James and a footman rushed up the stairs, a heated knife, water, and towels in their arms. Horatia's next scream rent the air, and James nearly stumbled but caught himself as he reached the top stair. When he reached Lucien's room, he almost rushed in, thought better of himself, and knocked. Audrey opened the door, her face white as she grabbed the items from the footman. When she saw the knife, she just jerked her head for James to enter."I don't think I should""My sister does not care," Audrey cut in. James followed her inside, eyes downcast until he spotted Gillian at Horatia's feet.Bloody hellCharles rushed over to James and grabbed the knife. "Be ready to catch the babe, Gillian."James pressed himself against the wall, feeling useless and in the way, but he couldn't make himself leave. He was fixed on Gillian as she reached beneath the tent of Horatia's nightgown-clad legs and suddenly pulled out a small blueish-skinned baby. It was sticky and a little bloody and unmovin
Letty Fordyce waited nervously in the entryway to the Earl of Morrey's townhouse. A letter was inside her reticule, a letter full of salacious gossip, but Letty needed answers, and this was perhaps the one place she could get it.The butler appeared. "My apologies for the wait. His lordship will see you now."Letty followed the servant to a room on the second floor. She entered the drawing room and was struck by the general attractiveness of the furnishings. The Earl of Morrey had fine taste. A figure rose from a chair as she came deeper into the room. The man was tall with dark hair and striking gray eyes that made her knees oddly weak as he smiled at her. His face was attractive too, quite so, but it was his eyes that held her attention. They so reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite place who it was."Lady Letticia?" His voice was low and gentle, and the cadence of his speech held a hint of familiarity and intimacy that made her shiver. He spoke like a lovernot that she
James knelt at his mother's side, clutching her hand. Her breath was shallow and her eyes glassy, but she turned her head his way when he came into the room."My boy." The words escaped her lips in a faint whisper."I'm here, Mother, I'm here." He brushed his knuckles over her cheek, feeling the fever that met his fingertips. His body and soul filled with a bone-deep dread. "Where's your father?" his mother asked. "I want to see him."James's heart bled. His mother still couldn't remember, couldn't move past that period of her life when his father had still been alive."He'she's out hunting, Mother. I'm sure he'll be back shortly." For the hundredth time he wished that his father really was out hunting, that he had never died. Another sob escaped Letty as she got down on her knees on her mother's other side and buried her face in the bedding."Letty," their mother murmured, stroking her hand over Letty's dark hair. "I think your father is late" Lady Pembroke sounded amused, desp
Two weeks had passed since James's mother had died, yet he still felt her presence in the townhouse after he and Letty returned to London. He missed her with every breath, yet a part of him felt relieved that she was no longer suffering. She'd not been herself for several years, and he'd wished that if he could not have healed her, he could at least have her pain ended. While his heart was still broken, he knew that she was with his father now, and there, together, they could be happy. James lingered in the entry hall, hat in hand as he prepared himself for the day that would forever change his life. He was going to go and claim Gillian as his own. Publicly, in the manner she deserved. He knew she had promised to wait, and they had written to each other every day reaffirming their commitment, yet his stomach was tight with knots."James" His sister's voice made him turn. Letty descended the stairs, looking rather lovely in a simple lilac day gown proper for mourning and a shawl. It
One month laterGillian stood in the dining room of James's townhouse, her wedding gown whispering on the carpets as she walked around the long table. The guests would be arriving any minute from the church to attend the breakfast feast, but she had a few precious moments alone to admire the cook's creations. The table was laden with cakes and other delicacies, and there was an abundance of orange flowers that filed the air with their scent, making the room feel more like a garden. For so long she had been on the other side of this kind of life, the one who must be unseen and unheard, toiling away in the predawn hours and late into the night to make another person's life better. Now she was the one who would have anything she wished. It was strange rather than comforting to think about, and she knew it would take some getting used to being a lady rather than a lady's maid."Gillian?" Gillian turned to see her new sister-in-law standing in the doorway."Yes?" She studied Letty as she
BOOK SEVEN: His Wicked SecretAudrey Sheridan's eyes might have been on her reflection in her vanity mirror, but her mind was focused inward. Tonight, she was to embark on a dangerous mission: infiltrating a hellfire club in order to expose the members and their sordid acts to London society. As the secret columnist Lady Society, she prided herself on the articles she wrote for The Quizzing Glass Gazette. She did not write silly little pieces of fluff on who was marrying whom or who had worn the latest fashions from Paris wellthough she did so love to talk about fashion. Her articles were designed to push the boundaries of society. After all, the ton, if left to itself, would remain complacent and unmoved. A stagnant ground bereft of new ideas and enshrining only old ones. A place where progress would not be tolerated, let alone embraced.A smile curved her lips as she relished the thought of how tonight's foray into a dangerous club would shock everyone. She would be incognito,
Jonathan St. Laurent walked up the steps to the Sheridan townhouse, his heart racing. She was inside. The little sprite who had fueled too many fantasies of late. Her dark-brown eyes gazing into his, the deep rich coils of her russet-brown locks spread out over a pillow, her lips parted as she gasped and moaned his name. She was a woman full of passionand she scared the bloody hell out of him. She was the only woman he'd ever met who seemed to know exactly who she was and what she wanted out of life. She'd never want a man like him, not really. Her interest in him was no more than a game to her.And I'm the fool who wants to marry her, if she'll have me.He paused at the closed door, hesitating. Sweat gathered in his palms as he fought off a rush of nerves. He tugged on his riding gloves, trying to prepare himself to enter. Jonathan paused as he stared hard at the iron lion's head knocker.Last Christmas he had made a mess of things, but to be fair, she'd caught him off guard. Lucie
Audrey's breath burst from her lungs as Jonathan climbed the central stairs leading up to the other rooms in the Midnight Garden. He stopped only once, to demand a bedchamber, while Audrey shrieked until he smacked her arse with one hand. The blow hadn't hurt, but the message it sent was clearshe was no longer in charge. Normally, a loss of control would terrify her, but with Jonathan, it heated her blood. It made her feel faint.Probably because you're hanging upside down, you silly fool. She refused to let her body betray her, not when she had vowed to stop finding Jonathan attractive.He opened the door to the bedroom and slid the lock into place with a frightening finality before he set her down on the bed. Audrey's breath came easier. She would recover from being carried around like a sack of potatoes. Her artfully styled hair had started to come undone, and she pulled a few pins out of her messy locks and tossed them to the floor in frustration."Why didn't you just take me ho