The Unlacing of Miss Leigh

by Diane Gaston

Overview

Disfigured in battle against Napoleon's forces, Captain Graham Veall has become a recluse, spending months alone on his estate and appearing masked in public. Yet Graham is determined not to forgo life's pleasures forever...especially the delight of a woman's touch.

He hardly expects virginal Miss Margaret Leigh to respond to his advertisement for female company, thinking he sought a lady's companion. Still, the impoverished vicar's daughter is a surprising temptation he can't ignore. His proposition? That she live with him for two months as his mistress in exchange for supporting her and her brother for the rest of their lives.

But Margaret has a secret. Graham once saved her life as a child and she has dreamed about him ever since. As he awakens her desire, she longs to soothe his inner wounds--though only two months with her damaged hero may not be enough....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426831942
Publisher:	Harlequin
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Series:	Harlequin Historical Series
Sold by:	HARLEQUIN
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	67,963
File size:	127 KB

About the Author

When Diane Gaston was a little girl, she'd learn all the words to popular love songs. When she played, her dolls acted out tragic love affairs with the current heartthrob on TV or in the movies. She thought everyone in the world made up romantic stories in their heads to get to sleep at night.

The third daughter of an army colonel, Diane moved often as a child, once even to Japan. But mostly she lived in the Washington, D.C., area, where she now resides. The life of an army brat bred strong values of duty and honor and discipline, and until new friends could be made, Diane relied on books to pass time.

It was always the romance in books that kept Diane reading. She read Nancy Drew more to see what Nancy and Ned were up to than for solving the mystery. And she will never forgive Louisa May Alcott for not letting Jo wind up with Laurie. It wasn't until college years that Diane discovered romance fiction, but although she majored in English literature, her course work never included the kinds of books she most loved to read.

For a career, however, Diane decided to help others craft their own happy endings. She earned master's degrees in both psychology and social work and became a county mental health therapist. She also married and raised a daughter and son, now grown and on their own. At work sometimes Diane and her colleagues would fantasize about their dream job. Diane always said hers would be writing romance novels.

When her life settled down enough, that's exactly what Diane set out to do. It took years, but finally her dream came true with a call from England. The Harlequin Mills&Boon editor who judged her first Regency Historical (it won!) in the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest also made an offer to publish it. Diane was on her way. Shortly after that sale, she put her mental health career behind her and became a full-time writer.

Before ever selling a book, Diane reaped a world of friendships through her romance writing, a wonderful bonus to living her dream. When not writing, Diane enjoys emailing with her friends and traveling to England for research. And she's lived in the same house for over 20 years now, with her husband and three very ordinary house cats.

Diane loves to hear from readers and friends. Email her at [e-mail].