Table of Contents
CHERYL HOLT DELIVERS WHAT READERS DESIRE.*
PRAISE FOR CHERYL HOLT AND HER NOVELS
The queen of erotic romance. Book Cove Reviews
A scorching novel that titillates as she explores a womans deepest fantasies and brings them, red-hot, to the page. But theres more than just great sex in Holts romances.
*Romantic Times
Cheryl Holt is magnificent. Reader to Reader Reviews
[A] master writer. Fallen Angel Reviews
From cover to cover I was spellbound... Truly outstanding.
Romance Junkies
The action [is] intense and the love scenes are explicit, which makes [this] a doubly fantastic page-turner.
Night Owl Romance
A classic love story with hot, fiery passion... dripping from every page. Theres nothing better than curling up with a great book and this one totally qualifies.
Fresh Fiction
Packed with emotion, sensuality, and surprising twists and turns. Holt has come up with the perfect combination of intrigue, sensual love scenes, and tender emotion, which I havent read in a historical romance in a very long time. Just too delicious to pass up. Happy reading!
Romance Reader at Heart
This book pulls you in and you wont be able to put it down. The Romance Studio
Berkley Sensation Titles by Cheryl Holt
PROMISE OF PLEASURE
TASTE OF TEMPTATION
DREAMS OF DESIRE
Chapter 1
PENWORTH HALL, RURAL ENGLAND, AUGUST 1814...
I might deign to hire you, Miss Lambert.
I hope you will, Lord Penworth.
But you would be expected to exhibit the utmost decorum at all times.
Oh, absolutely. I wouldnt have it any other way.
Lily Lambert sat in her chair, staring across the massive oak desk at the arrogant, officious aristocrat John Middleton, Earl of Penworth.
He was extremely handsome, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, broad shoulders, and excessive height. But good looks couldnt mask the fact that he was an overbearing boor.
Shed been eager to serve as companion to his two wards and his fiance, but now, she wasnt so sure.
When shed agreed to come for the interview, Mrs. Fordowner of the Ford Employment Agencyhad warned her that Penworth could be fussy and domineering, but no amount of notice could have prepared Lily for how unpleasant he truly was.
Shed been in his presence for all of five minutes, and hed done nothing but chastise and complain. What an onerous boss he would be! He didnt appear to like servants very much. Or females. Perhaps it was simply female servants whom he detested.
She kept her expression blank, not by so much as the quiver of a brow providing any evidence of her own level of aversion to his rank and status.
For the prior decade, shed been nanny, governess, and companion to the spoiled offspring of nobles just like him, and shed endured plenty of nonsense. Because of her dismal history, her opinion of him was very loweven though she scarcely knew him.
She wondered if he was the sort to seduce his maids, but she thought he wouldnt be. He was too conceited, too set on being marvelous. Hed never stoop to fraternization.
Im a hard taskmaster, he said, intoning it like a threat.
And Im a dedicated worker.
If I issue orders, they must be instantly obeyed.
I would be yours to command.
Ill brook no sloth or insubordination.
I wouldnt dream of idleness or rebellion.
He snorted at that. I wont have you down in the kitchen, criticizing me over your suppera supper I have supplied in my own house.
I am loyalty personified.
I demand fidelity and constancy.
Im constant as the day is long.
But are you devoted? Can you be trusted?
Of course I can be trusted.
He meticulously studied her, as if she was an agitator bent on causing trouble. Then he held up the thick file Mrs. Ford had sent. It was filled with glowing letters of recommendation, but all of them were forged. Lily had written them herself.
She was petite and pretty, and she had labored in grand mansions occupied by top-lofty husbands who were used to taking whatever they wanted, so shed fended off many advances. With mischief exposed, the wife of the miscreant was never inclined to be rational.
Lily had been firedthrough no fault of her ownmore times than she could count, and she refused to starve merely because an oblivious noblewoman couldnt make her spouse behave.
Being all alone in the world, Lily had no family to lean on for support, so she had to do what was necessary to get by. If financial security meant drafting a few fake letters, so be it, and the positive reports werent really false.
She was a dedicated worker. She was reliable and steady. She was kind and courteous, so she suffered no qualms about furthering her claims of proficiency, and shed never been caught out.
In her experience, the person hiring was always in a hurry, needing someone to start immediately, so references were never checked. Lily acted competent, thrifty, and educated, so people were easily convinced that she was precisely whoand whatshe said she was.
You have an impressive resum, Penworth remarked.
I try.
Yet I must admit that Im wary.
Of what? she snapped before she could stop herself.
Hed flustered her, and her composure slipped. She hastened to shield any reaction.
How old are you, Miss Lambert?
Twenty-five, milord.
Youve had numerous positions. Why so many? Are you prone to quitting? Will you pack your bags after a few weeks? Will you leave me in the lurch? I would hate to find myself trapped in Scotland with my wards unattended.
He was guardian to eighteen-year-old twins, Miss Miranda and Miss Melanie Newton. They were daughters of a friend whod perished from fast living.
They were accompanying Penworth on his annual hunting excursion to his castle in Scotland, as was his fiance, Lady Violet Howard. She was the same age as the twins.
Of all the dreadful situations for which Lily was remotely qualified, having to spend the autumn traipsing after a trio of rich, indolent adolescents had to be the worst available option. She viewed the coming ordeal with a nauseating resignation, but while she didnt particularly want the job, she couldnt afford to decline it.
After the disaster at her last postwhat she referred to as the incident with her employers husbandshe was anxious to flee London for a bit. In case any gossip leaked out, she had to be far from Town so stories could fade before she returned.
Her ability to obtain work was dependent on a stellar reputation, and she was determined to hide until the storm had passed.
Your questions are understandable, Lord Penworth, but if you look closely, youll see that I have perfectly logical reasons for my frequent moves.
Those being?
I was companion to several elderly ladies who died, so the jobs ended.
I suppose, he allowed, as if she should have been so accursedly loyal as to have stayed on after her employer was deceased.
