Historical Romance: Alice’s Shameless Spinster’s Society A Lady's Club Regency Romance: The Spinster's Society, #2

By Charlotte Stone

Book 02 in The Spinster's Society series - A Historical Romance Book

Miss Alice Wilkin has had her heart broken and declares herself done with men…

But she never expected to fall for a notorious rake.

 

As the daughter of one of London's elite gentleman's club, she's been given insight into the private affairs of men and should have known that men could not be trusted.

 

Alice vows to never love again!

 

But when bullets begin to fly, that same rake not only declares himself her protector but makes her break the very vow she made to protect her heart.

 

Mr. Calvin Lockwood has always been attracted to Alice.

He'll do what he must to earn Alice's trust again even:

1- if it means hunting down murderers,

2- war with his family and friends,

3- and confronting his past even though he'd rather not.

 

And… it will not even matter when the Spinster Society, a group of pretty young women who've sworn off men, gets a hold of Alice and declares her one of their own.

 

How does a man convince a woman to open her heart once again?

Perhaps it will only take a kiss…

Perhaps it will take more.

 

 Seduction has never been sweeter and spinsterhood never more complex. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlotte Stone
• Release date: Jan 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393706656

Charlotte Stone

In a near cynical world which we are currently living in, Charlotte finds comfort in the readings of Regency Romance writings, one of her favourite would be Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the storm where the female character loves and saves the male lead character who is a stroke victim. It was such writings which inspired her to be an author herself. In Charlotte’s writings, the characters are able to see beyond the imperfections of each other and to accept and love one another, just the way one is. Isn’t this true of our inner self? To be able to find someone who is able to see the beauty in us, in spite of all imperfections we might have. Isn’t this true of what love really should be? Ever accepting, ever loving, ever seeking. May you find love and acceptance in Charlotte’s writings.

Book preview

chapter 1

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July 1813

London, England

Alice Wilkins followed the servant’s directions and moved around the people who crowded the halls, taking note to make sure she avoided stepping on toes and ball gowns... her own included. She loathed balls. Society was not part of the world she’d been raised in but, more recently than she’d have wished, she was becoming a frequent guest at every elaborate party, all in her aunt’s hopes that she would marry well, even though her mother had failed.

There seemed no better place to look for a husband than at the engagement of another. This celebration was in honor of Emmett Starr, the Earl of Ashwick, and Lady Lorena Cullip. Alice was happy to note that the couple looked very much in love. It had been hard not to stare at them as Ashwick and his fiancée danced the waltz twice, which was a scandal in itself, but then Lady Lorena had danced with a few other men. Alice had noted they were all handsome and seemed to have a familiarity with her. She’d never met Lady Lorena, but she’d known a few of her dance partners through their membership at Wilkins’, the gentleman’s club owned by her father.

A few had even danced with her cousin, Rose. Aunt Arrah had tried to get Alice onto the floor as well but Alice had refused.

The only reason she entertained her aunt’s ambitions was because the woman was nearly blind and had the tendency to fall asleep even while standing. Alice often found herself able to slip away without her aunt noticing.

Like now.

She was looking for Rose and a servant had told her he’d seen her cousin slip off into a room toward the back of Viscount of Dovehaven’s home.

As she walked in that direction, she took in the house around her and, not for the first time, wondered what it would be like to live in such a residence. She’d heard the viscount had won the house in the very gaming hell that Alice’s father owned, procuring it from a wealthy merchant to the ton’s extreme delight. They delighted in anything that kept the lower-class low.

Yet another reason she simply didn’t belong.

As she made it to the last door in the hall, Alice wondered what Rose was up to. Her cousin was known for causing trouble and, usually, Alice took the blame to spare Rose any embarrassment. After all, Rose was the daughter of a marquess, while Alice was the daughter of a club owner. Even if Alice lived her life as delicately and as pure as a lily, she would always be looked upon as though she smoked pipes and drank brandy in the company of gentlemen, which wasn’t true at all.

Alice always took her brandy alone.

When she heard a disturbing sound, Alice pushed open the door and her blood ran cold at what she saw.

Rose knelt on top of a large bed with her cream and pink embroidered dress fanned around her but what caught Alice’s eye was the fact that she was on top of a man.

Rose’s blond head turned in Alice’s direction and her blue eyes widened before she scrambled off the bed.

Or at least she tried.

The man’s large hands shot up and grabbed Rose around the waist, forcing her back down upon him.

Where do you think you’re off to, love? he said in a deep seductive voice that Alice recognized instantly. It was a voice she’d not heard in weeks but one she’d never forget.

Rose looked behind her again, her eyes full of remorse.

The traitor.

The moment grew worse when the man lifted his head, and Alice stared into his vibrant hazel eyes.

Calvin Lockwood lifted a confused brow. Alice?

Alice backed away from the door until they were both out of her sight then she continued to back away until her back hit the wall behind her. She pressed her hands against the solid structure and tried to get her breathing under control but she found it hard to do when faced with the fact that her heart was broken.

She closed her eyes.

Alice? Rose called.

She opened them as Rose headed in her direction while she straightened her clothes.

Alice ran toward the door that led out into the night. She heard her name called again and closed the door behind her, shutting out the light from inside before she slipped further into the darkness.

She found herself in a garden and ran toward the hedges. She lost herself in the maze, turning left and then right and holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

Not yet.

She had to hold them back and make sure they didn’t fall where anyone could see her. A man and woman stood by a fountain and they both gasped as she ran past them. She made another series of turns until she came to a moonlit bench by a tree.

She sat and allowed the first tears to fall as she called herself all manner of cruel names.

She’d expected this of Mr. Lockwood. She’d heard reports from the numerous women whose bodies he’d claimed. Many of those women worked for her father. But she’d never have thought Rose would betray her. Her own cousin. Rose knew that Alice was in love with him and had been for years. Never mind that Calvin never paid her any mind...

Until exactly six weeks ago.

The last time she’d seen Calvin, they’d been caught by her father. But she recalled how her body had reacted when he’d kissed her. She’d been putting together a stack of cards from a table that was no longer in use when he’d stepped up behind her, grabbed her waist, and pressed his mouth to her throat.

Alice had dropped the cards in favor of holding onto the table. She’d shivered as Calvin’s mouth grew aggressive and his hands scored her body. Alice had felt on the verge of fainting when he’d finally spun her around and claimed her mouth, pushing her against the table until she’d had no choice but to climb on it, which had been exactly what he’d wanted.

He’d moved in between her legs, never breaking the kiss. One hand had controlled her by holding the back of her neck, keeping her mouth pinned under his, while his hand had moved up and cupped her breast through the dark work dress that she wore most days. Its fabric was rough and when he’d found her nipple, her entire body had vibrated. Just when she’d thought it wouldn’t get any better, he’d said her name.

Alice. The tone of his voice held reverence, anguish, and something else. Something she’d hoped entailed just as much longing as she had for him.

She’d placed her hands on his neck and he’d lifted his head, pushing back his blond hair with his hands. His eyes met hers and she’d seen he was drunk. Looking into his hazel eyes was like looking at the richest brandy through a glass. Beautiful even when inebriated.

She’d smiled, not caring in the least that he’d most likely not remember kissing her, only because he’d known exactly who he’d been kissing when he’d done it.

Then his hands had slid down until they’d landed on her lap and his fingers curved around the top of each of her thighs and he released a sound that was both groan and sigh. Their heads tilted down to see where his hands rested, his bare tanned skin against her nearly black dress, creating creases in the material from his firm grip. Then her eyes had moved to his hair and her hands moved through the strands, parting the waves because for the first time she was free to do so. His blond was not pure but instead held strands that ran the gamut from the lightest white to nearly brunette at the roots.

She’d never forget just how good it had felt to touch him, the sound of his heated breath, or the words that followed.

If you were mine...

She’d stilled.

His head rose, and his hazel eyes returned to hers. If you were mine, I would—

But he never got the chance to finish his words. Her father, Ralph Wilkins, had found them, accused Calvin of taking advantage of her, and had him blackballed that same night.

She’d worked at changing her father’s mind, but she and Calvin had been caught in what had become a very sensitive place for Ralph after an employee had died there. Mr. Thomas St. George had taken a ladder to fix a clock on a high wall when he’d fallen from it. Ralph hadn’t found him until hours later and grew more distraught every time he walked into that room. So, she’d kept her silence for the time being.

For weeks, she’d hoped Calvin would return and finish his words. She’d gone to sleep at night envisioning him crawling through her window like a prince from a fairytale and taking her away to a better life, a life where she was respected and seen as a woman.

Calvin’s kiss was the first time Alice had ever felt... delicate and feminine.

Over the years, she had found herself in other compromising positions with her father’s men. She was taller than the average woman, and her father had claimed she’d gained admirers because she looked like her mother, with hair the color of night, eyes the shade of day, and skin the color of winter snow. He’d accused her of growing curves much too soon, as though she could control what Mother Nature gave her. By sixteen, she’d begun to wear dresses that were much too large for her but hid her body, which was what her father preferred. Still, the men had come. Some had been drunk, others not so. All had been blackballed, until at last the men who spent time at Wilkins’ understood that Alice was not to be touched.

Until Calvin.

For the first time, she’d wanted that touch and she’d told Rose everything about her one encounter with the man she’d been in love with since the day he’d walked into Wilkins’ six years ago.

And in one night, her heart felt as though it had been ripped from her chest and torn to pieces, never to be mended again.

Alice stared into the night and dried her eyes with her gloves, declaring herself utterly done with Calvin Lockwood and Rose Beck.

If you were mine...

The issue was that many a woman had been Calvin Lockwood’s.

Alice stood as anger dried her tears more quickly than she could wipe them away. Her body felt hot as her thoughts grew cold. Calvin was a cad! A horrible, horrible cad and she never wanted to see him again. That kiss had meant nothing to him, while it had meant the world to her. But no more would she hold fast to the feelings she’d let grow since she was a child.

She loathed him now.

Utterly and completely.

She started to pace in front of the bench and her thoughts turned to words as she spoke loudly into the night. How dare he kiss me and then touch my cousin! The cad! Her slippers did not make the thumping sound that her boots would have made as she marched back and forth but her body grew warmer with each step, sweeping away her sadness for the pleasant feeling of affirmation and contentment.

The feeling traveled through her and settled like a wool blanket over her heart. She knew it to be strong enough to protect her from further heartache and pain. Blankets, whether imagined or otherwise, always gave Alice comfort. She’d been born a violent sleeper and remembered the nights her mother would slip into her room, adjust whatever limb she’d misplaced back on the bed, then smooth her blanket back over her body.

The blanket was comforting and the memory of it still gave her strength, even though her mother had died nearly fifteen years ago. She thought of her blanket at that moment and its comfort and hid her heart in its protective fold, knowing no one could touch her there.

Not even Calvin.

At least for the night.

As though fate were out to test her, she turned when she heard movement and watched as Calvin stalked from the hedges with light spilling from the lantern he held before him.

*   *   *

chapter 2

*   *   *

Alice stilled and gazed at Calvin.

He lifted the light, turned, and his eyes caught hers. Alice. He started toward her.

No, she declared and stalked right past him as he came her way.

A second foot had hardly hit the ground before she was hauled backward, almost stumbling on her gown until her back hit the substantial surface of his body.

His hand spread over her belly, his body curled into hers, and his lips were at her ear. Alice. Her name rang like a plea.

She tried to turn and rid herself of him but her efforts would have been similar if she’d tried to move a house. He didn’t budge. Take your hands off me.

Alice. That time it resembled warning.

She dropped her hands and sighed loudly. Then she remembered a move her father taught her, lifted her arm, and struck her elbow into his chest.

He may have felt like he was made of brick but at their collision he grunted, released her, and Alice fled.

She amazed herself with her memory and found her way back to the house in due time but she’d barely crossed the threshold before she was forcibly pinned to the wall.

Calvin’s face was close to hers. Are you going to make me chase you? His voice was rumbly, and she smelled spirits on his breath. A glance at his eyes showed he was foxed.

She ignored just how beautiful he was, remembered her heart lay in the protection of a warm wool blanket, and asked, How did you ever find me? I went through a maze. To get away from you.

Probability, he told her.

What?

You went out, you were not in the clearing, so I knew you'd taken the maze. It was only a matter of moving where there was light. Eventually, I ran into a gentleman and lady who looked as though they’d been interrupted in the midst of a tryst and asked them which direction you'd gone. They knew exactly who I was referring to and pointed me in the right direction without delay. After that, it was simple probability. You’d stay near the light and away from shadowed entrances. I found you on the first go round.

Alice blinked. But I ran out into the night. How do you know I would not follow the shadows?

Because shadows are for lovers and criminals, not a woman alone who knows better than to place herself in such a position... even while angry.

Everyone can see you, she hissed. Has he lost his mind?

She looked down the hall and saw a few people standing about.

You’re right.

He yanked her into a nearby room and closed the door behind them.

Alice turned around, allowed her eyes to adjust to the dark, and saw it was the very room where she’d caught him and Rose. She turned and glared at him and noticed he’d moved in the time she’d done a circle. Stop!

His body froze two feet away from her, his hands out with the intention to touch her.

She looked at him, all of him, then brought her eyes up to meet his. Have you lost your mind?

No, just a trifle disguised, he said with a grin.

Her brows lifted. A trifle disguised? You’re completely foxed!

You’re right.

Alice wrapped her arms about herself and said, Well, now that we’ve established that, I will go and—

Nothing has been established.

Alice straightened her neck. Of course it has been. You just admitted—

I admitted that I’m foxed. It doesn’t mean I don’t know exactly what I’m doing. He moved toward her. His eyes never left hers.

Alice took several steps away, holding up her skirts to keep from tripping, continuing backward until she fell onto a chair. She looked behind her and saw she was sitting at the bay window. Then she turned as Calvin moved into the space next to her. He reached over and placed a hand on the other side of the bench, closing her in and making her feel like a sheep led to its pen, not by a shepherd but from the fear of wolves.

Moonlight made his eyes glow.

She leaned away against the glass. Don’t touch me.

I won’t, he swore, speaking slowly and low. I understand how you must feel.

You understand? Alice kept her words neither slow nor low. You were just... with my cousin!

Calvin narrowed his eyes and said, Rose is your cousin?

Yes!

He frowned deeper. But Rose is a lady.

Whether he’d meant the words to hurt her, they did, and Alice was forced to examine how secure a hold her blanket had on the most important part of her body.

She must not have done well in hiding her feelings because Calvin’s eyes widened.

I didn’t mean it the way you believe I do.

Alice shook her head and said, It doesn’t matter—

It does matter.

Alice found herself taken aback not by his words, but by his anger. It was in his words and his face.

She decided to calm him. My mother and her father are siblings. My mother, Lady Alva, was the daughter of the—

Former Marquess of Freyler?

Alice nodded.

Calvin lifted a brow. And her uncle is the current Marquess of Freyler?

She nodded again.

And your mother, the marquess’ daughter, married a club owner?

She nodded a third time.

Calvin leaned away to study her face. He scoffed. Christ, you do look like Rose.

That was the very last thing she wished to hear, though she’d heard it many times before. Their only difference was in hair color. Rose had inherited her blond from her mother, Aunt Arrah, while Alice’s hair matched the feathers of a raven.

But while it was fine when others mentioned the similarities, it was much different when Calvin noticed them.

She was readying herself to tell him to move when he spoke over her thoughts.

But that’s where the similarities end. He was still holding her eyes. You’re nothing like Rose.

And yet you touched her. The words tumbled from her lips before she caught them.

The noise from the crush of the party made them both look at the door. There was laughter and the sound of breaking glass. When the noise of endless footsteps faded, their eyes found one another again.

Alice, Calvin started. Rose was nothing.

No. I am nothing. She’d always been nothing to him, and she regretted just what a fool she’d been to try and gain his attention. She recalled the very first day he’d walked into Wilkins’ with his brother and father. She’d visited a table he’d been sitting at and had done everything she could to distract him. She’d done silly turns and stood around other tables that he could easily see from his chair. She was nothing, and still, Alice felt a prick in her heart for her cousin. Even though she was finished with Rose, she did feel the need to defend her. Rose is not nothing.

Name one decent quality about your cousin, he prompted.

Alice closed her mouth and tried to think of all the good Rose had done for her. She wondered why her mind could only remember the many times she’d taken the blame for every error Rose had ever made. It seemed to be an ongoing ritual with them. Rose did something and Alice took the blame. Inevitably, Alice was told she needed to marry since a husband was the only way for Alice to be reined in.

How fortunate that Alice’s heart was no more available for love than her hand