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Untouched Mistress
Guy Tregellas, Viscount Varington, has a rakish reputation, and when he discovers a beautiful woman washed up on a beach he is more than intrigued. He doesn't believe her claims that she is a respectable widow and is determined to seduce the truth out of her!
Helena McGregor must escape Scotland to anonymity in London. For the past five years she has lived a shameful life, not of her choosing. But she needs the help of her disturbingly handsome rescuer as danger catches up with them….
Helena McGregor must escape Scotland to anonymity in London. For the past five years she has lived a shameful life, not of her choosing. But she needs the help of her disturbingly handsome rescuer as danger catches up with them….
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 23, 2007
About the author
Margaret McPhee
87 books52 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Margaret McPhee lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her husband and her pet rabbit called Gwinnie who, at eight years of age, is a grand old lady of the rabbit world. Margaret trained as a scientist, but was always a romantic at heart. She met her husband quite literally between science labs, on a staircase, which was an advantageous first meeting place given their difference in heights—Margaret is small—her husband, tall. It was love at first sight, despite the voluminous white coats, and they're still together fifteen years later.
As a child Margaret spent much of her time in an imaginary world. Her family always said she would grow out of it; she's still waiting. Romance entered the equation when she chanced upon one of her gran's Mills & Boon Historicals, and she never looked back. She's still reading them, but at least she now buys her own! Fortunately for Margaret her school library held a shelfful of old donated Georgette Heyer books. Be still her beating teenage heart. Her view on romance was skewed forever—dashing rakes in buckskin pantaloons and riding boots figure in it somewhere!
Margaret wrote two manuscripts and suffered numerous rejections from publishers and agents before joining the Romantic Novelists Association. A further two manuscripts later and with help from the Romantic Novelists Association's new writers' scheme, the regency romance The Captain's Lady was born.
Margaret enjoys cycling, tea and cakes (although not necessarily in that order), and loves exploring the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the islands of Scotland with her husband. She is ever hopeful that one day she will be lucky enough to see a basking shark in the Firth of Clyde, and a sea eagle in Skye.
Margaret McPhee lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her husband and her pet rabbit called Gwinnie who, at eight years of age, is a grand old lady of the rabbit world. Margaret trained as a scientist, but was always a romantic at heart. She met her husband quite literally between science labs, on a staircase, which was an advantageous first meeting place given their difference in heights—Margaret is small—her husband, tall. It was love at first sight, despite the voluminous white coats, and they're still together fifteen years later.
As a child Margaret spent much of her time in an imaginary world. Her family always said she would grow out of it; she's still waiting. Romance entered the equation when she chanced upon one of her gran's Mills & Boon Historicals, and she never looked back. She's still reading them, but at least she now buys her own! Fortunately for Margaret her school library held a shelfful of old donated Georgette Heyer books. Be still her beating teenage heart. Her view on romance was skewed forever—dashing rakes in buckskin pantaloons and riding boots figure in it somewhere!
Margaret wrote two manuscripts and suffered numerous rejections from publishers and agents before joining the Romantic Novelists Association. A further two manuscripts later and with help from the Romantic Novelists Association's new writers' scheme, the regency romance The Captain's Lady was born.
Margaret enjoys cycling, tea and cakes (although not necessarily in that order), and loves exploring the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the islands of Scotland with her husband. She is ever hopeful that one day she will be lucky enough to see a basking shark in the Firth of Clyde, and a sea eagle in Skye.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 5, 2022
Probably a 2.5 I could not get into this story. Ended up skipping pages just to finish it.
October 21, 2018
Guy Tregellas, Viscount Varington is visiting a friend in Scotland when he finds Helena McGregor on the beach. She has been the unwilling mistress of sir Stephen Tayburn for five years (she is now 27). The boat she was fleeing in capsized and she was washed up on the beach.
She wakes up a couple of days later and the first thing she tries to do is to run. The H stops her. And is intrigued by her. She says she is a widow named Mary, which he doesn't believe since she said her name was Helen when he found her. She wants to leave for London as soon as possible and the H persuades her to go with him since he is going home to London anyway. On the way, there is an accident with the couch and that is a sort of instigator to the h telling the H the truth (she was forced by Tayburn to become his mistress for five years to save her father.)
The H’s solution is for her to become his mistress, and that way gain protection.
She is draw to him and has never felt like this before. But she also feels that she will always be a whore if she agrees. The H tells her that he can protect her family from Tayburn. eventually she agrees. Guy doesn't blackmail her or tries to coerce her. He is really sincere about helping her and her father.
By this point half the book has gone by. Strangely even though nothing really happened it never got boring.
They go back to Scotland, to her father. But finds the house burnt down and her little sister gone. Taken by the villein.
Since he is on his way to London in pursuit of the two MCs the H decides to rescue the sister from the villeins layer.
During this time the H hasn't tried to get the h into bed. He’s waiting for her to be ready.
“He wanted to make love to her, to heal all the hurts that Tayburn had dealt her, but he did not know the depth of Helena’s wounds. She had been forced to Tayburn’s bed against her will and he’d be damned if he’d do anything similar. Despite his glib words to Weir, Guy knew that he would not attempt a seduction of any kind. He desired her with a force that gnawed at him night and day, but seduction smacked of bending her to his will, albeit in a more sophisticated fashion than the brutality Tayburn had used, and he could not do that to Helena, not after everything that she had endured.”
The H goes to the villein's home, which is a castle on an island. And now the book almost turns in to a gothic novel. Tayburn ha discover that the MCs hasn't gone to London and returns to his gothic castle just when the H is rescuing the sister. The h has discovered this and also goes to the island. A lot of confrontations and gothic scenes later and the villein is dead.
Deklarations of love. Marriage proposals. Sexy times and HEA!
The plot wasn't complicated so it felt like an easy read. Even if the h’s life hasn't been easy the book didn’t come of as dark. you didn't get to know what the villein did to her, just that it was a horrid experience. (I for one wouldn't’ have minded some more info of her life with him. I mean five years is a long time)
Even though this wasn’t a sexy book you could feel the sexual tension between the characters, especially at the beginning when the H is trying to figure out the h. It was all in the conversation I think. I would have liked the H to remain alpha through the book but he got demoted to beta hero at the half way point. He was a sweet H.
She wakes up a couple of days later and the first thing she tries to do is to run. The H stops her. And is intrigued by her. She says she is a widow named Mary, which he doesn't believe since she said her name was Helen when he found her. She wants to leave for London as soon as possible and the H persuades her to go with him since he is going home to London anyway. On the way, there is an accident with the couch and that is a sort of instigator to the h telling the H the truth (she was forced by Tayburn to become his mistress for five years to save her father.)
The H’s solution is for her to become his mistress, and that way gain protection.
She is draw to him and has never felt like this before. But she also feels that she will always be a whore if she agrees. The H tells her that he can protect her family from Tayburn. eventually she agrees. Guy doesn't blackmail her or tries to coerce her. He is really sincere about helping her and her father.
By this point half the book has gone by. Strangely even though nothing really happened it never got boring.
They go back to Scotland, to her father. But finds the house burnt down and her little sister gone. Taken by the villein.
Since he is on his way to London in pursuit of the two MCs the H decides to rescue the sister from the villeins layer.
During this time the H hasn't tried to get the h into bed. He’s waiting for her to be ready.
“He wanted to make love to her, to heal all the hurts that Tayburn had dealt her, but he did not know the depth of Helena’s wounds. She had been forced to Tayburn’s bed against her will and he’d be damned if he’d do anything similar. Despite his glib words to Weir, Guy knew that he would not attempt a seduction of any kind. He desired her with a force that gnawed at him night and day, but seduction smacked of bending her to his will, albeit in a more sophisticated fashion than the brutality Tayburn had used, and he could not do that to Helena, not after everything that she had endured.”
The H goes to the villein's home, which is a castle on an island. And now the book almost turns in to a gothic novel. Tayburn ha discover that the MCs hasn't gone to London and returns to his gothic castle just when the H is rescuing the sister. The h has discovered this and also goes to the island. A lot of confrontations and gothic scenes later and the villein is dead.
Deklarations of love. Marriage proposals. Sexy times and HEA!
The plot wasn't complicated so it felt like an easy read. Even if the h’s life hasn't been easy the book didn’t come of as dark. you didn't get to know what the villein did to her, just that it was a horrid experience. (I for one wouldn't’ have minded some more info of her life with him. I mean five years is a long time)
Even though this wasn’t a sexy book you could feel the sexual tension between the characters, especially at the beginning when the H is trying to figure out the h. It was all in the conversation I think. I would have liked the H to remain alpha through the book but he got demoted to beta hero at the half way point. He was a sweet H.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2019
it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, but:
-the characters had no personality
-the villain was just evil. nothin else. I was waiting for his backstory, what made him complex, but... nothing
-I thought I liked the damsel-in-distress/savior trope but oh my GOSH helena was literally just so “I’m worthless” and every time we got a monologue about it it was no different from the last
-and his whole thing was “don’t think of the villain aha ur so sexy” if u know what I mean
-not enough romance, too much plot imo
-I was expecting more romance for my first harlequin book. sad
-hard to develop a compelling romance when the characters are just SO BORING though
-idk I had a fun time showing my friends that I was reading this though
-maybe I’ll read a better-written harlequin but I’m glad to have completed this rite of passage
-oh my gosh I almost forgot about her skin was like cream. did you know her skin is so creamy? like beautiful white cream, her skin is. so stark against the richness of her full red hair, and her dark green eyes, and I literally cannot Stand It
-multiple moments of “shes not aware of her own beauty”
ok ya this book was bad I don’t want to commit any more of my time to it thx bye
-the characters had no personality
-the villain was just evil. nothin else. I was waiting for his backstory, what made him complex, but... nothing
-I thought I liked the damsel-in-distress/savior trope but oh my GOSH helena was literally just so “I’m worthless” and every time we got a monologue about it it was no different from the last
-and his whole thing was “don’t think of the villain aha ur so sexy” if u know what I mean
-not enough romance, too much plot imo
-I was expecting more romance for my first harlequin book. sad
-hard to develop a compelling romance when the characters are just SO BORING though
-idk I had a fun time showing my friends that I was reading this though
-maybe I’ll read a better-written harlequin but I’m glad to have completed this rite of passage
-oh my gosh I almost forgot about her skin was like cream. did you know her skin is so creamy? like beautiful white cream, her skin is. so stark against the richness of her full red hair, and her dark green eyes, and I literally cannot Stand It
-multiple moments of “shes not aware of her own beauty”
ok ya this book was bad I don’t want to commit any more of my time to it thx bye
May 2, 2019
The kind of story I enjoy, fast paced with plenty going on. A good action packed story bordering on the gothic with a really nasty villain. The alpha-hero is a little arrogant and flirtatious but you love him anyway. The heroine, although at first secretive, has honourable reasons for holding back. I always feel that Mills and Boon historical novels have the most unimaginative titles and tend to ignore them when choosing what to read, but the title of this book does have interesting reasoning behind it.
A good read. highly recommended.
A good read. highly recommended.
April 24, 2022
This wasn't a bad book at all. A bit melodramatic in places, and I'm getting a bit bored of the evil-with-no-redeeming-qualities-ex-lover plot, but it was pretty well written and kept me reading. Just a little more creativity with the bad guy would have been nice. :)
November 3, 2017
leído en Julio 2011
April 15, 2019
Intriguing story but too much violence.
December 9, 2016
Solid read, really bad bad guy, likable/admirable heroes. Brisk pace and hardly a moment's pause in the action, which is a different take on the usual talky Regency. Because there was so much action, the character development was spare. Present but not time taken with who they were, rather, a lot spent on why they were *doing.* Which fits an almost nonstop action Regency, I suppose. However, for my nitpick, I'd happily trade the carriage accident for some character moments and growth [and Hero could have as easily found a way to prove himself to Heroine in that as the carriage accident rescue].
Incidentally, I found the title and blurb somewhat misleading. I'm sure that's because my going-in expectation was for a talky Regency, not an action Regency, and the action Regency made the promised events unfold much differently with a different quality. Not a biggie, but there was enough of a disconnect to have me mention.
Kept me reading in one go until I finished. Handily dispatched--from the writer's pen & by me.
Side observation: There sure are a ton of green-eyed redheads as the 'beautiful yet outsider' heroine in historicals.
Incidentally, I found the title and blurb somewhat misleading. I'm sure that's because my going-in expectation was for a talky Regency, not an action Regency, and the action Regency made the promised events unfold much differently with a different quality. Not a biggie, but there was enough of a disconnect to have me mention.
Kept me reading in one go until I finished. Handily dispatched--from the writer's pen & by me.
Side observation: There sure are a ton of green-eyed redheads as the 'beautiful yet outsider' heroine in historicals.
June 14, 2014
i had a hard time imagning the accents. i just read another scotish love novel and the speech was easier to imagine. if youre looking for a lust filled novel, this is not it. if youre looking for a sappy thriller, you found it. its not awful, its not amazing. i finished it quickly but it was a good, fun read.
September 30, 2014
I really enjoyed this action packed story; it had everything - a really wicked villain, a beautiful heroine, an alpha male hero, a near drowning, a coach crash; it had some real nail-biting moments!I was on the edge of my seat until almost the last page. When looking for another action packed Regency romance I'll look to this author again.
May 10, 2011
I guess this is what they call a Gothic novel - the over-the-top evil villain, his sinister castle perched on the edge of a cliff by the sea, the traumatized but ethereally beautiful heroine, the brave hero. It was a fun read, but not very emotionally involving.
August 29, 2013
This wasn't a bad book at all. A bit melodramatic in places, and I'm getting a bit bored of the evil-with-no-redeeming-qualities-ex-lover plot, but it was pretty well written and kept me reading. Just a little more creativity with the bad guy would have been nice. :)
January 26, 2009
A+ !!! Great book - I highly recommend you read if you love a good regency romance.
January 8, 2015
Beautiful! Love in its perfect sense!
January 6, 2016
It was a fun book to read. It had adventure, suspense, an evil villain and of course a HEA.
December 12, 2011
2nd book after The Wicked Earl. The hero is Guy, the younger brother. Good read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews