Not that her male customers were averse to purchasing the weekly magazines that published her books in serial chapters. Mr. Edding’s Facts and Fantasy was a typical example of the cheap serial fiction that boomed after the abolition of the Newspaper Stamp Tax in 1855. But what increased the volume of her readership so remarkably was the additional female audience.

Perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising. It was, after all, an era of sweeping social changes, many of them specifically directed toward women’s rights. There was increasing ferment for women’s suffrage, and reforms in marriage, divorce, and inheritance laws had over the past fifty years broadened the scope of female self-determination. Women could now sue for divorce, gain custody of their children, retain control over their own property-not easily, but it could be done. Women were, on the whole, leading much more complex and productive lives.

Female artists were coming to prominence as well in exhibitions previously closed to them. Sexual issues, unrelated to chauvinist bias, were being researched for the first time, and the studies were being published in the burgeoning field of psychology both in England and on the Continent. Radicals, socialists, and feminists had come together in the Men and Women’s Club to debate, dispute, converse, and expound upon the sexual issues of the day even while the vast public barely noticed. The government’s policies directed at mass education had given rise to unprecedented numbers of readers hungry for knowledge and entertainment. And with the advent of the typewriter, more and more women were entering the workforce, domestic service no longer the sole occupation open to females of lesser rank. Also, universities had begun enrolling women, albeit in limited numbers, and those pioneering females were unprecedentedly taking firsts at Oxford and Cambridge.

In some small measure, her stories ran parallel to contemporary women’s pursuit of liberty and freedom in all areas of life. Not that women were free from their corseted, high-collared, straitlaced world of patriarchy, puritanism, and prejudice, but critical change was in the air.

And with it, a crisis of masculinity had begun.

Enough, enough! She had no time for musing.

Her piecework had to be finished.

She smiled. If her stories continued to sell well, someday she might actually visit Constantinople.

She wiggled her toes in her slippers, shoved a heavy fall of auburn hair from her forehead, and bent to her task.

Should Lady Blessington sigh or scream in orgasmic ecstasy?

The erstwhile eunuch was very well endowed-very well, indeed.

She rather thought Lady Blessington might scream, she decided, her pen once again racing over the page.

Rosalind didn’t look up again until the last page was complete, the newest chapter conveniently coming to an orgasmic conclusion. Then she checked the time, smiled, and stretched leisurely.

Six. She had a sufficient interval in which to bathe, dress, and breakfast before carrying her manuscript to Bond Street and turning it over to Mr. Edding. His stationery shop was tres fashionable; only the best clientele ordered their monogrammed writing materials from him. And he looked so very unlike a publisher of bawdy literature that her anxiety about having her secret occupation exposed was minimal.


MR. EDDING LITERALLY rubbed his hands in delight when she walked through the doorway of his shop at eight. “What a pleasure to see you, Mrs. St. Vincent!” he exclaimed. “We are most anxious for your new chapter. You’ll be pleased to hear that the circulation has increased to six thousand copies! I hope you may find the time to increase your production. Perhaps add another serial for our little periodical.” He put up his hand. “I know, I know, your business requires attention as well. But, my dear lady, if you would be amenable to an increase in your wages-say double the amount-you could hire someone to oversee your shop and satisfy your readers in the process.”

“Why don’t I see what I can do, Mr. Edding.” Rosalind refrained from showing her excitement as she handed him her manuscript. Double! Good Lord! Perhaps she might be free of debt soon if she could write faster. Not only did the bookstore require constant funds to maintain its inventory, but her free library and Saturday reading group that offered tea and sandwiches for those less fortunate were also substantial expenses.

In addition, there remained a balance due on Edward’s funeral. It had cost dearly, but she’d wanted her husband buried in a fashionable cemetery with an elegant, tasteful headstone to mark his grave, and such tangibles had come at no small price. “Your generous offer is welcome, of course,” she blandly murmured as if she were generally indifferent to finances when, in fact, she was dancing with delight in her imagination.

“Good. Might I have another chapter of Lady Blessington’s Harem Adventure in a week and perhaps the first chapter of a second series as well?”

She repressed a gasp, and her voice indicated only the veriest agitation when she spoke. “I would need more time I think, Mr. Edding.”

“Very well. But think about hiring a shopgirl.” The clandestine publisher smiled. “You have a rare talent, my lady. Quite, quite rare. I’d like very much to see you devote more time to your writing.” Sliding the package under the counter, he opened the cash register, withdrew an envelope, and handed it to her. “Cash as you prefer, my lady. And may I say how much I appreciate the quality of your work.” Glancing over her shoulder, he waved his hand as though shooing someone away.

Rosalind stiffened but kept her back to the door. She deliberately came to Mr. Edding’s shop before it opened in order to avoid being seen.

“It was some passerby, my dear, who apparently can’t read the hours painted on the door. He’s gone. You’re quite safe.” He understood her fear of exposure; if it were revealed that she was a writer of erotica, her reputation not to mention her livelihood would be at risk. The scandal could ruin her.

A moment later, Rosalind bid good-by to Mr. Edding, left the shop, and walked home through the quiet streets. Only after she entered her apartment above the store did she allow herself to give in to fatigue. Not that she was unfamiliar with weariness after so many nights with little sleep.

Fortunately today was Tuesday-normally not a busy day, particularly in August with the beau monde having deserted London. Even the bourgeois were at the seashore with their families. She didn’t expect many customers.

She would rest for a brief time; the store didn’t open until ten.

Then fortified by another cup of tea-several actually-she would survive another day with limited sleep. But tonight, she would allow herself a rare treat and go to bed by midnight.

Chapter 3

GROVELAND ARRIVED AT Bruton Street Books shortly before ten.

An early riser, he’d already spent some hours with his new secretary, Stanley. All his correspondence, which had been left in abeyance during his absence, was now in order, and young Stanley was much relieved. The duke’s casual disregard for his mail was unfathomable to the meticulous lad, but then Stanley was still young and idealistic-neither of which characterized the duke. The duke was thirty-five. And his youth had been marked by tumult and violence when his father was in his cups-not an atmosphere likely to foster idealism.

Fitz had explained-again-that Stanley could do what he liked with the billets-doux; they were of no interest to him. As for his business correspondence, if Stanley had questions and couldn’t reach him, he could speak to Hutchinson. The remaining mail could be dealt with in whatever manner Stanley chose. He’d tried to be diplomatic for the young man was doing his best to shoulder his new responsibilities. “The point is,” he’d finally said, “I don’t want to deal with most of this. You understand?”

Now in terms of further diplomacy…

Fitz surveyed the bookshop’s bow windows filled with colorful volumes, then the glass-paned, canary yellow door with the hours clearly noted thereon. He slipped his watch from his waistcoat pocket and checked the time. Ten. He tried the door once again. Apparently, Mrs. St. Vincent wasn’t the punctual type.

Ah, there, a woman was coming toward him from the back of the store.

Mrs. St. Vincent it appeared from Hutchinson’s brief description-her hair color and height identifying factors. But as Fitz’s connoisseur gaze swiftly took her measure, he wondered if Hutchinson could have been wrong about her background. This woman had the look of an actress: startlingly beautiful, tall, and shapely, her heavy auburn hair piled casually atop her head а la Pre-Raphaelite portraits. Or maybe it was that particular shade of hair that called to mind their work.

Although she also affected the aesthetic mode in her attire: elements of Japanese motifs embroidered on her blouse, the fabric of her moss green linen skirt handwoven from all appearances, her splendid form visibly without corsets. Having spent enough time in artists’ studios buying artwork or in pursuit of some lovely model, he recognized the avant-garde style.

Women in his world preferred French couture, opulent silks and satins, velvets and lace rather than hand-loomed wools and linens, and corsets were as de rigueur as a hand-span waist. And no lady he knew would appear in public with her hair as casually arranged as Mrs. St. Vincent’s.

She wasn’t working class, but she had definitely moved beyond the conventional world of her birth. For instance, she wasn’t wearing mourning, although her husband could have been dead for some time; he’d have to ask Hutchinson. Certainly in style and dress she appeared very much the modern woman. Not that he paid much attention to the controversial battle for women’s rights. In the insulated world in which he moved, the subject was, if not anathema, generally ignored. The ladies of his acquaintance were more concerned with gossip, the most stylish gown, or their newest lover.