Jacquie D Alessandro - Seduced at Midnight

"One of my favorite authors." Huntress Book Reviews

Raves for Jacquie D'Alessandro

"Trotting at the heels of Julia Quinn and catching up fast, D'Alessandro should win new fans with her exuberant offering." Publishers Weekly

"A delightful tale of honor and duty, curses and quests, treachery and betrayal, love and passion."

Romance Reviews Today

"A delight from start to finish Romance at its enchanting best!"

New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros

"Fresh, funny, and loaded with charm

Publishers Weekly

"Ms. D'Alessandro has the nimbleness of a thief when it comes to crafting relationship dynamics."

Heartstrings Reviews

"Puts a brand-new spin on a popular plot, with an entertaining and engaging result." Romantic Times

"An entertaining, often humorous Regency romantic romp that also provides a lesson in sticking to one's values even if it hurts to do so." The Best Reviews

"An exhilarating historical romance starring two delightful lead characters." MidwestBook Review

"Lush, sensuous, intriguinghang whatever kudos you want on it An outstanding read, and historical romance readers will absolutely not want to miss it."

The Romance Reader

"A fantastic story; it's sexy, funny, and heartwarming."

Fallen Angel Reviews

"There are so many skillful twists and turns in the deftly drawn plot that one gets dizzy reading them Decidedly a page-turner." Curled Up with a Good Book

"If it has the name Jacquie D'Alessandro on it, it's guaranteed to please!" Huntress Book Reviews

"Pulsating with sexual tension and a cast of marvelous characters whose dialogue is fresh and filled with passion, this delicious tale is a definite keeper." Rendezvous

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibilyity for author or third-party websites or their content.

SEDUCED AT MIDNIGHT

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / January 2009

Copyright 2009 by Jacquie D'Alessandro.

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form
without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in
violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-1-440-66012-2

BERKLEY SENSATION
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street , New York , New York 10014 .
BERKLEY SENSATION and the "B" design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

http://us.penguingroup.com

This book is dedicated to Cindy Hwang and Leslie Gelbman. Thank you for loving the Mayhem inMayfairseries! And to Collyn Milsted, a wonderful teacher. Thank you for sharing your time, expertise, and stories ofEngland, and for giving me the opportunity to spend time with your students.

And as always, to my wonderful, encouraging husband, Joe. You are brilliant and have so much integrityI'm so proud to be your wife. And to my fantastic, beautiful son, Christopher, aka Brilliant/Integrity, JuniorI'm so proud to be your mom.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their invaluable help and support:

All the wonderful people at Berkley for their kindness, cheer-leading, and help in making my dreams come true, including Susan Allison, Leis Pederson, Don Rieck, and Sharon Gamboa.

My agent, Damaris Rowland, for her faith and wisdom, as well as Steven Axelrod, Lori Antonson, and Elsie Turoci.

Jenni Grizzle and Wendy Etherington for being such great buds.

Barbara Hosea for her wonderful haircutting talent, Andrea Moore, and Kathy Burgess for making me laugh and calling me Darlin'.

Thanks also to the wonderful Sue Grimshaw of BGI for her generosity and support. And as always to Kay and Jim Johnson, Kathy and Dick Guse, and Lea and Art D'Alessandro.

A cyber hug to my Looney Loopies: Connie Brockway, Marsha Canham, Virginia Henley, Jill Gregory, Julia London, Kathleen Givens, Sherri Browning, and Julie Ortolon, and also to the Temptresses the Blaze Babes.

A very special thank you to the members of Georgia Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.

And a very special thank you to all the men and women serving in our armed forces for the sacrifices you and your families make to keep our nation safe.

And finally, thank you to all the wonderful readers who have taken the time to write to me. I love hearing from you!

Chapter 1

London, 1820

From the London Times:

Do you believe in ghosts? Mrs. Marguerite Greeley was found murdered and robbed last night in her Berkeley Square town house, in a crime identical to the robbery and murder of Lady Ratherstone only last week. Mrs. Greeley's butler reported hearing eerie moaning sounds coming from her private sitting room where her jewel box was located. Upon entering the room, the butler discovered the body and missing jewels and stated that all the windows and doors were locked from the inside. Similar sounds and locked windows and doors were reported at Lady Ratherstone's home. It seems clear Mrs. Greeley is the latest victim ofMayfair's cleverest, most diabolical, seemingly invisible, and thus far uncatchable criminal. Which begs two questions all ofLondonis asking: Could the thief indeed be a ghost? And who is next?

A fter making certain she wasn't observed, Lady Julianne Bradley slipped from the crowded drawing room and walked down the candlelit corridor. Although her heart pounded in anticipation, urging her to hurry, she forced her feet to keep a sedate pace. She had no wish to call undue attention to herself should she happen upon anyone.

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