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      The Last Suitor: Volume One of the Raspero Chronicles A.J. McMahon

      First Published 2015 by Classic Author and Publishing Services Pty Ltd.

      This edition published 2018 by Woodslane Press

      Copyright © A.J. McMahon

      All rights reserved. No part of this printed or video publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

      The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of this publication.

      Editor: Julie Athanasiou

      Designer / typesetter: Working Type Studio (www.workingtype.com.au)

      Digital Distribution: Ebook Alchemy

      National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

      Creator: McMahon, A. J., author.

      Title: The last suitor / A J McMahon ; Julie Athanasiou, editor.

      ISBN: 9780987410313 (eBook)

      Subjects: Fantasy fiction.

      Other Creators/Contributors: Athanasiou, Julie, editor.

      Dewey Number: A823.4

       CONTENTS

      ONE: The Corruption of Mr Benjamin Clark by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      TWO: The Proposal of Lord Percival Breckenridge to Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      THREE: The Rescue of Mr Taggart Longman by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      FOUR: The Introduction of Mr Nicholas Raspero to Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      FIVE: The Threat Made by Mr Frank Jollison to the Family of Mr Nicholas Raspero

      SIX: The Downfall of Mr Frank Jollison as Brought About by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      SEVEN: The Vote of the Club of Appreciation for the Most Beautiful Woman in New Landern

      EIGHT: A Question is Asked of Mr Taggart Longman by Miss Angela Ashton

      NINE: The Visit of Lady Isabel Grangeshield to the Emperor Theatre

      TEN: The Instruction of the Withheld Herakrim by Lord Adair Zinia

      ELEVEN: The Hidden Attack of Captain Abner Nevsky on a Lady of Honour

      TWELVE: The Duel of First Combat Between Mr Nicholas Raspero and Captain Abner Nevsky

      THIRTEEN: The Gang Set Forth to Find the Mysterious Mr Nicholas Raspero

      FOURTEEN: The Trials and Tribulations of Lady Marcella Starfeld

      FIFTEEN: The Meeting Between Mr Nicholas Raspero and Lord Adair Zinia

      SIXTEEN: The Pursuit of Mr Nicholas Raspero by Lady Isabel

      SEVENTEEN: A Request is Made of Mr Nicholas Raspero by Mr Benjamin Clark

      EIGHTEEN: A Bell is Rung by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      NINETEEN: The Secret Visit to the House of Captain Abner Nevsky by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      TWENTY: The Secret Duel of Final Combat Between Captain Abner Nevsky and Mr Nicholas Raspero

      TWENTY-ONE: The Exchange of a Story for Drinks Between Five Witnesses and the Citizens of New Landern

      TWENTY-TWO: The Correspondence Between Mr Nicholas Raspero and Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      TWENTY-THREE: The Restoration of Lady Isabel Grangeshield of Grangeshield House

      TWENTY-FOUR: The Conversation Between Miss Sophie Nicholson and Mr Nicholas Raspero over Dinner

      TWENTY-FIVE: The Great Quarrel Between Lady Isabel Grangeshield and Miss Sophie Nicholson

      TWENTY-SIX: The Deception of Mr Nicholas Raspero by Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      TWENTY-SEVEN: The Turn and Turnabout of Miss Angela Ashton

      TWENTY-EIGHT: The Elliptical Dialogue Between Mr Nicholas Raspero and Lord Bentley Easton

      TWENTY-NINE: The Match-Making Ambitions of the Audocavars for Lord Algernon Bomboodle

      THIRTY: The New Clothes Given to Mr Nicholas Raspero by Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      THIRTY-ONE: The Public Quarrel of Mr Tread and Lord Weatherby

      THIRTY-TWO: A Decision is Made by Mr Nicholas Raspero Concerning Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      THIRTY-THREE: The Declaration of his Feelings by Mr Nicholas Raspero to Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      THIRTY-FOUR: The Reflections and Contemplations of Lady Isabel Grangeshield

      THIRTY-FIVE: The Letters of Lady Isabel Grangeshield to Mr Nicholas Raspero

      THIRTY-SIX: A Letter from Mr Nicholas Raspero is Received by Lord and Lady Easton

      THIRTY-SEVEN: The Courtship of Lady Isabel Grangeshield by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      THIRTY-EIGHT: The Second Employment of Bailey by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      THIRTY-NINE: The Visit of Bombasto, the Elephant to New Landern

      FORTY: Ancestors Day at Grangeshield House

      ONE

      The Corruption of Mr Benjamin Clark

       by Mr Nicholas Raspero

      3:20 PM, Monday 2 May 1544 A. F. (After the Fall)

      Nicholas Raspero disembarked from the public flying carriage in Talbert Street with a bag slung over his left shoulder and his right hand resting on the hilt of his wand. It was the day after his twenty-second birthday and so he was still young enough to look eagerly about him as he set off through the bustling streets of New Landern.

      Nicholas was of medium height, black-haired and grey-eyed, with an air of composed self-assurance which seemed to stem from the hand he rested on the hilt of his wand. He avoided being handsome by a deft sideways step that made his nose slightly too long and his mouth slightly too wide. His square chin, high cheek bones and strong eyebrows were features which struggled manfully to attain pleasing proportions, but as the Leaning Tower of Hambron keeps its distance from the perfectly vertical, so his face kept handsomeness at arm’s length. However, in his favour it had to be said that he walked with an easy grace. His shoulders were set square, his step was light and vigorous, his posture was erect and his good health shone like the sun. His clothes were of good quality but not new and his boots of good leather but cracked and worn, comfortable but getting old. No-one looked twice at him as he walked through the streets of New Landern, the great Metropolis of Anglashia, but Nicholas himself looked more than twice at everything around him. There were the flying carriages passing by overhead, so numerous that they had to be allocated lanes. There were

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