By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking-in London’s darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city’s most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered…until now.

Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana’s secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear…including her heart.

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He chuckled. “If wishing made it so.” He spun her across the floor, the candles lit around the room leaving trails of light across her field of vision.

“Langley has arrived.”

The viscount had entered not five minutes earlier. She’d noticed immediately. “I saw.”

“You don’t expect a real marriage from him,” Temple said.

“I don’t.”

“Then why not do what you do best?”

Her gaze flickered to the handsome man on the other side of the room. Her choice for husband. “You think blackmail is the best way to go about securing a husband?”

He smiled. “I was blackmailed in advance of finding a wife.”

“Yes, well, I am told that most men are not such masochists, Temple. You’ve been saying I should marry for more than a year. You and Bourne and Cross,” she added, ticking off her partners in The Fallen Angel. “Not to mention my brother.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard that the Duke of Leighton has placed a heavy dowry on your head. It’s remarkable you are able to stand upright. But what of love?”

“Love?” It was difficult to voice the word without the disdain.

“You’ve heard of it, no doubt. Sonnets and poems and happy-ever-after?”

“I’ve heard of it,” she said. “As we are discussing marriage at best for convenience and at worst for debt relief, I hardly think a lack of love is of issue,” she said. “And besides, it is a fool’s errand.”

He watched her for a long moment. “And you are surrounded by fools.”

She cut him a look. “Every one of you. Besotted beyond reason. And look at what has happened because of it.”

He raised his dark brows. “What? Marriage? Children? Happiness?”

She sighed. They’d had the conversation a hundred times. A thousand. Her partners were so idyllically matched that they could not help but foist it on everyone around them. What they did not know was that idyll was not for Georgiana. She pushed the thought away. “I am happy,” she lied.

“No. You are rich. And you are powerful. But you are not happy.”

“Happiness is too highly prized,” she said with a shrug, as he turned her across the room. “It’s worth nothing.”

“It’s worth everything.” They danced in silence for a long moment. “Which you see, as you wouldn’t be doing this if not for happiness.”

“Not mine. Caroline’s.”

About the Author:

Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance and bemoaning the fact that she was born far 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, baby daughter, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She loves to hear from readers. Please visit her at www.macleanspace.com

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Jennifer’s Review of Never Judge A Lady by Her Cover

Review (5 Stars): This is the final book in the Rules of Scoundrels and is the perfect ending to a deliciously romantic series.  Lady Georgiana has spent the last ten years as a ruined woman, unwed mother and an outcast of London society.  To protect her daughter from the same fate, Georgiana is on the hunt to marry a man with a title to give her daughter a fighting chance at a happy life.  Duncan West, newspaper owner, has always been attracted to Lady Georgiana and sympathetic to what has happened in the past to this beautiful young woman.  What Duncan soon learns is that Georgiana has been harboring dark secrets for years and these secrets may destroy everything that she has been planning for her new life.  Duncan is now on a mission to bring these secrets to light but finds that by doing so may break what is left of her precious heart.

Lady Georgiana was an amazing character since she protected her secret identity for so long and no one had any clue what she was capable of doing to London society.  She used the secrets that she discovered while working at The Fallen Angel club to help her one day gain access back into society to help her daughter achieve what she could not.  She was smart, brave and fiercely protective of her young daughter, making her one of my favorite female characters to date.  She once believed in love but those dreams were shattered when a man took her reputation and her heart in one brief moment that she could never take back.  I was hoping that she would give love one final chance to make things right and I’m glad that she gave her heart to the one man who wouldn’t break it.

Never Judge A Lady by Her Cover was a story that had me captivated from the very first page and I was hoping that Lady Georgiana would finally receive her happy ending after so much heart break.  Ms. MacLean has written such amazing books over the years and Never Judge A Lady by Her Cover is a perfect addition to her long list of historical romances.  Can’t wait to read what she publishes next and I’m looking forward to revisiting this series again in the future.

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Penelope Rutledge longs for passion, but only with the man of her dreams: the brilliant, dashing Ethan Weatherstone. If only her longtime neighbor would open his eyes and realize how much she loves him. If only they weren’t best friends with so much at stake. Penelope knows her future – and their friendship – is in her hands, but is she willing to take the biggest risk of all on the man she loves?

If it were up to Ethan, life and love would be as predictable as the figures in his ledgers – certainly nothing like the adventures Penelope longs for. Yet his childhood friend has grown into a beautiful, feisty woman blissfully unaware of the danger she causes when near. Ethan knows he must save Penelope-and her reputation…but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?

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Ethan Weatherstone was due for a piece of her mind. It was about time he understood that he had no right to interfere with her life.

Mind made up, she took one last look at the mail coach and shook her head. She reached down for her satchel and stormed over to Ethan’s carriage.

Penelope threw open the door and climbed inside, seething as she sat across from him. He didn’t even have the courtesy to look at her. Instead, he sat back against the squabs, his head turned to the window. The only reason she knew he was aware of her presence was from the way he clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching just beneath the surface of his skin.

“Were you waiting to humiliate me? Waiting until I was already seated before you dragged me away from the mail coach? Or perhaps you planned to follow me all the way to Portsmouth?”

He refused to respond or even so much as look at her. If she hadn’t been angry before she entered the carriage, then she certainly was fuming now.

“Truly, Ethan, for someone who cannot live outside the lines of your carefully crafted order, your sameness that covers you like a shroud, this is quite surprising behavior,” she hissed, baiting him. “I only wish your concern for my happiness were as great as your concern for my reputation.”

At that, he glared at her sharply. Ah, so she’d struck a chord.

Good. Yet still, he did not say anything.

There he sat, perfectly groomed, his cravat perfectly pleated, his temper perfectly managed. She wished just once he’d lose some of that control. Because here she sat, with her eyes, most likely puffy and red from having cried most of the night instead of sleeping. She was certainly not perfectly groomed, since she could feel a soggy tendril of hair plastered to her cheek. Her cloak was damp from rain. Her nose was cold and likely red as well.

“How can you be so . . . so unaffected all the time?” Her voice rose with her accusation. “Haven’t you ever dreamed for something outside the realm of possibility? Or are you content with each day so long as your cravat is perfectly pleated?”

She glared at the offending garment, struck by a ridiculous notion to crumple it. No sooner had the idea formed that she gave in to the impulse and moved forward on her seat, her arm reaching forward.

Ethan stopped her, taking hold of her wrist. His eyes flared. Before she could react, he yanked, propelling her forward to land clumsily on his lap.

“How dare—”

His mouth covered hers, silencing her outrage. Her head spun, reeling from the sudden scorching heat of his kiss.

This was a kiss, wasn’t it? Yet, it was nothing like her dreams, where his rehearsed request was followed by carefully controlled actions. No, this was no gentle dream. This was hard and demanding. His tongue didn’t request entrance but swept in and plundered.

His arms were not gentle either. In fact, he held her so tightly she couldn’t move, and grasped her wrist so she couldn’t touch him or push him away.

But she’d never push him away.

Instead, she wanted to cling to him. Her anger evaporated in a rush of steam. Her mind cried out for more of this glorious punishment. She wanted his kiss to burn her, through and through. This was the first time she’d been warm in months.

About the Author:

I fell in love with fairy tales and the romance behind happily ever after at a very young age. Like a lot of you, I tweaked the fables bit by bit in my imagination until they suited me perfectly. By the time I was eleven, a teacher encouraged me to start writing. Throughout the years that followed, my teachers remained my most fervent supporters, giving me the tools I needed to continue my journey as a writer.

My husband and I have two teenage boys, who are heroes in their own right. For now, we live in a small Midwestern town near Lake Michigan…until a time in the future when a new adventure calls us to other shores. I am currently working on my next novel, but I always enjoy hearing from my readers. Feel free to email me at vivienne@vivlorret.net.

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Jennifer’s Review of Tempting Mr. Weatherstone

Review (3.75 Stars): Penelope has always loved Ethan Weatherstone but he has always acted as though she was a kid sister to him.  Tired of living this way and wanting something more, Penelope decides that she is ready to set off on an exciting new adventure.  Ethan has slowly noticed that his best friend, Penelope, has turned into a beautiful young woman and is caught off guard with announcement of Pen’s plan.  He has organized his life by routines, numbers and books and isn’t sure what to make of Penelope’s new plan for her life.  Ethan must make a choice to change with Penelope or possibly lose his best friend forever by standing by and doing nothing.

Penelope was a great character for me because she spent most of her life being best friend to Ethan when she always wanted something more but was afraid to act on it.  Ethan and Penelope had this great friendship that slowly developed into something more before either of them knew what was happening.  I was glad that Penelope finally acted on her feelings and she got the happy ending that she was hoping for.  This novella is very short but the story moves quickly and has a sweet ending.

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In New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle’s fourth novel in the Rhymes With Love series, a resolute young woman goes toe-to-toe with the Beast of Mayfair…

She has no desire for love…

As she arrives in Mayfair, Louisa Tempest is horrified when her incorrigible cat bolts from the carriage and dashes into a neighbor’s house, where she comes face-to-face with the reclusive Viscount Wakefield. But even more dismaying than his foul temper is the disarray in which she finds his home. Convinced his demeanor would improve if his household were in order, Louisa resolves to put everything to rights.

…until she meets the viscount who lives down the lane.
Much to his chagrin, Wakefield finds it impossible to keep the meddling Louisa out of his home, invading his daily life with her “improvements,” and his nights with the tempting desires she sparks inside him. Wounded in the war, he’s scorned society ever since his return . . . until Louisa opens the door to his heart and convinces him to give love a second chance.

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London, Hanover Square

November 1810

“What is it, Haley?” Lord Charleton asked, sparing a glance at the door of the breakfast room where his secretary stood, hovering about like a nervous sparrow. “Is it Rowland? Tell me he hasn’t landed in the suds yet again.”

“No, my lord.”

The man’s brow furrowed a bit. “Couldn’t be Wakefield.”

“Certainly not, my lord.”

The baron glanced up. “Wouldn’t mind if it was. Demmed waste having him mope about, locked up in that house of his.”

“Indeed,” the secretary replied, and if Charleton wasn’t mistaken, there was a note of irony to the man’s declaration—one he chose to ignore, instead pinning a glance on the impudent fellow.

Under the scrutiny, Haley’s jaw worked back and forth as if the words were stuck there in his craw.

“Well?” Lord Charleton prodded. “Out with it. Before my kippers grow cold.” As it was, the baron shoved his plate forward and set down the paper he’d been reading.

Mr. Haley cleared his throat and held out a letter. “I’ve come across a small debt your wife owed—”

There it was. That cold stillness that came every time someone had the nerve to mention Isobel’s name.  How  Lord  Charleton  wished  he  could forget her passing so this wrenching pain would fade from his heart. Yet, still, even a year after her loss, it was a sharp ache he woke up with, one that haunted him even after he closed his eyes at night.

Now here was his secretary bringing her up when he’d quite forbidden the matter.

“Pay it,” he ordered in a tone that said he wanted nothing further to do with any reminders of her.

“But, my lord—” Haley shuffled about.

Lord Charleton removed his glasses and slowly cleaned them. Then once they were perched back up on his nose he stared coldly at the fellow. He was a good man, Haley. An excellent secretary, but why the man continued to bring up Lady Charleton, the baron could not understand. Speaking slowly and deliberately, so there was no mistaking the matter, he said, “You know what to do. Take care of the matter and leave me be.”

“If you insist, my lord . . .” Haley’s voice trailed off tentatively. It wasn’t so much a reply as one last prod.

Truly? He was going to ask yet again? If he wasn’t the most thorough and honest fellow the baron had ever hired—well, actually Lady Charleton had found him and insisted he be hired, but that wasn’t the point. Haley had become rather cheeky of late and Charleton wanted nothing more than to fire him on the spot.

But Isobel wouldn’t have approved, and so Charlton inclined his head, reined back his ire and said with a final note, “Just see to it as Her Lady- ship would have wanted.” Then he went back to his paper and ignored Haley, who stood for a few more moments in the doorway.

And if the baron had looked up, he might have seen the wry, wily smile that had led Lady Charleton to hire Mr. Haley in the first place.

CHAPTER 1

London
Six months later

Areowwwwww!  The unholy complaint filled the carriage.

“You should have left that foul creature back in Kempton,  Miss  Tempest,”  Mrs.  Bagley-Butterton complained for about the hundredth time.
Which equaled the number of times Hannibal had let out that ear-piercing yowl from the basket in which he was trapped.

“He  doesn’t  like  being  penned  up  so,”  Miss Louisa Tempest said in defense of her cat. “And I couldn’t leave him behind.”

There  was  a  sigh  of  resignation  from  beside Louisa. Miss Lavinia Tempest, Louisa’s twin, made a very deliberate show of looking out the window. She wasn’t about to rise to Hannibal’s defense.

Never would.

Louisa suspected her sister shared Mrs. Bagley- Butterton’s exasperation and wished poor Hannibal back in Kempton as well.

“I only hope your godmother is an understanding sort,” the matron continued, shifting in her seat in the carriage and eyeing the large basket on Louisa’s lap with an air of disdain and suspicion. She had protested vehemently against the cat being brought along, but she could hardly prevent the matter when the carriage conveying them to London belonged to the girls’ father, Sir Ambrose Tempest. “I know I wouldn’t have that cat in my house.” She sniffed loudly.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Boyle was an antipiracy paralegal for Microsoft before settling down to write full-time. Her first novel, Brazen Angel, which won Dell’s Diamond Debut Award in 1996, also won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best First Book, and was a finalist for Best Long Historical Romance. She lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington. She is also the author of Brazen Heiress.

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Jennifer’s Review of The Viscount Who Lived Down The Lane

Review (4.5 Stars): What a lovely story!  Louisa Tempest and her twin sister, Lavinia, have come to London to stay with their godmother and to help Lavinia find herself a husband.  Louisa wants no part of any matchmaking herself and tries to find other ways to occupy her time while her sister prepares for the Season.  When her disagreeable cat, Hannibal, runs into the house next door uninvited, Louisa comes face to face with Viscount Wakefield, who doesn’t take kindly to visitors in his home.  Wakefield has been secluded in his home after being injured in the war and wants nothing more than to wallow in his own self-pity and hide from the rest of the world.  Louisa takes it upon herself to help her neighbor by doing little things to make his life better and in turn, shows Wakefield that life is worth living and love is waiting for him, if he just gives it a chance.

Louisa was such a sweet character, who just wanted to help the people in her life achieve their hopes and dreams.  She had no desire to get married because of “the curse” but wanted to make sure her sister had a chance at finding love.  When she met Viscount Wakefield, he was mean, rude and just hated the world around him.  He didn’t want help from anyone, especially not the beautiful woman that lived next door, who seemed to be meddling in his affairs.  She was the light in his world of darkness and by doing the things she did, she brought hope back into his life.  She also brought a chance of love and happiness for him, he just had to accept it and show Louisa how he felt about her.  They were a great couple even though they were exact opposites but sometimes those make the best couples.

This is the fourth book in the Rhymes with Love series and each story in the series is wonderful.  I love Ms. Boyle’s writing style and each story can stand on its own without having to read the rest of the books in the series.  I loved Louisa and Wakefield’s story and I hope that there are many more books to come in the Rhymes with Love series.

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Readers of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Sabrina Jeffries will love Ashlyn Macnamara’s novel about a smoldering new love that is threatened by past betrayals.

Viscount Lindenhurst cannot seem to find a governess who meets his impossible standards—until Cecelia Sanford becomes the first woman to interrupt the widower’s brooding in years. Lind had returned home from the Napoleonic wars, broken in body and soul and longing for his wife’s embrace, only to find her changed. Before they could reconcile, an accident struck their son and claimed her life. Now enter Cecelia, with her soft curves and sharp tongue—a tempting distraction, it is true, but not a welcome one.

Past the usual marrying age and haunted by a scandal of her own, Cecelia soon finds herself caring for both the child and the man. The viscount is brittle and even abrupt at times, yet she cannot deny the attraction that stirs her body in his presence. Moved by the deep sense of abandonment that tortures his soul, Cecelia aches to fully awaken Lind’s heart from its rancorous slumber—if she can just keep their pasts from destroying a second chance at love.

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He refused to give in to the temptation to dismount. To approach her. She was a governess, for God’s sake, and the younger sister of a man he’d once deemed a friend. Reason enough to stay away, no matter how deucedly attractive he found her. “That is the accepted method for gaining entrance to a proper school when the time comes.”

“And what will you do when he shows no desire to deal with the vagaries of the first declension, let alone the third?”

He arched a brow at her, an expression usually guaranteed to cow the most recalcitrant servant. “And what do you know of such things?”

A smile flitted across her lips, evaporating so quickly, he wondered if he’d really seen it. “Perhaps I listened in when Alexander had lessons. But no matter. You are skirting the issue.”

“And what is the issue?” Besides the fact that he was the employer and thus set the rules.

“I’ve no idea if Latin is among his aptitudes or even his interests, but he has shown me one area that fascinates him.”

Good Lord, he knew what was coming. One of the other governesses had tried to discuss the boy with him. And what was her name? He’d been through so many he couldn’t recall, even if the conversation hadn’t taken place all that long ago. “I do not wish to discuss the boy’s obsession with those soldiers of his.”

“How can you not?” She stepped toward him, one hand outstretched, approaching his thigh. Near. Too near. “This might be the key to convincing him reading and writing are worth learning.”

God help her if she so much as grazed her fingertips against his leg. He wasn’t at all sure he could take responsibility for the outcome, not the way his body yearned toward hers. Not the way his cock came fully erect at the thought of her touch. He suppressed an urge to rein Judas away.

How long since he’d let a woman touch him? Not since Lydia. And even that had been ages before he’d lost her.

With his wife, he’d felt like a whole being. Complete. That was, until he’d discovered the truth.

And now, what kind of man would give in to his appetites like some mindless animal, no matter how long he’d done without female companionship? He ought to have learned to control himself long since.

“The last thing he needs is to be encouraged toward the military.” He forced the statement through his teeth as precisely as if he were giving orders. “Do you think the army would take him in his state?”

Her fingers wavered, and she curled them into a fist. Thank God. He well remembered her as a girl, those hands always in motion, fluttering like birds, brushing against various and sundry. She’d damned well better keep them away from him.

About the Author:

Ashlyn Macnamara is the author of What a Lady Craves, A Most Devilish Rogue, and A Most Scandalous Proposal. She lives in the wilds of suburbia outside of Montreal with her husband and two teenage daughters. When not writing, she looks for other excuses to neglect the housework, among them knitting, reading, and wasting time on the Internet in the guise of doing research.

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Jennifer’s Review of What A Lady Demands

Review (3.75 Stars): I love romances where the main character is a tortured dark hero that pushes everyone away from him and has a strong young woman that is brave enough to break down the walls around his heart. Cecelia has always been attracted to Lind but has never acted on it until she gets the opportunity to care for him and his son after the death of his wife.  I loved that she was spunky enough to deal with Lind’s personality and not be afraid of him when he was pushing people away from him.  It took me a while to warm up to him but I could definitely see what attracted Cecelia to him and the sparks flew whenever they were together.  Ms. Macnamara is a new author to me but I enjoyed What A Lady Demands and am looking forward to reading the first book in the series, What a Lady Craves.

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The bride and groom cordially request your presence for a wedding at Millworth Manor…

Guests will include Jackson Quincy Graham Channing, New York City banker, and Lady Theodosia “Teddy” Winslow, wedding planner to the finest families in England.

Introductions shall be followed by light conversation, dancing, flirtation, arguing, reconciliation, and an impulsive kiss that both parties are quite certain they will never repeat.

Until they do.

A mutually beneficial fake engagement will be accompanied by all manner of very real complications, scandalous revelations, nefarious schemes, and one inescapable conclusion: That true love—unlike the perfect wedding—is impossible to plan…

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Teddy gazed out over the crowd and wondered what these people would say if they knew this wasn’t just the eccentric hobby of the countess and her daughter. If they knew her father’s death four years ago had left them very nearly penniless and with debts still to be paid off. Only her closest and oldest friend, the bride’s sister Delilah, Lady Hargate, knew the truth. But Dee would take Teddy’s secret to the grave if necessary. There were any number of sins the upper ten thousand would forgive. Poverty was not one of them.

“You do realize that you’ve missed someone,” an American voice said behind her.

She turned and adopted her most pleasant smile. “I beg your pardon.”

“You missed someone,” he said again.

She was tall but he was taller and she had to raise her chin to meet his gaze. His eyes were a rich blue that complemented the dark shade of his hair. His jaw was square, his shoulders broad, and while not shockingly handsome, he was certainly an attractive-looking man. There was the vaguest air of familiarity about him although she was sure they had never met. He was obviously one of Grayson’s American friends.

“Did I?”

“I’ve been watching you and I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be making sure everyone is dancing or otherwise engaged.”

“You’ve been watching me?” She raised a brow. “I’m not certain if I should be flattered or alarmed.”

He smiled, a charming, infectious sort of smile. “I assure you, my intentions are strictly honorable.”

“Then tell me.” She glanced around the room. “Who have I missed?”

“Me of course.” He paused. “And you.”

“I see.” She considered him for a moment.

It was not uncommon for Teddy to join in the festivities at an event. Indeed, one of the benefits of hiring Teddy was having Lady Theodosia present at a social event. She was from a prominent family, the daughter of an earl, and was once one of the most sought after marriageable ladies in the country. Of course, that was several years ago. She was twenty-six now and while her mirror told her she had never looked better, age was as much of a stigma in her world as poverty. Not that she didn’t wish to marry, the right man had simply never happened her way. And the one she had thought was right had turned out to be very, very wrong.

“One dance, that’s all,” he said quickly. “Save me from the dire fate of having only myself for company.”

“That does sound dreadful.”

“You have no idea.” His brow furrowed. “I don’t seem to be doing this well.” The American leaned closer in a confidential manner. “May I be perfectly honest with you?”

She smiled. “I much prefer honesty to dishonesty.”

“Good.” A decidedly uncomfortable look crossed his face.

“I accompanied my father here but he seems to have disappeared. And aside from him, I don’t know anyone else here to speak of. I feel both invisible and conspicuous, if that’s at all possible. I’m not used to feeling out of place and it’s, well, disconcerting.”

“And dancing will help?”

“I am considered a good dancer and I promise I won’t step on your feet.”

“Well, I—”

“The point I am trying to make is that I feel like a fish stranded out of water at the moment. A large American fish. Just flapping around in the sand.”

She bit back a smile.

“So please take pity on a fish and do me the very great honor of joining me for a dance.” He cast her a hopeful smile. “I would be forever in your debt.”

“Well,” she said slowly, “I have always been fond of fish. Although I usually prefer it with a dilled cream sauce.”

“Then you’ve obviously never had baked flounder stuffed with crab.” Amusement glimmered in his eyes. “Nothing is better than crab-stuffed baked flounder.”

“Unless perhaps it is a native American fish stranded on the beach?”

He stared at her for a moment, then laughed and held out his hand. “Shall we?”

She hesitated, then placed her hand on his. “You should know I don’t make it a habit to dance with men I have not been properly introduced to.”

“Understandable.” He nodded and led her onto the floor.

“Then this will be a new experience for you. For both of us really. We should think of it as an adventure.”

“As adventures go, I’m afraid this one is rather minor.” Although there was something to be said for dancing with a handsome stranger. “Surely you can think of something better?”

“I wish I could.” He took her in his arms and they moved to the strains of a sedate waltz. “But one has to start somewhere. With adventures, that is. One step at a time, you know.”

“I suspect you’re right.” She shook her head. “I’ve always rather fancied adventure although I’ve never been an especially adventurous sort myself.”

“You don’t need to be.”

She drew her brows together in confusion. “I don’t?”

“Of course not.” He skillfully led her through a turn. He was right—he was good. “You’re a beautiful woman with hair the color of fine mahogany, flashing emerald eyes, and an air of confidence and assurance about you. You are an adventure.”

“Oh.” She had no idea what to say. It was perhaps the nicest compliment she had ever received. And it had been some time since she’d had such a compliment. She wasn’t used to being at a loss for words and promptly changed the subject. “Forgive me but I am a bit confused. You said you didn’t know anyone here but your father. There are a great many American friends of the groom’s in attendance. I assumed you were one of them.”

“I’m afraid not.” He shook his head. “I have met him, the groom that is, but I didn’t realize that until I arrived.”

“Now I am even more confused.”

“As are we all.” He smiled. “My story is long and convoluted. One I promise not to bore you with.”

“But I do so enjoy a long and convoluted tale.” She tilted her head and studied him. “Is it a good one?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Well then, does it end well?”

“The ending too is yet to be determined.”

“How very interesting,” she murmured. What an enigmatic sort this American was. “Will you be staying in England long?”

“I’m not sure.”

“My goodness.” She stared up at him. “Are you being deliberately vague?”

He laughed. “Not really. My life is something of a, oh, a question mark at the moment, I would say. I can’t answer your questions because I don’t have the answers.”

“I see. Well, do you have a name?”

“I do.” He smiled. “But, in the interest of elevating our dance from a minor adventure to something more interesting, maybe we should postpone introductions for now.” A firm note sounded in his voice. Whatever his story was, whoever he was, it was obvious he did not wish to discuss it further. How very intriguing.  “And at the moment, I would much prefer to talk about you. You seem to be running things here. Are you a friend of the family?”

She nodded. “The bride’s younger sister, Dee, or rather Delilah, Lady Hargate that is, is my oldest and dearest friend. My mother and I organize social events including weddings although my mother is not here today. I planned this one.”

“It looks as though you’ve done an excellent job.”

“It has turned out nicely.” She couldn’t keep a note of pride from her voice.

“So this is, well, a business enterprise for you?” Doubt sounded in his voice.

“When my father died, my mother and I found ourselves at loose ends.” The well-rehearsed story flowed easily from her lips. “Mother was well known for the elaborate parties she gave and she trained me well. It began, and indeed it remains, more of a hobby than anything else. Something to fill our idle hours. Although we do charge for our services. There is nothing that says prosperity in society more than paying outrageous sums for something you could probably do yourself.”

He nodded. “Yes, of course.”

For a few moments they danced in silence but he was obviously pondering her comments. “It must be difficult work though.”

“Not at all. It’s quite enjoyable.” She shrugged as best she could in his arms. “Mother and I both enjoy entertaining but there are only so many parties one can give. Planning social events for others provides us with a great deal of variety and an extra bit of pin money.”

“I see.” There was a slight hint of disapproval in his tone.

“You think we should do this for nothing?”

“No, but it’s, well . . .”

“It’s what?”

“Somewhat unseemly, isn’t it?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What makes it unseemly?”

“You’re charging for your services which takes it out of the realm of an innocent pastime and into the definition of business.”

“Yes, I suppose one could look at it that way.” His attitude was nothing she hadn’t encountered before. Still, it was most annoying. She smiled and gazed into his eyes. “I prefer to see it as providing assistance to those ladies who can barely manage a household let alone a ball for two hundred people or an evening of music and cards for ninety or a grand, extravagant wedding.”

“Perhaps but—”

“And if we did not charge for our services, which as you said makes it perilously close to a business endeavor—”

He nodded.

“They would not be the least bit valuable. As much as I hate to admit it, especially to a foreigner, but the upper echelon of society here is frightfully shallow about things like this.” She cast him her brightest smile and changed the subject. “And are you in business as Mr. Elliott is? Another American entrepreneur? A captain of industry perhaps?”

 “Not exactly.” He shook his head. “I’m engaged in banking, in the banking and trust founded by my great-grandfather.”

“I don’t believe I have ever danced with a banker before.”

“Yet another factor that makes it more of an adventure for you,” he said firmly. “Although bankers by their very nature are not adventurous men.”

“And yet you strike me as a man well suited to adventure.”

“Do I?” He executed another complicated turn. “Why do you think so?”

She considered him coolly. “For one thing, there is an air of assurance about you. You have the look of a man certain of himself and his world.”

“And yet, only moments ago, I confessed to feeling completely out of place.”

“Ah, but you hide it nicely. If you hadn’t said it, I would never have known you were anything other than completely at ease. I suspect you conceal your other secrets equally as well. Which are probably most shocking.”

“Oh, without question.”

She smiled. “Which makes you a man of mystery and intrigue.”

He laughed. “I’ve never been described as either mysterious or secretive and certainly not intriguing.”

“And I’ve never had gentlemen describe me as an adventure,” she said without thinking.

“Then they were unobservant fools.” He held her a tiny bit closer than was proper. “And are you a woman of mystery and secrets as well?”

“No, of course not.” She scoffed, then gazed up into his endless blue eyes. Her breath caught. “Perhaps.”

He smiled a slow, irresistible smile. A smile fraught with unspoken meaning or promise or something else completely absurd. Something absolutely improper. Something that held the vaguest, tempting hint of true adventure. The music ended and they drew to a stop yet his gaze still locked with hers. “Then I was right. You are an adventure.”

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award-winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and has never looked back. Victoria grew up traveling the country as an Air Force brat and is now settled in a very old house in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two allegedly grown children and two bearded collies. She firmly believes housework is a four-letter word, there are no calories in anything eaten standing up, procrastination is an art form, and it’s never too soon to panic.

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Jennifer’s Review of The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding

Review (4.25 Stars): I always love reading a Victoria Alexander novel because I automatically know that it will be fun and entertaining and I loved spending time with Jack and Teddy in her current novel. Jack has just learned that his father, who he thought was once dead, is alive and well and living in England.  He also has learned that he is now the heir to Millworth Manor and has an eccentric extended family that he never knew existed.  But when Jack meets Teddy, an event planner and a close friend of the family, sparks fly and Jack decides that being an heir to a title and Millworth Manor isn’t such a bad thing.

I liked Jack from the very beginning because he was smart and sweet and was basically thrown a curve ball by learning that his real father was very much alive for the last thirty years.  He had his life all mapped out for him and now he had a father, a new family and a title that he never even knew about.  Teddy was such a stubborn heroine and there were times that I was upset at the choices that she made during the course of this book.

I loved the humor in Ms. Alexander’s books and I found myself laughing quite a bit as I kept turning the pages in this story.  Overall, this is a very good romance and I always look forward to the next book that Victoria Alexander releases.

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