Stephanie Laurens - Secrets of a Perfect Night

}For editorial purposes, if you encounter the word "}hi"} and the sentence doesn't make sense, replace it with }"}in"}

For example, "it was }hi} the drawer" should read "it was in the drawer"

Also, if you encounter }"di" }in any part of a word and the sentence and word make no sense, replace it with }"th"}

}For example, "}di}ere were people }di}at }di}en went" should read "there were people that then went"

}Other possible replacements are} }"I"} for }"7" or "1" or "!" or "/"} For example "}1} am going to the store" should read "I am going to the store"

Other possible replacements are }"m"} for }"th"} For example "that should be" for "}m}at should be"

Sometimes, you may see the word }"trie" }which should be replaced by }"the"} For example "}trie} book" should read "the book"

Sometimes, you'll see a }capital U} for }double ll's} For example "she}'U }go next time" should read "she'll go next time"

}Sometimes, you'll see an} "m" }all by itself which should read as "in" For example "it was m the store" should read "it was in the store

}

}Sometimes, you'll see the word} "tune" }when it should read "time" For example: "it was the right tune to see him" should read "it was the right time to see him"

I also notice many words ending in tl are being replaced by d. e.g. silendy, gende, impatiendy, gendy, shordy, discreedy, flady and others should be silently, gently, impatiently, gently, shortly, discreetly, flatly, etc.

Also, certain other words with tl are being replaced by de e.g. setde, batde should be settle, battle

In addition, you may sometimes see Vm or Fm which should be I'm OR

Vll Fll which should be I'll OR

Vve Fve which should be I've

POSSIBLE ERROR: "Til should read as I'll

}Some words have WT instead of Wh-->>>W}Ti}ite, W}Ti}en should read as White, When

POSSIBLE ERROR: "}\}bu should be "You

POSSIBLE ERROR: at the end of paragraphs or sentences, if the last word has a 1 at the end, then e.g. That is it1 should read That is it! }

Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to go through every sentence, so I'll leave it for you to figure out if you run in to them.

}CONTENTS

}SCANDALOUS LORD DERE3

}Stephanie Laurens}

THE LAST LOVE LETTER155

}Victoria Alexander}

NOW AND FOREVER281}

}Rachel Gibson}

}

}}Avon Books

Copyright 2000

}SCANDALOUS LORD DERE

BY STEPHANIE LAURENS

One}

}New} Year's Day, 1823}

After the Cavendis}h}-}M}ayhews' New Year's Eve ball, Adrian Andrew Hawsley, sixth Viscount Dere, swore off women. He had had enoug}h}}f}iguratively and literally.

Slowing his blacks for a turn, Adrian drew in the chill air, then exhaled; his breath misted instantly}.}

"There 'tis." From his perch behind him, his tiger, Bolt, a grizzled veteran, pointed to a sign.

Adrian nodded. Although it was past midday, the grip of the early morning freeze had yet to slacken; he kept his horses to a wary trot as he set the curricle down the road to the southwest.

Despite the weather, he was determined to press on. With every mile that passed he felt better, as if a vise locked about his lungs for so }l}ong he'd forgotten it was there were finally easing open, as if a weight he'd forgotten he was carrying on his shoulders were lifting away.

By the end of last night's ball, he'd been fed u}p} overwhelmingly bored and not a little disgusted. If a

}3}

4}}Stephanie Laurens

crown existed for the premier lover in the ton, he could probably legitimately claim i}t}}i}ndeed, it would very likely be offered to him on a purple silk pillow. Discretion, absolute and inviolate, might have been his watchword for years; despite that, the ton had learned enough to form its own opinion of his prowess, his expertise. Much of the gossip was true, which left him with little doubt as to the sources of the information. As a result, a competition had developed with ladies vying to see who next could command his highly regarded attentions. Over the past few years, he had never lacked for invitations to ladies' beds.

Bad enough. The Cavendish-Mayhews' ball had been worse.

Ladies of amorous intent had surrounded him until he'd felt hunted. He did not appreciate the inversion of role}s}}a}s far as he was concerned, he was the hunter, }they }should be the prey}.} These days that wasn't how it was. Two sorts of women lay in wait to ambush hi}m}}m}ost were married ladies whose only interest was in trying out his paces so that they could say they, too, had partaken of the latest acclaimed experience. Such mesdames jostled check by jowl with unmarried ladies plotting his matrimonial downfall, their calculating eyes fixed on his title and burgeoning wealth rather than on his more personal talents.

He didn't know which he disliked more. He'd felt like a fox cornered by slavering hounds.

Enough. }More }than enough. It was time to take charge of his life and steer i}t}... into deeper waters.

He uttered a short laugh. The superficiality of his life

SCANDALOUS LORD DERE}}5

did indeed grate. He was thirty today}i}t was his birthday What had he thus far accomplished in his life? Nothing. Where was his life headed? He didn't know, but he was determined to set his wheels on a different road.

At present his curricle's wheels were rolling down the road to Exeter. He'd left the Cavendis}h-}Mayhews' mansion outside Glastonbury early that morning while all the be}j}eweled ladies were still snug in their beds. None had shared his, which fact had caused no little confusion and even some annoyance. He was there, wasn't he? They expected him to perform, to live up to his scandalous reputation, all for their amusement. The ton, as he well knew, could be a demanding world. They could demand all they liked}h}e was no longer interested in playing their games.

Around him the countryside lay silent, a dappled world of dark browns and white, the bare branches of trees and the patches of cold earth contrasting against the light covering of snow. There was more on the way, but he knew whither he was headed, knew the road }l}ike the back of his hand.

He was going home.

He hadn't been back to Bellevere since burying his father nearly seven years before. His childhood home was like a ghost to him now, all the warm, happy memories overlaid by the acrimony and dissension of his father's last years. His wildness was not something his father had understood, nor been able to counter; his sire's vain attempts at forcing his only son to toe his line had met with resistance and led to estrangement. Now he could admit that he regretted that break as bitterly as he'd at

6}}Stephanie Laurens

one time resented his father's wish to tame him. To change him. His father had failed, but so, too, had he. Be}l}levere had represented that failure; he'd closed the house, turned his back on it, and le}f}t i}t}}h}is principal estate and ancestral home}t}o decay.