An Improper Arrangement
The Dashing Duke-to-be and the Daring DebutanteGabriel Sinclair has returned from battle as the reluctant heir to a dukedom. As if his new responsibilities weren’t enough, his aunt enlists him to guide a young heiress through London’s Little Season. Surprisingly, Miss Thea Neville is not the tedious obligation he expected. She’s exotic and enchanting – and utterly unaware of the secret poised to destroy her family’s reputation.After ten years in America, Thea is ready to do her duty and marry well. Deportment, modistes, balls – the ton is a nightmare she couldn’t navigate without Gabriel’s help. She really should accept the first bachelor who offers for her. But instead she’s discovering a dangerous attraction to her wickedly handsome chaperone – which will change her plans completely!
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Praise forUSA TODAYbestselling author
KASEY MICHAELS
âKasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts
âMichaels holds the reader in her clutches and doesnât let go.â
âRT Book Reviews on What a Gentleman Desires, 4½ stars, Top Pick
âMichaelsâ beloved Regency romances are witty and smart and the second volume in her Redgrave series is no different. The lively banter, intriguing plot, fascinating twists and turnsâ¦sheer delight.â
âRT Book Reviews on What a Lady Needs, 4½ stars
âA multi-layered taleâ¦Here is a novel that holds attention because of the intricate story, engaging characters and wonderful writing.â
âRT Book Reviews on What an Earl Wants, 4½ stars, Top Pick
âA poignant and highly satisfying readâ¦filled with simmering sensuality, subtle touches of repartee, a hero out for revenge and a heroine ripe for adventure. Youâll enjoy the ride.â
âRT Book Reviews on How to Tame a Lady
âMichaelsâ new Regency series is a joyâ¦You will laugh and even shed a tear over this touching romance.â
âRT Book Reviews on How to Tempt a Duke
âMichaels has done it again. Witty dialogue peppers a plot full of delectable details exposing the foibles and follies of the age.â
âPublishers Weekly on The Butler Did It (starred review)
Sometimes authors play with facts to better suit their storiesâalthough I dare anyone to fudge the dates of the Battle of Waterlooâand this may or may not be one of those instances. Opinions vary on what is best known as Londonâs Little Season, usually slotted from the beginning of September and lasting through November.
Both smaller and shorter than the spring Season, the Little Season is thought of by many as a remnant of bygone years when Parliament met earlier in the winter, and not all that popular during the Regency era, only to come back into play in the Victorian era.
Me? I donât care, frankly. Iâm not fudging with historical accuracy that actually matters all that much. I settled on the Little Season because one, the time span better fit my story, and two, word has it that many used the Little Season for, shall we say, their not-quite-ready-for-primetime daughters, so they could get in a little practice in flirting and simpering before making their Big Entrance on the marriage mart the following spring. A sort of dress rehearsal.
Now that little titbit really got my imagination going! I hope you enjoy An ImproperArrangement.
Happy reading,
Kasey
KASEY MICHAELS is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than sixty books. She has won the Romance Writers of America RITA>® Award and the Romance Times Career Achievement Award for her historical romances set in the Regency era.
To everything pink
Table of Contents
Battle of Champaubert10 February 1814
GABRIEL SINCLAIR HAD talked his friends into many a wild start or dubious enterprise over the years, but the objectives always had been entertainment, adventure and, often, since theyâd grown into manhood, willing women.
Which didnât explain why theyâd followed him this time, as the only things certain were theyâd be cold, bored and forced to miss their noon meal, not that the last could be considered much of a sacrifice.
There wouldnât be any more large battles, everyone said so, especially after the Allied Armyâs thorough trouncing of Napoleonâs troops at La Rothière. Any day now, Boney would present an offer of abdication, hand back his crown and they could all go home.
âTell me again why weâre up here, Gabe, risking frostbite to our most treasured appendages,â his friend Cooper Townsend said, wrapping his greatcoat more tightly around himself. âOur Russian friend camped us in the wrong spot?â
âI think weâve already agreed on that. Theyâre all acting as if the warâs already over,â Gabriel muttered as he studied the crude map heâd drawn a day earlier, while out reconnoitering on his own. It wasnât that he didnât trust Englandâs ally; he merely trusted himself more. He was also partial to giving orders, not taking them, and hadnât been best pleased to be ordered to join with the Russians. âLook at this, Rigby,â he demanded, shoving the map under Jeremiah Rigbyâs nose. âFive thousand men, all but deserted by Blücher and stretched thin like pulled taffy. Our affable host, the dear General Olssufiev, has yet to set out half the needed sentries, and the few he did do nothing but hide in the bushes and snore their heads off.â
âNot the ones we kicked awake when we first got up here,â Cooper said, grinning. âOnly real enjoyment Iâve had in days.â
