Much Ado About Rogues
Meet the Blackthorn Brothers – three unrepentant scoundrels infamous for being perilous to love… Who is the darkly handsome “Black Jack” Blackthorn? With his air of mystery and menace, the whispers about him hint of highwayman or even dark prince. But no one knows how dangerous he can truly be. Now Jack’s mentor has disappeared and Jack must track him down before it’s too late.His unlikely help: the man’s daughter – the very woman Jack had once wooed and betrayed. Lady Tess Fonteneau knows more about the fine art of clandestine activities – and about the mysterious Mr Blackthorn – than he realises.As their journey leads them on the adventure of a lifetime, their reunion is fraught with passion, high-stakes danger and the one twist of fate Jack never saw coming…
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Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author
KASEY
MICHAELS
‘Kasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses.’
—New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts
‘The historical elements…imbue the novel with powerful realism that will keep readers coming back.’
—Publishers Weekly on A Midsummer Night’s Sin
‘A poignant and highly satisfying read…filled with simmering sensuality, subtle touches of repartee, a hero out for revenge and a heroine ripe for adventure. You’ll enjoy the ride.’
—RT Book Reviews on How to Tame a Lady
‘Michaels’s new Regency miniseries is a joy… You will laugh and even shed a tear over this touching romance.’
—RT Book Reviews on How to Tempt a Duke
‘Michaels has done it again… Witty dialogue peppers a plot full of delectable details exposing the foibles and follies of the age.’
—Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Butler Did It
“Michaels can write everything from a light-hearted romp to a far more serious-themed romance. [She] has outdone herself…’
—RT Book Reviews on A Gentleman By Any Other Name (Top Pick)
‘[A] hilarious spoof of society wedding rituals wrapped around a sensual romance filled with crackling dialogue reminiscent of The Philadelphia Story.’ —Publishers Weekly on Everything’s Coming Up Rosie
Dear Reader,
It’s always a bit sad for me when I have to say goodbye to beloved characters. But having been the one to set the Blackthorn brothers on their journeys in the first place, it was wonderful to watch them as they found their way to their destinations.
You see, with the Blackthorn brothers, as with any book I write, my ‘people’ take over. They go where I never planned to send them, do things that surprise and even shock me, and say things that make me laugh and cry.
Jack Blackthorn and his Tess, for instance, kept me up nights worrying about them. These are two people who could very easily have become victims, were it not for their strong characters, their determination and the love they share… even when they’re butting heads.
In all three books, The Taming of the Rake (Beau’s book), A Midsummer Night’s Sin (Puck’s book) and Much Ado About Rogues, there are a lot of outside struggles, dangers to be met and defeated, problems to be solved. But the real stories between the covers are Beau and Puck and Jack, and the sort of men they are… the kind of men they become. And, most definitely, the women who dare to love them.
Happy reading!
Kasey Michaels
To Marcia Evanick,
one of the best friends a person could have, a marvellous writer and truly the bravest lady I know. I love you, Marci!
Speak low if you speak love.
—William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing
PROLOGUE
DICKIE CARSTAIRS, pudgy of body and pleasantly vacant-eyed, stood a little too close to the yellow circle of lamplight across the street from the Duck and Wattle to remain undetected. That was Dickie’s job, to be detected, and he performed this office with such brilliance that government clerk Miles Duncan was not only confident but smiling as he nipped out the back door of the inn whilst Dickie was so obviously watching the front.
The smile faded quickly as a firm hand clapped down on his shoulder even as a sharp tug on the satchel he carried relieved him of its burden. “Good evening, Mr. Duncan. Going somewhere? Mind if we join you?”
Miles Duncan did mind, but not for long, all his earthly cares forgotten as he slipped almost gracefully into the fetid puddle that had once been the contents of several chamber pots recently dumped from an upstairs window. Poor Miles Duncan, another victim of the violent crime rampant in certain quarters of London.
Will Browning calmly retrieved his knife from Duncan’s mortal remains and wiped the blade on the deceased’s coat. He then slid the weapon into the cuff of his boot before relieving the dead man of his purse and inferior garnet stickpin, to lend credence to the crime of robbery. “Jack? Mind if we join you? What a strange choice of words. Not where he just went if you don’t mind, thank you.”
Don John Blackthorn, best known as Black Jack, was already undoing the flap of the satchel, to assure himself the pilfered papers the prime minister had commissioned them to retrieve were inside. “Very well, Will. Next time you talk, and I’ll wield the sticker.”
“Ha! Isn’t it just like you to want the fun for yourself.”
Jack ignored the remark, knowing Will Browning employed his knife and sword without conscience or compunction. It was probably a good thing he’d found government service; otherwise, he’d have been hanged by now.
They were an odd trio of rogues. Dickie, third son of an earl, was socially inept, regarded as pleasant enough but rather dim, yet one of the bravest men Jack had ever met. Not just anyone would constantly set himself up as the most visible and vulnerable target. Dickie’s was the public face that made it possible for the rest to work.
Will was the weapon. Handsome, wealthy, smooth, an impeccably dressed darling of the
