An Escapade and an Engagement
A SEASON OF SCANDAL Richard, Lord Ledbury, has had his fair share of adventure on warring battlefields, but even this seasoned soldier isn’t prepared for the outrageous escapades going on in London’s ballrooms! Lady Jayne Chilcott is under orders to find a husband, and Lord Ledbury has caught her eye.But nothing is simple when courting under the glittering spotlight of the ton. Richard has always risen to any challenge, but Lady Jayne might just be the first to get the better of him… Let the games begin!
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‘Lady Jayne, I have given my word I will not say anything about tonight. And I would never go back on my word. But you must see that I cannot just let the matter rest. You have said yourself you are not behaving as you ought.’
She looked mutinous as she said, ‘And just what do you mean to do about it?’
He only wished he knew. For now, the best thing would be to make a strategic withdrawal so that he could regroup.
‘I shall call upon you this afternoon, to take you for a drive in Hyde Park. That is when I shall tell you what action I plan to take.’ Once he’d decided what it would be.
‘I shall be ready,’ she said, lifting her chin in a fashion that told him she was preparing to fight him every inch of the way. ‘This is it,’ she said, waving her hand at the frontage of an imposing mansion.
Having shown him where she lived, she ducked down a passage that led to the mews at the back. Then she turned round and stood quite still, staring up at him for a minute, with her head on one side as though trying to work him out.
‘You have surprised me,’ she said at last. ‘I would never have imagined you could be so … decent.’
AUTHOR NOTE
The Earl of Caxton has two granddaughters.
You may have read about Miss Aimée Peters in CAPTAIN CORCORAN’S HOYDEN BRIDE. Having grown up in exile, Aimée was desperate to find security and put down roots. To that end, she travelled to Yorkshire to become a governess—only to find that her employer was not what she’d expected …
In AN ESCAPADE AND AN ENGAGEMENT you will meet her cousin, Lady Jayne Chilcott. People think she is her grandfather’s pampered darling. But she feels suffocated by the propriety of her lifestyle and longs for the kind of adventure she is sure Aimée must have had. The product of a bitterly unhappy arranged marriage, Lady Jayne vows she will only marry for love. But where is she ever going to find a man who will inspire anything more than mild contempt when her grandfather guards her so zealously she never meets anyone new, let alone exciting?
That is until she clashes with the grim-faced Lord Ledbury, an ex-soldier who has come to London to find a suitable woman to become his bride. Lady Jayne has the right pedigree. But does he really want to get tangled up with a girl who is never happier than when up to her neck in mischief?
About the Author
ANNIE BURROWS has been making up stories for her own amusement since she first went to school. As soon as she got the hang of using a pencil she began to write them down. Her love of books meant she had to do a degree in English literature. And her love of writing meant she could never take on a job where she didn’t have time to jot down notes when inspiration for a new plot struck her. She still wants the heroines of her stories to wear beautiful floaty dresses and triumph over all that life can throw at them. But when she got married she discovered that finding a hero is an essential ingredient to arriving at ‘happy ever after’.
Previous novels by Annie Burrows:
HIS CINDERELLA BRIDE
MY LADY INNOCENT THE EARL’S UNTOUCHED BRIDE CAPTAIN FAWLEY’S INNOCENT BRIDE THE RAKE’S SECRET SON (part of Regency Candlelit Christmas anthology) DEVILISH LORD, MYSTERIOUS MISS A COUNTESS BY CHRISTMAS CAPTAIN CORCORAN’S HOYDEN BRIDE
Also available in eBook format inMills & Boon>® HistoricalUndone:
NOTORIOUS LORD, COMPROMISED MISS
Do you know that these books are available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
To Carol Townend,
author of the ‘Wessex Weddings’— whose hospitality is legendary, and whose insightful and experienced advice has been of enormous help to me in the completion of this book.
Chapter One
Lord Ledbury glared up at the ruched silk canopy of the bed he’d inherited from his brother, wide awake now, when not an hour since he’d felt so drained he was sure he could have slept for a week.
He hated this bed. He hated its soft feather mattress and the mounds of bedding that felt as though they were suffocating him. He hated the valet whom … no, that was going too far. He could not hate Jenkins for doing a job to the best of his limited ability. It was just that he was not Fred.
He could have talked to Fred as he’d undressed and prepared to go to bed. Probably managed to laugh off the more ludicrous aspects of the evening’s sortie behind what felt like enemy lines—as they’d done time without number during the preceding six years of active service. No matter what deprivations they’d had to endure because of the damn fool orders some pompous ass higher up the chain of command had issued.
But he’d been obliged to leave Fred behind when he’d taken up residence in Lavenham House. And though he’d never experienced such luxury, never had so many servants in his life since coming to live here, he’d never felt so alone or so ill at ease. A spy must feel like this, he reflected bitterly, kicking off his covers and turning onto his side to glare at the fire glowing smugly in its ornate marble fireplace. Without benefit of his uniform to vouch for his identity. Cut off from his regiment, his comrades. Entrusted with orders that he alone could carry out.
