Always the Courtesan by Emily E K Murdoch
Always the courtesan and never the bride – it’s a life she never chose and cannot escape…
Lady Honora Lennox hasn’t gone by that name in three years – not since she was abducted and forced to work in a brothel.
She’s but nineteen and has given up on the world offering her anything of kindness. Until he walks through her door.
Josiah Stanhope, Earl of Chester, is exhausted with politics and games, deceit and lies – it’s time for simplicity, and there’s nothing simpler than the clear cut exchange of coin for pleasure. And yet there’s something different about this girl. She knows how to please a man, certainly, but there’s more to her. Something refined.
He’s determined to find out the truth. She’s terrified of destroying her family name. Tensions mount as wills clash and there can only be one victor.
Can Josiah ever prove himself as trustworthy, or will he fall back to old habits? Can Honora ever return to society after her fall from grace – or is his bed far more inviting?
- File Name:always-the-courtesan-by-emily-e-k-murdoch.epub
- Original Title:Always the Courtesan (Never the Bride Book 3)
- Creator:Emily E K Murdoch
- Language:en
- Identifier:MOBI-ASIN:B0881YTYJ2
- Publisher:Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
- Date:2020-05-27T16:00:00+00:00
- Subject:Fiction,Historical,romance
- File Size:232.309 KB
Table of Content
- 1. Title Page
- 2. Copyright Page
- 3. Publisher’s Note
- 4. Additional Dragonblade books by Author Emily E K Murdoch
- 5. Table of Contents
- 6. Chapter One
- 7. Chapter Two
- 8. Chapter Three
- 9. Chapter Four
- 10. Chapter Five
- 11. Chapter Six
- 12. Chapter Seven
- 13. Chapter Eight
- 14. Chapter Nine
- 15. Chapter Ten
- 16. Chapter Eleven
- 17. Chapter Twelve
- 18. Chapter Thirteen
- 19. Chapter Fourteen
- 20. Chapter Fifteen
- 21. Chapter Sixteen
- 22. Chapter Seventeen
- 23. Chapter Eighteen
- 24. Chapter Nineteen
- 25. Epilogue
- 26. Excerpt from Always the Best Friend
- 27. About Emily E K Murdoch
Always the Courtesan, Book 3 of the Never the Bride series, was about Lady Honora, "Nora", aka "Hannah" Lennox, missing sister to His Grace William Lennox, the Duke of Mercia, and Lord Josiah Stanhope, the Earl of Chester. At the young age of 16, Honoria was abducted off the streets while walking home from a ball, and no one had seen her since. Her brothers William and John had spent three years looking for her with no success in finding her. Forced to work in a brothel, even to hide he identity, her name changed to Hannah, and with that stroke of fate, Honora had simply vanished from polite society with no hope of ever returning home. Wearied with his life in politics, tired of all the double-dealing and deception of society, Josiah wanted nothing more than to spend his coin on fleshly pleasures. Having learned of a brothel on the outskirts of London, Josiah sought something "simple", without games or trickery. He wasn't looking for, or even believed in marriage. He just wanted to bed someone without any entanglement that he thought would become "messy" or clogged with emotion. With his first visit to the brothel, he immediately noticed "Hannah", who seemed to be trying to go unnoticed. But there was something about her that caught his attention. While his initial trip to the brothel did not go well, "Hannah" had made such an impression on him that he attempted a second trip, during which he mapped out for her what he expected. Side Note: Honora was between 19 and 20 years of age and she said to Josiah that she was the youngest of her siblings. However, in the previous book in the series, her brother William had introduced Prudence to his now-wife and stated she was only 14. Honora had only been missing for 3 years, and William had only recently been married, so there was no way Honora was the youngest sibling. The more time Josiah spent with "Hannah" at the brothel, the more they began to care for each other, though neither had yet disclosed their true identity. When Josiah visited her again at the brothel and was told he could not see her, he grew angry and stormed through the building to her room...only to find another man leaving it. As she forced him to face her reality, that she was a courtesan and not wife-material, he left angry. Many days later, as he sat moping in a club with William, the Duke of Mercia, he poured out all he knew of her...only to have William go wild on him and reveal the girl's true identity, that she was, in fact, NOT Hannah, but Honora, William's sister. This book had so many twists and turns that it was mind-blowing at times. The angst and drama were off the chart with very little humor. It definitely pulled at the heartstrings of the reader with hints of what human trafficking started out as. While there was passion between the two main characters, there was also a bit of distrust since both parties had been hurt multiple times in their lives. The ending, though it was a HEA, did leave room for thoughts and doubts for the reader, but I will let the next one deduce those questions...and possible answers...for themselves. While the book was decent, it was not five-star worthy nor did it earn a place with the Keeper for the Shelves collection. It left too many unanswered questions for that honor.