Jane nodded in agreement. “I think that your voice is most decidedly needed to help us finish our primer.”
“I completely concur,” Ellie said as Meg already began to nod. “Good. With your additions and with Prue’s, too, I truly believe that The Marriage Habits of the Native Aristocrat will be the best guidebook ever written.”
But as she spoke, she felt a pang of regret, wishing her friend had not suffered so much at the hands of a man that Ellie had known and trusted for most of her life.
George had left London to lick his wounds. Yet, she knew, it would only be a matter of time before he returned for the pleasures of town. Shame would not be cast down upon his head. Men in society were given leave to pursue their own passions without consequence.
Prue, however, was not.
“Where is Prue now?” Jane asked quietly as if they were all sharing the same thoughts.
Ellie shook her head. “She said she had business to take care of and that she would likely not return until later this evening. In any event, she promised to return before Brandon and I embark on our honeymoon.”
“And has my brother told you where he’s taking you, yet?” Meg asked slyly.
She playfully squinted at her sister-in-law. “No, he is determined to surprise me.”
Winn laughed. “And we all know how much you love surprises.”
As the warm summer breeze blew in through the parlor window and the clock in the corner tolled the hour, Ellie couldn’t help but smile and think fondly of the accidental collision that brought her husband into her life. “I suppose that certain surprises are worth the ailments they cause.”
* * *
Later that evening, Prudence Thorogood drew the hood of her tattered mantle over her pale hair and reached for the lion’s head door knocker. She drew in a breath and rapped soundly.
There was no turning back. Not for her.
After all, the marital prospects of a penniless, ruined debutante were grim. Such a woman may have the opportunity to wed the man who took her innocence, if he were forced into a proposal while being beaten about the head with a reticule. She may even find some widowed farmer or merchant who required a wife.
Of course, she could continue to accept the kindness of dear friends and live beneath their roofs, watching all the while as society slowly turned their backs on them.
Or, she could take matters into her own hands.
It was an undeniable truth that any future at all would require the selling of her very soul, in some form or another.
The lacquered door opened.
A stately manservant greeted her with a bland inquiry, as if it were commonplace to see a cloaked female on this doorstep in the dead of night. A shiver of trepidation skated down her spine, but she shrugged it off and simply said, “Lord Savage, if you please.”
Author’s Note
Dear Readers,
I stumbled upon some interesting research for this book that I’d like to share with you.
Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were brothers and pioneers in hot-air ballooning and aviation. The Montgolfier balloon made its first public appearance in June of 1783. At the time, the brothers did not realize that heat caused their balloon to rise. They credited their success to a surfeit of thick smoke filling the paper-lined sackcloth, creating a lighter-than-air gas that they called “Montgolfier gas.”
The Zoological Society Gardens of London is the world’s oldest scientific zoo and opened in April of 1828. At first, the zoo only admitted fellows of the society. So, I’m afraid that I took a bit of artistic license and opened the gates to the public early. Also, I confess that Ellie’s potentially carnivorous giraffes (or camelopards, if you prefer) did not have an exhibit until 1836. But Toby the Bear was, indeed, real.
I’ve so enjoyed writing Ellie and Brandon’s story, and I’m truly grateful that I could share it with you. Thank you for welcoming this book into your hearts and homes.
Warm wishes and happy reading,
Viv
About the Author
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Announcement
Don’t miss the earlier books in the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series!
Winn runs away from her wedding and into unexpected romance in . . .
Lord Holt Takes a Bride
Jane stumbles upon a scoundrel—and the missing heir to an earldom—in the London underworld in . . .
My Kind of Earl
Available now wherever books are sold!
And, don’t fret, Prue and Meg will get their own happily-ever-afters! Keep an eye out for Prue’s book . . .
How to Steal a Scoundrel’s Heart
Coming in 2022
By Vivienne Lorret
The Mating Habits of Scoundrels Series
Lord Holt Takes a Bride
My Kind of Earl
The Wrong Marquess
The Misadventures in Matchmaking Series
How to Forget a Duke
Ten Kisses to Scandal
The Rogue to Ruin
The Season’s Original Series
“The Duke’s Christmas Wish” in All I Want for Christmas Is a Duke and A Christmas to Remember
The Debutante Is Mine
This Earl is on Fire
When a Marquess Loves a Woman
Just Another Viscount in Love (novella)
The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series
The Elusive Lord Everhart
The Maddening Lord Montwood
The Wallflower Wedding Series
Tempting Mr. Weatherstone (novella)
Daring Miss Danvers
Winning Miss Wakefield
Finding Miss McFarland
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the wrong marquess. Copyright © 2021 by Vivienne Lorret. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition JULY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-297663-5
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-297662-8
Cover design by Amy Halperin
Cover illustration by Judy York
Cover image © jumabufu/iStock/Getty Images
Avon, Avon & logo, and Avon Books & logo are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
first edition
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida
Uttar Pradesh 201 301
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com