A Necessary Deception

By Georgie Lee

Captain Charles Bevin left Mary three years ago to rejoin his regiment in the Peninsular War. Since he’s been gone, Mary has struggled to raise her young son while working to save her family’s pub from her stepfather’s creditors. To retain control of her livelihood, Mary was forced to pretend she and Charles had wed before he’d left, and that he’d died in battle. Under English law, a widow has more rights than a wife.

Charles returns to England after a harrowing experience in Spain hoping to renew his relationship with Mary. He is stunned to walk into her pub and discover that everyone believes they are already married. With Mary in danger of losing everything, can Charles overcome her fear of betrayal to convince her to make their marriage real, and capture her heart once again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Georgie Lee
• Release date: Jan 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370829903

Georgie Lee

Georgie Lee loves combining her passion for history and storytelling through romantic fiction. She began writing professionally at a local TV station before moving to Hollywood to work in the entertainment industry.  When not writing, Georgie enjoys reading non-fiction history and watching any movie with a costume and an accent. Please visit  www.georgie-lee.com for more information about Georgie and her books.  

Book preview

A Necessary Deception

By

Georgie Lee

Please visit www.Georgie-Lee.com to learn more about Georgie Lee and her books.

Other Novels & Novellas by Georgie Lee

The Cinderella Governess* - Book #1 Governess Tales

Rescued from Ruin* - Book #1 Scandal and Disgrace

Miss Marianne’s Disgrace* - Book #2 Scandal and Disgrace

A Debt Paid in Marriage* - Book #1 Business of Marriage

A Too Convenient Marriage* - Book #2 Business of Marriage

The Secret Marriage Pact - Book #3 Business of Marriage

It Happened One Christmas*

The Captain’s Frozen Dream*

The Courtesan’s Book of Secrets*

Engagement of Convenience*

Lady’s Wager

Studio Relations: Love in the Golden Age of Hollywood

Her Hollywood Christmas

Hero’s Redemption – novella

Mask of the Gladiator – novella

A Little Legal Luck – novella

Rock ‘n’ Roll Reunion - novella

Sweet Chances – novella anthology

*also available in paperback

COPYRIGHT © 2016 by Georgie Lee

A Necessary Deception is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author.

Published in the United States

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER ONE

Hampstead Heath, England - October, 1811

Mary, your husband is back. He isn’t dead! Mr. Ogden called out from his place behind the bar. He pointed to a circle of cheering patrons surrounding a man in the center of the Marquis of Granby pub.

It can’t be. Mary Thomas dropped the tankard she carried, barely aware of the beer wetting the tops of her shoes. The thrill of being innocent and in love, the pain of separation and unalterable mistakes, loss, disappointment and fear unraveled inside her like the rope the brewers used to move the heavy casks. She braced one arm against the post beside her. Captain Charles Beven had left. He wasn’t supposed to come back.

She let go of the rough wood and picked up the empty tankard, leaving the beer to dry on the floor. With a shaking hand she set the pewter on a nearby table, struggling to gather her scattered wits. Emotion had carried her away once before with Charles, leaving her with nothing but regret and problems. She wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

Through a gap in the crowd surrounding Charles, she caught her first proper look at him. He was leaner than she remembered, his cheekbones sharper beneath his longer brown hair, but there was no mistaking the joyful spark in his rich hazel eyes while he accepted the good cheer heaped on him. His optimistic nature had, for a time three years ago, lifted her out of the routine of helping her parents run the Marquis of Granby pub. Then he’d left to return to his regiment in Spain, and she’d ignored his letters until they'd stopped coming.

This will be trouble, Aunt Emily whispered as she came up beside her, leading Mary's two year old son John by the hand.

It's worse than trouble. Mary tugged at the stubborn knot of her apron, her fingers shaking too much for her to get it loose. Then her hands stilled as Charles finally noticed her. She braced herself, waiting for his vivid eyes to turn hard with accusations.

I shouldn’t have pushed him away. After the lie she and her family had told everyone, she’d had no choice.

He didn’t scowl at her but his smile stiffened as he stepped out of the center of the well-wishers and slowly approached her. She yanked the apron strings and they came apart,