Excerpts from Chapter One

Wicked Wink
Hint of Cat Wizardness

Beginning of Chapter 1

Prior Hall Bentley
Suffolk, England:
1820

Damn her brother to hell! Pierce was delighted that their father had tipped up his toes and was buried in the Bentley Church graveyard. Instead of mourning their father's death, as a proper Englishman should do, her odious brother had the cheek to host a house party last night to celebrate inheriting the family's country estate. And, of course, he was delighted to gain their father’s title of baron.

Miss Julia Prior walked out of her bedchamber and went to the wide staircase that swept down to the Great Room. It was dawn. By now, her brother's friends should have retired to their assigned bedchambers. Leaning over the banister, she looked down. Oh my God! Two of her brother's house guests, a heavyset man and a skinny woman were engaged in an activity that should be taking place behind closed doors.

 

 

Wicked Smile
The Wrong Bedchamber

Beginning of Chapter 1

Lord Brett's Mansion
London, England
Year: 1821

“Lawrence Lindredge, the Earl of Brett, seized his sister's letter off a silver tray in the entry hall. He was desperate to learn the name of his sister's lover. Earlier tonight, while walking in the back garden, he spied Evelyn locked in an embrace with a man—both undressed. The man grabbed his clothes and ran off before he could identify him.

After being questioned for over an hour, his sister, who had been under his guardianship since his father's death, told him she was no longer an innocent. Despite his threats of dire consequences, his stubborn sibling refused to tell him her lover's name. He glanced down at the letter in his hand. Evelyn’s lover must be someone he would object to having as a son-in-law.

 

 

Wicked Kiss
A Duke Deceived

Beginning of Chapter 1

Weybridge, Surrey
England: 1830


Damn her brother to hell! Pierce was delighted that their father had tipped up his toes and was buried in the Bentley Church graveyard. Instead of mourning their father's death, as a proper Englishman should do, her odious brother had the cheek to host a house party last night to celebrate inheriting the family's country estate. And, of course, he was delighted to gain their father’s title of baron.

Miss Julia Prior walked out of her bedchamber and went to the wide staircase that swept down to the Great Room. It was dawn. By now, her brother's friends should have retired to their assigned bedchambers. Leaning over the banister, she looked down. Oh my God! Two of her brother's house guests, a heavyset man and a skinny woman were engaged in an activity that should be taking place behind closed doors.

 

 

 

Wicked Love
Captured by a Lady Pirate

Beginning of Chapter 1

Reade Hall
Brentwood, England
Year: 1831

The Earl of Chadwick, didn't look like a devil.
No black horns! No pointed tail!
And he didn't carry a pitchfork.

The earl looked like a commonplace father—thinning brown hair, plump from devouring too many tarts, and wrinkles around his eyes. His attire was the latest style—velvet tailcoat, brown trousers, expensive leather boots, and on his fingers were a collection of rings worth a fortune.

Lady Amelia Reade glanced around her father's study. The room overflowed with her sire’s precious treasures—shiny rocks, gold and silver vases, carved animals, jewelry, and antique walking sticks. Weapons gleaming from frequent polishing were hung on a wall over the heath. Father valued his collections more than anyone or anything else in his life. Oh, no, father was weeping. Crocodile tears. His tears were never real.

"Is something wrong," Amelia inquired. Bespectacled olive-green eyes blinked at her. "Terrible news, my dear."