Nicola Cornickâs novels have received acclaim the world over
âCornick is first-class, Queen of her game.â
âRomance Junkies
âA rising star of the Regency arenaâ
âPublishers Weekly
Praise for the SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series
âA riveting readâ
âNew York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney on Whisper of Scandal
âOne of the finest voices in historical romanceâ
âSingleTitles.com
âEthan Ryder (is) a bad boy to die for! A memorable story
of intense emotions, scandals, trust, betrayal and all- encompassing love. A fresh and engrossing tale.â âRomantic Times on One Wicked Sin
âHistorical romance at its very best is
written by Nicola Cornick.â âMary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer
Acclaim for Nicolaâs previous books
âWitty banter, lively action and sizzling passionâ
âLibrary Journal on Undoing of a Lady
âRITA>® Award-nominated Cornick deftly steeps her latest intriguingly complex Regency historical in a beguiling blend of danger and desire.â âBooklist on Unmasked
Author Note
Welcome to Desired, book five in the SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series! Desired is Tess Darentâs story. The outrageous dowager lady Darent has already been widowed three times and is looking for her fourth husbandâbut she is determined on a marriage in name only. Step forward Owen Purchase, Viscount Rothbury, who has desired the much-married marchioness for a long time. He is the protector Tess needs, but can he seduce her into realising that a true marriage is what she really wants?
Like the other books in this series, Desired is inspired by real-life events. Tess is a philanthropist and a reformer, and in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the reforming movement was pressing for political change in Britain. The government, however, was afraid of a revolution and sought to repress any opposition by throwing the reformâs leaders into prison. Tess, as a secret leader of the reform movement, is in the gravest danger.
I have loved writing all the books in this series! Be sure to visit my website at www.nicolacornick.co.uk and donât miss the final book in the series, Forbidden!
Nicola Cornick
Donât miss the rest of the latestScandalous Women of the Tontrilogy, available now!
WHISPER OF SCANDAL
ONE WICKED SIN MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT DESIRED
Also available fromNicola Cornick
DECEIVED
LORD OF SCANDAL UNMASKED THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT THE UNDOING OF A LADY DAUNTSEY PARK: THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON
Browse www.mirabooks.co.uk or www.nicolacornick.co.uk forNicolaâs full backlist
Coming soon, the next SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series:
FORBIDDEN
To Kimberley Young with much gratitude
for all the years we worked together.
London, October 1816
Covent Garden: âArtful ways beguile the implicit rake.â
âTaken from
Harrisâs List of Covent Garden Ladies.
IT WAS THE NIGHT HER LUCK finally ran out.
Tess Darent knew that the net was closing and that someone was coming to hunt her down. Tonight she could feel him very close behind her. Tonight, she knew instinctively, was the night she was going to get caught.
âHurry!â Mrs. Tong, owner of the Temple of Venus bawdy house held out the borrowed gown to her with shaking hands and Tess grabbed it and slipped it over her head, feeling the sensuous slide of lavender silk against her skin. It was not a bad fit. She was surprised that Mrs. Tong had anything so tasteful in the wardrobe. Fortunate, because she would not be seen dead in any of the harlotâs gowns Mrs. Tongâs girls habitually wore. Even if she was currently hiding from the law, Tess had standards to maintain.
The bawdâs face was pale beneath her paint and powder, her eyes terrified. Out in the corridor the sounds of pursuit were getting louderâvoices snapping orders, the tramp of booted feet, the crash as Mrs. Tongâs pieces of erotic statuary were knocked to the marble floor.
âRedcoats!â the bawd said. âSearching the house. If they find you hereââ
âThey wonât,â Tess snapped. She spun around, lifting the heavy fall of her red-gold hair so that Mrs. Tong could lace the gown. She could feel the bawdâs fingers trembling on the fastenings. Mrs. Tongâs fear was feeding her own. The panic filled her chest, stealing her breath. Her pursuer was so close now. He was nipping at her heels.
âEven if they do find me here,â she added over her shoulder, marvelling at the calm of her own voice, âwhat of it? My reputation is so bad no one will think it odd to find me in a whorehouse.â
âBut the papers?â Mrs. Tongâs voice quavered.
âHidden.â Tess patted the lavender reticule that matched the gown. âNever fear, Mrs. T. No one will suspect you of being anything worse than an avaricious old madam.â
âThereâs gratitude.â Mrs. Tong sounded irritable. âSometimes I wonder why I help you.â
âYou do it because you owe me,â Tess said. Some months before she had helped Mrs. Tongâs son when he had been arrested at a political rally. Now she was calling in the debt.