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      ‘You really are the most extraordinary creature,’ Hainford said.

      Ellie opened her mouth to deliver a stinging retort, and then realised that his lips were actually curved in a faint smile. The frown had gone too, as though he had puzzled her out.

      ‘So, not only am I a creature, and an extraordinary one, but I am also a source of amusement to you? Are you this offensive to every lady you encounter, or only the plain and unimportant ones?’

      ‘I feel like a hound being attacked by a field mouse.’

      He scrubbed one hand down over his face, as though to straighten his expression, but his mouth, when it was revealed again, was still twitching dangerously near a smile.

      ‘I had no intention of being offensive, merely of matching your frankness.’

      He made no reference to the plain and unimportant remark. Wise of him.

      ‘You are unlike any lady I have ever come across.’

      ‘But?’ Ellie held her breath.

      Hainford looked up, the expression in his grey eyes either amused or resigned, or perhaps a little of both. ‘But I will do it. I will convey you to Lancashire.’

       Author Note

      Do you ever wonder where the ideas for a novel come from? I do too! Quite often they seem to appear mysteriously in my head—but occasionally I can trace at least some elements of a story back to its inspiration.

      Marrying His Cinderella Countess was a marriage of more than my hero and heroine. I knew quite a lot about Ellie already, and I also knew just how Blake came to be injured at his club, but it took a little while to realise that the two of them belonged together. And then I went to the Romantic Novelists’ Association annual conference at one of Lancaster University’s rural campuses, built around an old farmstead. The lovely farmhouse had become part of the dining hall, and after several days of eating my lunch outside its front door I began to wonder who had lived there.

      It was when I imagined Ellie there that the parts of this story all fitted at last. I hope you enjoy Blake and Ellie’s tale—and if you are thinking about visiting Lancashire I can promise that it really doesn’t rain all the time. That was 1816, which was not a good year for the weather!

      Marrying His Cinderella Countess

      Louise Allen

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      LOUISE ALLEN loves immersing herself in history. She finds landscapes and places evoke the past powerfully. Venice, Burgundy and the Greek islands are favourite destinations. Louise lives on the Norfolk coast and spends her spare time gardening, researching family history or travelling in search of inspiration. Visit her at louiseallenregency.co.uk, @LouiseRegency and janeaustenslondon.com.

      Books by Louise Allen

      Mills & Boon Historical Romance

      The Herriard Family

      Forbidden Jewel of India

      Tarnished Amongst the Ton Surrender to the Marquess

      Lords of Disgrace

      His Housekeeper’s Christmas Wish

      His Christmas Countess The Many Sins of Cris de Feaux The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone

      Brides of Waterloo

      A Rose for Major Flint

      Stand-Alone Novels

      Once Upon a Regency Christmas

      ‘On a Winter’s Eve’ Marrying His Cinderella Countess

      Visit the Author Profile page

      at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

      For AJH. You know why.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Author Note

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

      

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