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Praise for the SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series
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âEthan Ryder (is) a bad boy to die for! A memorable story of intense emotions, scandals, trust, betrayal and all-encompassing love. A fresh and engrossing tale.â
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âHistorical romance at its very best is written by Nicola Cornick.â
âMary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer
Acclaim for Nicola's previous books
âWitty banter, lively action and sizzling passionâ
âLibrary Journal on Undoing of a Lady
âRITA>® Award-nominated Cornick deftly steeps her latest intriguingly complex Regency historical in a beguiling blend of danger and desire.â âBooklist on Unmasked
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WHISPER OF SCANDAL
ONE WICKED SIN MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT NOTORIOUS DESIRED FORBIDDEN
Also available fromNicola Cornick
DECEIVED
LORD OF SCANDAL UNMASKED THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT THE UNDOING OF A LADY DAUNTSEY PARK: THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON
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PROLOGUE
Forres Castle, Scotland, June 1803
IT WAS A NIGHT made for magic.
The moon was new that night and the sea was a thread of shining silver. The wind sighed through the pine trees and there was the scent of salt on its edge.
âLucy! Come and watch!â
Lady Lucy MacMorlan turned over in bed and drew the covers up more closely about her ears. She was warm and cozy and she had no urge to leave the cocoon of the blankets in order to shiver in the draught by the window. Besides, she did not want to join in with her sister Alice in casting a spell. They were foolish and dangerous and would only get the two of them into trouble.
âIâm not getting up,â she said, wriggling her toes in the warmth. âI donât want a husband.â
âOf course you do.â Alice sounded impatient. At sixteen, Lucyâs twin was fascinated by balls and gowns and men. Earlier that evening, Alice had run three times around the ancient sundial in the castle grounds, reciting the words of the equally ancient love spell that on the new moon would give her a glimpse of the man she would wed. Lucy had stayed in the library, reading a copy of Humeâs Essays Moral and Political. Now, after sunset, Alice was awaiting the outcome of her enchantment.
âOf course you will marry,â Alice said again. âWhat else would you do?â
Read, Lucy thought. Read and write and study. It was more fun.
âEveryone marries.â Alice sounded grown-up, knowledgeable. âWe are to make alliances and have children. Itâs what the daughters of a duke do. Everyone says so.â
Marry. Have children.
Lucy thought about it, considering the idea rationally as she did all ideas. It was true that it was expected of them, and no doubt it was what their mother would have wanted. She had died when Lucy and Alice were no more than a few years old, but everyone said she had been the diamond of her generation, the elegant daughter of the Earl of Stratharnon who had made a dazzling match and produced a perfect brood of children. Lucy and Aliceâs elder sister Mairi was eighteen and already wed. Lucy was not averse to the idea, but she thought she would have to meet a man who was more interesting than a book, and that was more difficult than it sounded.
âLucy!â Aliceâs voice had turned sharp. âLook! Oh look, some of the gentlemen are coming out onto the terrace with their brandy! Which one will I see first? He will be my true love.â
âYou have windmills in your head,â Lucy said, âto believe such nonsense.â
Alice was not crushed. She never listened when she was excited. Their father was hosting a dinner that evening, but both his younger daughters were still in the schoolroom and had not been invited. There was a pause. Through the open window, Lucy could hear the sound of voices from below now, masculine laughter. A trace of cigar smoke tickled her nose. There was the clink of glass on stone.
âOh!â Alice sounded intrigued. âWho is that? I canât see his face clearlyââ
âThat will be because he has his back to you,â Lucy said crossly. She was trying to sleep, but it was impossible while Alice kept talking. âRemember the spell. If he has his back to you, that means he will be a false love, not a true one.â