Miss Bella Lacey desires to accomplish two things before settling into an unfulfilling marriage to the man her father has chosen. First, she intends to inveigle a goodly amount of money for her orphans from a man of means, and second, to have one night of passion to help her endure the dreary years ahead.
When Derrick, Lord Eaglestone, a wealthy viscount with a scandalous reputation, agrees to donate to Miss Lacey’s charity, he has only seduction in mind. Little does he suspect that Miss Lacey has already chosen him to debauch her before she weds another. The lady has virtually fallen into his lap, but much to his annoyance, he finds himself reluctant to oblige her.
One Scandalous Night
By Maggi Andersen
Copyright ? 2016 by Maggi Andersen.
Edited by: Devin Govaere
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DEDICATION
To my husband, I owe him so much.
CHAPTER ONE
London, 1878.
HEADS TURNED when a tall man entered Lord Maudling’s drawing room. Bella studied him with interest. Lord Eaglestone had a rather harsh, intelligent face, observant amber eyes, a blade of a nose, and an angled jawline. His dark hair was longer than was fashionable and curled over his collar, a sign of a rebellious streak perhaps. He was known to snub his nose at society.
“Why, in the name of Queen Victoria, did you invite that man?” her father muttered to his host.
“Barely sociably acceptable, I admit, Sir Randolph, but a good man to consult about investments,” Lord Maudling said. “I’ve heard an attempt has been made on his life. I want to seek his advice while I can.”
Bella shivered at the cold, humorless statement. The viscount was the man she’d particularly wished to see. Imposing in a black tailcoat and trousers, a crimson waistcoat, and white necktie, he weaved his way across the ruby-toned rug through the crowded reception room. One or two men hailed him but most stepped aside for him.
Eaglestone reached Lord Maudling, where he stood drinking champagne with her parents. It wasn’t merely his six-foot-plus height or the impressive breadth of his shoulders but also his manner that made him intimidating. His very carriage made one aware how little he cared for opinion. Perhaps it was because his Lincolnshire family seat of Eaglestone appeared in the Doomsday Book. Perhaps it was because he’d had to fight so hard to keep it.
At breakfast that morning, Bella’s father had thrown down The Times newspaper and complained to her mother about Eaglestone’s influence on the ’Change. Father’s stocks had apparently plummeted. Her attention caught, Bella put down her teacup. Anything concerning his lordship fascinated her, ever since he’d held her in his strong arms and waltzed her over Lady Byrne’s ballroom floor six weeks ago.
The viscount kissed her mother’s hand, and a flush rose up her throat. Bella doubted any woman would be impervious to Lord Eaglestone. Men, on the other hand, may not admire him quite so much. Her father positively glowered at him.
She should thank Lord Eaglestone for distracting Father from his favorite topic. Her.
Her father, for reasons of his own, quickly recovered his manners. “My lord, I believe you’ve met my daughter, Miss Lacey?”
“Indeed. At Lady Byrne’s ball.” Lord Eaglestone took her hand in his large one. His unusual tawny eyes looked into hers. The smile that lifted his well-shaped mouth seemed to suggest something far more intimate than a mere waltz had taken place between them.
His eyes made her think of sunshine on stone, a glimmer within of something hard and unbending while, at the same time, compelling. She wouldn’t care to oppose him. He could scatter her thoughts with one determined glance. But his mouth… That was another matter entirely. Those sculptured lips spoke of a tempestuous, passionate nature. It made her warm all over to think of his mouth. On her.