title: Malice Domestic: An Anthology of Original Traditional Mystery Stories
author: Elizabeth Peters
description: Book 1 in a series of traditional  mystery stories showcasing various mystery writers.   Malice "domestic" refers to crimes that occur to people they know and love (or hate).   This anthology includes authors Charlotte MacLeod (The Perplexing Puzzle of the Perfidious Pigeon Poisoner), D.R. Meredith (Windkill), Diane Mott Davidson (The Cottonwood Creek Caper), Valerie Frankel (Angel on the Loose), L.B. Greenwood (The Ties that Bind), Charlotte and Aaron Elkins (Nice Gorilla), Janel LaPierre (Take Care of Yourself), Joan Hess (The Last to Know), Carolyn G. Hart (Henrie O's Holiday), Audrey Peterson (Night Visitor), Barbara Paul (Homebodies), Sharyn McCrumb (Happiness is a Dead Poet) and  P.M. Carlson (They Jersey Lily or Make  Me Immortal with a Kiss).
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A Viscount of Mystery
  
  A Tales From Seldon Park Novel
  
  By Bethany M. Sefchick
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
  products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to
  be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations
  or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
  
  Copyright © 2015
  
  Bethany M. Sefchick
  
  All rights reserved
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Prologue
  
  Early February 1816
  
  "Oh, God. Marc. My love. What have they done to you?"
  
  Lady Caroline softly whispered the words as she looked upon the nearly nude
  male form lying on the counterpane, the sheets beneath bloodied and twisted
  about his body. His cheeks were sunken and his mouth a thin, pale slash across
  an even paler face. The bones of his upper body were clearly, almost
  painfully, visible, as were his ribs. Thin, angry-looking red lines, the
  result of being bled repeatedly, traced spider-like webs across his chest and
  down