Unlacing Lilly
The bastard son of a duke, Devlin Farrell is about to exact revenge for his mother's murder.He will even go as far as kidnapping his enemy's bride from the altar! Lilly O'Rourke is merely an innocent pawn in Devlin's plan. Other than ruining her reputation, he means her no harm–though it's hard to play the perfect gentleman when he's struggling to resist her tempting beauty.But Devlin has lived so long for revenge, can he now forfeit this desire–and in rescuing Lilly, save himself?
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“So pensive, Miss?”
Lillian whirled around to find a man in shirtsleeves standing beneath the willow. A groundskeeper or stable master. She turned away without speaking.
A chuckle caused a chill to shiver up her spine. “Miss Lillian, is it not?”
“Miss O’Rourke,” she corrected.
The man came around the bench and gave her an impudent smile. She felt breathless and nervous. He’d been eavesdropping.
“Well, Miss O’Rourke, you are to become a duchess. What good fortune.”
She tilted her nose upward, feigning indifference.
“You can speak to me. I promise I do not bite.”
She glanced at him again and noted he had an expensive jacket slung over one arm. Not a gardener. But more unsettling than she’d thought. No, he did not look suitable at all. He looked like the sort of man who would ruin a woman….
Unlacing Lilly
Harlequin>®Historical
Praise for Gail Ranstrom
Lord Libertine
“This dark tale…neatly juxtaposes the seamier side of the Regency period with the glittering superficiality of ‘polite society’…a good choice for the Halloween season.”
—Library Journal
The Courtesan’s Courtship
“This book should not be missed.”
—Rakehell
The Rake’s Revenge
“Ranstrom crafts an intriguing mystery, brimming with a fine cast of strong and likable characters and a few surprises.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
The Missing Heir
“Ranstrom draws us into this suspenseful tale right up to the very end.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
Unlacing Lilly
GAIL RANSTROM
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
Available from Harlequin>®Historical and GAIL RANSTROM
A Wild Justice #617
Saving Sarah #660
The Christmas Visit #727
“A Christmas Secret”
The Rake’s Revenge #731
The Missing Heir #753
The Courtesan’s Courtship #783
Broken Vows, Mended Hearts #803
“Paying the Piper”
Indiscretions #824
Lord Libertine #868
Unlacing Lilly #912
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Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Chapter One
London, July 27, 1821
This was not the first time Devlin Farrell had intruded on the grounds of Rutherford House to watch the people within. Far from it. He knew the residents almost as well as he knew himself. Knew what they liked and didn’t like, who they saw, where they went and what they wanted. And he knew, too, when events would be held at Rutherford House that would allow him to watch them and, occasionally, mingle. Like tonight. There was not much, in fact, that he did not know about Lord Rutherford and his brood.
Shrouded by the branches of a sheltering willow, he went unnoticed by strolling couples and the occasional straggler. He had little fear of being discovered. There were far too many guests to keep track of tonight. With the right enticement, he might even enter the ballroom and blend. No one would recognize him, and if they did, they certainly would not give him away lest they give themselves away. Devlin was not a man people would admit to knowing.
Gay paper lanterns lit the paths and the sound of an orchestra floated from the ballroom on a summer breeze as soft as a caress to his cheek. Laughter filled the air, along with the clink of glasses, and he knew the wine would be as free-flowing as the Thames.
Devlin shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over a branch to roll his shirtsleeves up. The night was uncommonly sultry and he was not in the least concerned about how a gentleman appeared in public. He was not a gentleman.
“Oh, Lord Olney! You are beyond diverting.”
