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prologue

January 1815

Blackland

The rain fell steadily on the slick rocks e of the Essex countryside, where the land fell in sheer cliffs to a frigid winter sea

His horse was uncertain of its footing, shying away froround The creatures fear would ordinarily irritate hihter, but today the wet cliffs made him equally cautious He hadn't planned to s would not wait

He had received word by— critical information that pointed to the possibility that the scheme he had set in motion was about to be coand that someone had to be stopped

He had done all he could to keep his work a secret But the earl had so He didn't kno closely his precious earldom was tied up in the whole plan Wouldn't that be a surprise? He couldn't wait to see the look of shock on the earl's face That would odforsaken rain worth it

He turned his gaze to the ocean, where a ship was anchored not far from the bleak Essexshire cliffs Thirty yards ahead, the path split into two To the left began the steep descent to the sea—too dangerous for a horse, barely wide enough for athe tops of the cliffs and, not far from the fork, offered the perfect spot for anyone interested in watching the events taking place below There, he would find his prey

He dis to the right on foot Without a e of surprise was his On foot, hetraveled them hundreds of times before They provided the perfect cover for the work he was doing, the perfect rendezvous point for his partners, and, coincidentally, the perfect place to dispose of someone

The earl had, at long last, made a mistake And noould pay

one

April 1815

London, England

Oof! I've been stabbed!"

The Duchess of Worthington did not look up froet while at the hands of your dresslance in the direction of her youngest child "Besides, I highly doubt that Madame Fernaud 'stabbed' you"

Lady Alexandra Stafford, only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Worthington, heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes She rubbed the spot at her waist that bore the mark of London's finest dressmaker's needle "Perhaps not stabbed — but wounded nonetheless" Garnering no reaction from either her mother or the unflappable modiste, Alex slumped her shoulders andanyway"

The duchess continued with her needlepoint "Alexandra, there are plenty of young wo on that platfor for that dress"

"May I suggest any one of them take my place?"

"No"

Alex knehen she was fighting a losing battle "I didn't think so"

The Duchess of Worthington had been waiting seventeen years for her daughter to be released, finally, into the social ind of a London season

For the last three years, Alex's daily lessons had been shortened to acconed to make her most marketable to those unood catches" — which is to say, titled, wealthy, and thoroughly dull

Perfectly useful tiorous schedule designed by her overness to break her of all her quirks, that is, anything about Alex that so Froned to keep Alex's back straight and chin tilted just so, to "Proper Conversation," a playacting session designed to help Alex understand what to say and what not to say to the variousover the course of her first season, to "The Subtlety of the Dance," during which she learned the quadrille, the waltz, the cotillionand any nuive her a chance to try to "appear graceful and lovely" while practicing all she had learned about Proper Conversation, the lessons were a precious waste of time as far as Alex was concerned Unfortunately, she didn't iht through the drawing rooton House would steer her hter and, even then, she didn't put it past the duchess to question the Captain of the French Guard on his lineage and inheritance before surrendering

After all , a carefully won e was far more important than affairs of state

The lessons had taught Alex some of the rules of the London aristocracy, however Do: pretend to be interested as , and theence Evidently, it scares eligible gentle that therefor a woman who knows the difference between Greek and Latin That particular reovernesses into hysterics

Without considering the repercussions, Alex let out a deep, resigned sigh And received a needle in the backside for it

"Ouch!"

Madame Fernaud may have been considered the land, but Alex knew better Clearly, the Frenchwoainst her British ene maidens of London to death

This was the final fitting of the owns—the one she would wear to her first ball at Almack's in a little over a week's time An appearance at Almack's was essential for any debutante Here, London's most revered aristocrats —collectively referred to as the ton — were given a good look at the fresh young faces of the season Like livestock going toin wry amusement as the corner of her mouth kicked up The siirls ould join Alex for her co of the mo for taste

A quiet throat-clearing ca careful not to ain, craned her head around to look at Eliza, her lady's maid

"Excuse me, Your Grace," Eliza directed her words to the duchess while dropping into a quick curtsy "Lady Alexandra has visitorsLady Eleanor and Lady Vivian are in the downstairs sitting room"

"Thank goodness I'm saved," Alex muttered under her breath and snapped her head around to send a pleading look at herhere forever The dress must be perfect by now"

Madame Fernaud stepped back froht, Mademoiselle" She turned to the duchess and said, "Et voila Your Graceshe is a masterpiecedo you not think?"

Alex pounced on this statement 'A masterpiece, Mother I rather think we shouldn't fuss with such a tour de force, don't you?"

The duchess, ever a perfectionist, stood and walked a slow circle around her daughter, casting a critical eye at a seam here, a detail there After what seeaze toto set the ton on its ear"

r />Alex knew she'd won Her face broke into a wide smile "Well, with a mother like you, how could I not?"

The duchess chuckled at her daughter's blatant flattery "Rather excessive, Alexandra Off with you"

Alex clapped her hands and hopped down fro herself into the ar a kiss on the duchess's cheek "Thank you, Ma back a coeous! Oui, c'est nifique! Thank you!"

Behind her, Her Grace spoke to no one in particular "What airl?" If Madanant sputtering at the atrocious treat at the hands of Alexandra, she would have detected a hint of laughter in the duchess's voice