Zachary Black: Duke of Debauchery
LONDON’S MOST DISSOLUTE BACHELORNo one knows how to sin quite like Zachary Black, Duke of Hawksmere. So when he finds a mysterious veiled woman hiding in his carriage there’s only one thing to do… carry her to his bedchamber and find out what she wants! But coming face to face with beautiful Lady Georgianna Lancaster – his former fiancée – unnerves Zachary. Maybe the best way to restore his equilibrium is to hold her captive… and turn the secrets of the past into the sins of the present!Dangerous Dukes - Rakes about town!
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âYou have run out of time, I am afraid.â
Zachary returned her gaze coldly as the carriage came to a stop outside Hawksmere House.
âPerhaps you would care to come inside and finish the conversation there?â
Said the spider to the fly, Georgianna mentally added as she gave another shiver of apprehension. Being alone with him in his carriage had been more than a test for her nerves. Entering Zachary Blackâs home would push her well beyond her limits of daring.
What would he say or do if he were to learn exactly who she was? Would he shun her, as all of society now shunned her? Or would he exact the revenge she had long been waiting for?
Zachary Black, with his reputation as the coldly ruthless Duke of Hawksmere, was not an enemy any sane person would voluntarily wish upon themselves.
DANGEROUS DUKES
Rakes about town
Carole Mortimer introduces Londonâs most delectable dukes in her new mini-series.
But donât be fooled by their charm, because beneath their lazy smiles theyâre deliciously sexyâand highly dangerous!
Coming this month
ZACHARY BLACK:
DUKE OF DEBAUCHERY
And donât miss
DARIAN HUNTER: DUKE OF DESIRE
Available November 2014
To all of you, thank you for reading my books.
CAROLE MORTIMER was born in England, the youngest of three children. She began writing in 1978, and has now written over one hundred and fifty books for Harlequin Mills & Boon®. Carole has six sons: Matthew, Joshua, Timothy, Michael, David and Peter. She says, âIâm happily married to Peter senior; weâre best friends as well as lovers, which is probably the best recipe for a successful relationship. We live in a lovely part of England.â
Contents
Late February, 1815, outside Whiteâs Club, London.
âWhat theâ?â Zachary Black, the Duke of Hawksmere, came to an abrupt halt as he climbed into his carriage and noticed the shadowy figure already seated on the far side. The lantern inside was turned down low, preventing him from seeing if it was a man or woman who sat back in the shadows. âLamb?â He turned to look accusingly at his groom, silver eyes glittering in the soft glow of the flickering lamp.
The middle-aged man straightened to attention. âShe said as âow you was expecting âer, your Grace,â he offered questioningly.
His intruder was a woman then, Zachary processed grimly. But certainly not one he had been expecting.
Unless...
He had just spent the evening and part of the night at his club with his four closest friends celebrating the forthcoming nuptials of one of them, Marcus Wilding, the Duke of Worthing, and his ladylove, Lady Julianna Armitage. Their wedding was due to take place later on today.
Zachary had briefly toyed with the idea of marriage himself the previous year, a decision forced upon him by the circumstances of his fatherâs will. But his attempt to secure a wife had gone so disastrously wrong he was reluctant to repeat the experience. However, his cynicism did not prevent him from wishing Worthing well in the venture. Indeed, he had done so until almost dawn.
Which now caused Zachary to wonder if perhaps the woman in his carriage was a part of those wedding celebrations? Possibly a gift from Worthing? And perhaps each of Zacharyâs other three close friends would all find a similar present awaiting them in their own carriages?
Maybe so, but Zachary intended to remain cautious until convinced otherwise. The war with Napoleon might be over, and the Corsican currently incarcerated on Elba, but these were still dangerous times, and finding an unknown woman waiting for him in his carriage was certainly reason enough for him to stay on his guard.
âHawksmere House, Lamb,â he instructed tersely as he climbed fully into the carriage and the door closed behind him. He took a seat across from the mysterious woman, placing his hat on the seat beside him as the carriage moved forward.
Zacharyâs sight had now adjusted enough to the gloom for him to note that the woman wore a black veil, one that covered her from her bonneted head to her booted toe. Such an effective covering prevented Zachary from being able to tell if she was old or young, fat or thin.
Deliberately so?
No doubt.
Zachary maintained his silence. This woman had sought him out, and therefore it was incumbent upon her to state her reasons for having done so.
To state whether she was friend or foe.
* * *
Georgiannaâs heart was beating wildly in her chest as she looked across the carriage at the silently watchful Zachary Black, the Duke of Hawksmere. A man, should he discover her identity, who had every reason to dislike her intensely. And rumour had it that the hard and cynical Zachary Black was a dangerous man when he disliked, intensely or otherwise.
