title: Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman
author: Elizabeth Abbott
description: "Has the irresistible appeal of celebrity gossip Full of fascinating details and illuminating insights."  <b><i>Kirkus Reviews</i></b><br /><br />"Refreshingly liberated from moral probity or censoriousness. Abbotts perspective, that of a seasoned, unbiased cultural historian, shines through this informed genealogy."  <b>Bookslut</b>
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  ![](images/00001.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  The Accidental Mistress
  
  Kate Harper
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
    
  
  Copyright Kate Harper 2011
  
    
  
  [www.kateharper.com](http://www.kateharper.com/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  Chapter One
  
  ‘I’ve heard a rumor,’ Lord Antony Fortnum had to raise his voice to be heard
  above the din of the Hellfire Club.
  
  Devereux gave his friend a sideways look, dark eyes amused. They’d shared the
  best part of three bottles of claret together and Tony was well in his cups.
  Dev, on the other hand, was more or less clearheaded; he had a reputation of
  being able to drink most men under the table.
  
  ‘Rumors are a sad fact of life, Tony. Which one is it this time? My impending
  marriage? I’ve challenged some other poor fool to a duel?’
  
  ‘They’re a little more sultry than that. The rumors are all around Alice
  Gaskell.’
  
  Dev arched an eyebrow, wondering how the hell word had gotten around about his
  interest in Alice. He’d been very discreet because, while Alice wasn’t
  marriageable