series, the StarDoc science fiction series (as S.L. Viehl), and the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn series (as Rebecca Kelly). Ranked as one of the top 100 female, top 50 book, and top 10 science fiction author bloggers on the Internet, Ms. Viehl hosts Paperback Writer, a popular industry weblog she has updated daily since 2004 with free market info, working advice, and online resources for all writers.

Urban Fantasy · Pocket Star eBooks · October 2013

978-1-4767-2234-4 · $2.99 U.S./$3.99 Can.· 200 pages

DISENCHANTED & CO., PART 2:

His

Lords hip

Possessed

LYNN VIEHL

Pocket Star

New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 1

7/15/13 10:25 AM

Do not quote for publication until verified with finished book. This advance uncorrected reader’s proof is the property of Simon & Schuster. It is being loaned for promotional purposes and review by the recipient and may not be used for any other purpose or transferred to any third party. Simon & Schuster reserves the right to cancel the loan and recall possession of the proof at any time. Any duplication, sale or distribution to the public is a violation of law.

Pocket Star Books

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

Th is book is a work of fi ction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fi ctitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Sheila Kelly

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Pocket Star Books ebook edition October 2013

POCKET STAR BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of

Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@

simonandschuster.com.

Th e Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.

simonspeakers.com.

Designed by TK

ISBN 978-1-4767-2234-4

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 2

7/15/13 10:25 AM

Also by Lynn Viehl

Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship’s Curse

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 3

7/15/13 10:25 AM

In memory of Constable William Matthew Jefferson, a

devoted husband, loving father, wonderful grandfather,

and a very good cop. I think you would have liked this one,
Grandpa.

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 4

7/15/13 10:25 AM

Table of 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

GLOSSARY

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

[[Make this statement a buy link]]

Where it all began—get
Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship’s
Curse
today!

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 5

7/15/13 10:25 AM

LYNN VIEHL

Half an hour after giving myself to my worst enemy,

and daftly imagining myself to be falling in love with

him, I paced round the confi nes of the bedchamber in

which he had imprisoned me. I knew for my foolishness

I deserved nothing more than to spend my remaining

days there, a wretched captive, an illegally freeclaimed

woman, alternately forced to attend to satiating Lucien

Dredmore’s lusts and left to pine in solitude for the life I had so thoughtlessly thrown away. Th is was what women

like Lady Walsh endured.

But I was not Diana Walsh, and I’d cut out my own

heart before I allowed Lucien Dredmore to ever touch

me again.

A thorough search of the chamber—which despite

its sumptuous trappings was little more than a prison

cell—turned up no exit or the means by which I might

create one. Th e only entry had been locked in three places

from the outside by his minion, Connell. Masonry had

replaced the glass panes in the single window frame

on the opposite wall, too. As I poked at the brick, I

wondered how many other women had suff ered this fate,

and what had happened to them once Dredmore had

tired of them.

“He probably buries them under the rose hedges,” I

muttered, absently clutching at my pendant for comfort.

6

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 6

7/15/13 10:25 AM

Disench anted & Co., Part 1

“Please God, if you’ll get me out of this I’ll never glance

at another man again. I swear it.” I looked down at the

dark stone and realized otherworldly intervention was

right in my hand. “Bloody hell. Harry.”

My eager fi ngers fumbled a bit with the clasp, but at

last I released it and dropped the pendant on the fl oor,

backing away from it quickly.

My grandfather’s specter materialized instantly, and

as soon as he looked round he shouted at me. “Do you

know where you are? Do you know who he is? Have you

lost your tiny mind?”

“I’m happy to see you, too,” I said. “We’ll catch up

once I get out of here.” When he didn’t reply, I added,

“You keep saying you’re Harry Houdini, the world’s

greatest escape artist. Well then, here’s your chance to

prove it.”

“Oh, shut up.” He went to the window and poked at

the brick. “After what you’ve done, it would serve you

right if I left you here to rot.”

“How do you know what I’ve done?”

“A guardian spirit knows everything. Watches

everything, whether he wishes to or not.” He eyed me.

“Romping with that bastard in the dirt like some scullery

wench. If I were your father, I’d give you the thrashing

of your life.”

He was right, but I refused to cringe. “I suppose you

never lost your head in a moment of passion.”

“Of course I did. If I hadn’t sired your mother, you

wouldn’t be here.” He searched along the baseboards

7

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 7

7/15/13 10:25 AM

LYNN VIEHL

before testing the door. “I was fortunate in my choice of

wives. Bess forgave me my dalliance and took me back.”

“But I’m not named Bess.”

“No. You’re named after my best mate’s wife. I

comforted her after his untimely death, rather more than

I should have.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Th e

result was your mother.”

“You
did
have a forgiving wife.” I sat on the bed. “Did this Charmian raise my mother, then?”

“She had to think of her family and her other

children,” he snapped. “She remained secluded in the

country for her confi nement, and even kept your mother

for a time after her birth. Her family grew suspicious,

however, so she sent Rachel to me as soon as she was old

enough to travel.”

It had never occurred to me that there would be

someone else I hated as much as Dredmore, until Harry

began haunting me. “How did you persuade my mother

to name me after the adulteress who abandoned her?”

“I didn’t, not directly. I merely insured that Rachel

heard the name in a dream just before your birth.”

Harry glanced at me, and his anger faded into weariness.

“Don’t judge your namesake so harshly, lass. Charmian

never forgave herself for giving up our child. It broke her

spirit as well as her heart. She died only a few years after sending your mother to me.”

“I’ll give her the benefi t of the doubt,” I said, “if you’ll agree to overlook my lapse in judgment tonight.”

“Pray you don’t end up in the same condition as your

8

Viehl_DisenchantedP2_EG.indd 8

7/15/13 10:25 AM

Disench anted & Co., Part 1

grandmother.” He eyed my belly before he turned round

to inspect the rest of the room. “Th e door and window