Join favourite author
Louise Allen
as she explores the tangled love-lives of
Those Scandalous Ravenhursts
First, you travelled across
war-torn Europe with THE DANGEROUS MR RYDER
Then you accompanied Mr Ryderâs sister, THE OUTRAGEOUS LADY FELSHAM, on her quest for a hero.
You were scandalised by THE SHOCKING LORD STANDON
You shared dangerous,
sensual adventures with THE DISGRACEFUL MR RAVENHURST
Now meet
THE NOTORIOUS MR HURST
Coming soon
THE PIRATICAL MISS RAVENHURST
Author Note
Lady Maude Templeton believes in love, as I discovered during the course of THE SHOCKING LORD STANDON, when she refused to marry the hero on the grounds that she just knew the right man was out there waiting for her somewhere.
And then she found him and fell in love instantly with Mr Eden Hurst, who is not only resoundingly ineligible for the daughter of an earl, but is a man who most definitely does not believe in love.
Maude sets out to convince Eden not only that love exists but that she is the woman he needs in his life. It seems a hopeless task, but Maude can be quite as shocking as any of her Ravenhurst friends when she puts her mind to it and Eden Hurst soon finds that doing the right thing is harder than he can ever have imagined. If only he can work out what the right thing isâ¦
There is one more Ravenhurst cousin still without the love of her lifeâClemence Ravenhurst, far away in Jamaica. Little does she know it yet, but respectable Clemence is going to find her life turned upside down as she becomes THE PIRATICAL MISS RAVENHURST in the final episode of ThoseScandalous Ravenhursts. Coming soon.
Louise Allen has been immersing herself in history, real and fictional, for as long as she can remember, and finds landscapes and places evoke powerful images of the past. Louise lives in Bedfordshire, and works as a property manager, but spends as much time as possible with her husband at the cottage they are renovating on the north Norfolk coast, or travelling abroad. Venice, Burgundy and the Greek islands are favourite atmospheric destinations. Please visit Louiseâs websiteâwww.louiseallenregency.co.ukâfor the latest news!
Recent novels by the same author:
THE BRIDEâS SEDUCTION
NOT QUITE A LADY A MOST UNCONVENTIONAL COURTSHIP NO PLACE FOR A LADY DESERT RAKE (in Hot Desert Nights) VIRGIN SLAVE, BARBARIAN KING THE DANGEROUS MR RYDER* THE OUTRAGEOUS LADY FELSHAM* THE SHOCKING LORD STANDON* THE DISGRACEFUL MR RAVENHURST*
*Those Scandalous Ravenhursts
Look for THE PIRATICAL MISS RAVENHURST
Coming September 2009
RAVENHURST FAMILY TREE
Chapter One
February 1817
âAnd so, my false loveâI die!â The maiden sank to the ground, a dagger in her bosom, her white arm outflung.
The audience went wild. They applauded, whistled, stamped and, those members of it who were not weeping into their handkerchiefs, leapt to their feet with cries of âMore! More!â
The dark-haired lady in the expensive box close to the stage gripped the velvet-upholstered rim and held her breath. For the audience who had flocked to see the final performance of The Sicilian Seducer, or InnocenceBetrayed, the tension was over and they could relax into their appreciation of the melodrama. For Lady Maude Templeton, the climax of the evening was about to occur and, she was determined, it would change her life for ever.
âYou would never guess it, but she must be forty if sheâs a day,â Lady Standon remarked, lowering her opera glass from a careful study of the corpse who was just being helped to her feet by her leading man.
âOne is given to understand that La Belle Marguerite never mentions anything so sordid as age, Jessica.â Her husband turned from making an observation to Lord Pangbourne.
âFine figure of a woman,â the earl grunted. He was still applauding enthusiastically. âNot surprising that she was such a sensation on the Continent.â
âAnd so much of that figure on display,â Jessica murmured to Maude, who broke her concentration on the shadowy wings long enough to smile at her friendâs sly remark. The loss of focus lasted only a moment. Tonight was the night, she knew it. With the excitement that surrounded a last night at the Unicorn she had her best opportunity to slip backstage. And once she was there, to make what she could of the situation.
Then her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat harder, just as it always did when she glimpsed him. Eden Hurst, proprietor of the Unicorn theatre, strode on to the stage and held up both hands for silence. And by some miracleâor sheer charismaâhe got it, the tumult subsiding enough that his powerful voice could be heard.
âMy lords, ladies, gentlemen. We thank you. On behalf of Madame Marguerite and the Company of the Unicorn, I thank you. Tonight was the last performance of TheSicilian Seducer for this, our first full Season.â He paused while exaggerated groans and shouts of âshame!â resounded through the stalls and up into the gods. âBut we are already looking forward to