He smiled and pressed a kiss to her neck before lifting his head and whispering, hot and wonderful at her ear, “When we’re alone, I shall keep you warm in other ways.”
And then he set about doing just that.
Which suited her quite well, indeed.
Nearly one week later, following tradition held sacrosanct by gentlemen across Britain, the founder of the Fallen Angel sat down to breakfast, and read the morning paper.
On this particular day, however, Chase broke with tradition, and began with the Society pages:
The Duke of Lamont and Miss Mara Lowe were married at Christmas in the chapel at Whitefawn Abbey, the place where they met for the first time, on a fated night, twelve years ago.
The nuptials reportedly attracted a wide array of guests including several of London’s most notorious scoundrels and their wives, two dozen boys aged three to eleven, a French chef, a governess, and a pig. No doubt when this caravan of oddities trundled up the long drive of Whitefawn Abbey, the servants in residence worried for their security. And their sanity.
It should be mentioned, however, that the group, while lewd at times and raucous more often than not, is reported to have been tremendously well behaved for the ceremony itself, witnessing the rite with the happy solemnity that should be afforded such an occasion.
All but the pig, we are told. Apparently, she slept through the whole thing.
The News of Britain
December 30, 1831
With a satisfied smile, Chase closed the paper and finished breakfast before standing, smoothing her skirts, and leaving the house.
After all, she had a gaming hell to run.
Author’s Note
Medicine in the 1830s left a great deal to be desired. With virtually no understanding of germ theory, a man could die from far less than a knife wound, and a stabbing came with a very real threat of death, even if the blade missed all the major organs. Of course, when you’re writing a book, none of this occurs to you—especially when you’re writing a hero who is something of a magnet for violence.
Therefore, writers like me are very lucky to have dear friends who happen to be talented doctors. Many many thanks go to Dr. Daniel Medel, who put up with my crazy texts and late-night phone calls about stabbings and knife wounds and bloodletting and nerve damage, and never once told me Temple’s survival was impossible, assuming the knife was somehow luckily and fastidiously clean. Which it was. I promise. It goes without saying that any medical errors in the book are entirely my own.
As with all my books, this one could not have been written without the always-right insight of my literary Sherpa, Carrie Feron, and the hard work of Tessa Woodward, Nicole Fischer, Pam Spengler-Jaffee, Jessie Edwards, Caroline Perny, Shawn Nicholls, Tom Egner, Gail Dubov, Carla Parker, Brian Grogan, Eleanor Mikucki, and the rest of the unparalleled Avon Books team.
As ever, thank you to Sabrina Darby, Carrie Ryan, Sophie Jordan, Melissa Walker, Lily Everett, and Randi Silberman Klett for your help with Temple and Mara’s story, and to Aprilynne Pike and Sarah Rees Brennan for emergency lunch that ended with both fresh ideas and Mara’s heterochromia.
I’ve saved you for last! Thank you for taking this journey with my scoundrels, for loving them as much as I do, and for the endless encouragement online and by mail. I hope you’ll join me for the Fourth Rule of Scoundrels—Chase’s story—in 2014.
About the Author
SARAH MACLEAN grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance and bemoaning the fact that she was born centuries too late for her own season. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book. Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She loves to hear from readers.
Please visit www.macleanspace.com.
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Romances by Sarah MacLean
Rule of Scoundrels
NO GOOD DUKE GOES UNPUNISHED
ONE GOOD EARL DESERVES A LOVER
A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME
Love by Numbers
ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART
TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD
NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE
THE SEASON