Never Judge a
Lady by Her Cover
The Rules of Scoundrels # 4
The Rules of Scoundrels # 4
By: Sarah MacLean
Releasing November 25th, 2014
Avon Romance
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.
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.
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.”
Amazing
ending to the series! I know there are a
lot of people who are disappointed that Chase is really a woman, but I think it
shoes the strength it took for Georgiana to move forward after she was ruined
at such a young age. Duncan and Georgiana’s chemistry is electric, but the
secrets they keep from each other hold the power to either bring them together
or tear them apart forever. While this
can be read as a standalone, I would recommend that you read the previous books in which Chase’s
story begins.
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment