Excerpt: Avoiding the Earl’s Lust

The Prologue

Edward, Earl Lippincott, gazed into the heart-shaped face of his sister’s friend, Lady Aurelia Coddington. Her smile was like a beam of sunlight in the crowded ballroom where they met in the middle of the dance floor executing yet another step in the quadrille.

As they progressed through the dance, he glanced over his shoulder in time to admire her curvaceous form. The debutante was uncommonly pretty and had attracted his attention from the moment she entered the ballroom.

Her eyes echoed the bright blue of a midsummer sky. Light blonde hair gleaming beneath the glow of a hundred candles, softened to a darker blonde as she moved from beneath the chandelier.

The steps brought them together again, and he did his best to dazzle her with his secret weapon—his dimpled smile.

Aurelia’s step faltered. He smiled, knowing he succeeded as he steadied her before she misstepped.

Her smile was tremulous. “Thank you, your lordship.”

“My pleasure.” And it would be, if he could but get her alone for just a few moments after the dance ended. Mayhap a walk in the dimly lit garden of his brother’s town house to steal a kiss and more. A glance at the Duke of Wyndmere had Edward sighing. His brother was glaring at him—again.

Bloody hell! He’d given his word not to trifle with the affections of any female under the age of five and twenty. Another glance at his partner and he knew she would be somewhere nearer their sister’s age of eight and ten. Blast!

Her lips curved into a fetching smile with not a trace of artifice.

Good God! He was intrigued to the point of temptation. What he wouldn’t give if he could travel back in time before he’d given his word to his brother. He’d whisk the young lady away to a more private setting. Devilishly skilled in the art of seduction, more than her innocent curiosity would be satisfied.

The music ended as thoughts of what might be whirled in his head. Entranced by Lady Aurelia. Unwilling to end their time together, he slowly lifted her hand to his lips. Dazzled sky-blue eyes widened as he pressed a kiss to the back of her gloved hand.

Delighted with her, intrigued by her lack of artifice, he knew he would have to see her again. The hand in his trembled as the confusion and untapped desire in the depths of her eyes held him enthralled.

“I trust you’ve enjoyed dancing with Earl Lippincott.”

Lord Coddington’s gravelly voice broke the spell Aurelia had woven about him. Edward noted the older man’s pointed look and released her hand.

Aurelia beamed. “Yes, Uncle Phineas.” Remembering her manners, she curtseyed. “Thank you ever so much for the delightful dance, your lordship.”

“It was indeed a pleasure, Lady Aurelia.”

She was staring at him as if committing the moment to memory. Was she? How odd. No other woman had ever looked at him in quite the same manner.

Her uncle tugged on her arm to get her moving. She looked over her shoulder and waved at him. “I’ll remember this dance always!”

Lady Aurelia’s reaction, though a bit unschooled, was refreshing. This could hardly be her first ball, could it? He watched her walk away, speculating at the number of balls she may have attended. Frustration filled him, wondering how many other jaded members of the ton she had cast her innocent spell upon. He would make discrete inquiries to that end, while at the same time learn more about the lovely young woman.

“Have you forgotten your promise already?”

Edward’s temper was rarely ignited by mere words, but his brother’s question had him fighting to rein in the acidic reply poised upon his tongue. Succeeding in that regard, he replied, “Nay, Your Grace.”

The duke’s one-word response had Edward chuckling. “I daresay, do you think your language is appropriate for our younger guests?”

“You would jest when this is a serious matter?”

Edward sighed. “I have just danced with a delightful young lady, who happens to be a friend to Phoebe. I found Lady Aurelia to be a breath of fresh air.”

He watched the lady and her uncle make their way over to the refreshment table before turning back to his brother. “Do not make light of my promise not to dally with any of our sister’s friends, this Season’s debutantes,” he warned the duke. “I gave my word.”

His brother sighed audibly. “Forgive me. The latest missive from our contact at the Bow Street Runners has me seeing the viscount skulking about in every corner of the ballroom and then dancing with our sister, Phoebe.”

Edward relaxed and clapped a hand to his brother’s back. “Your personal guard is stationed about the room.”

“True.”

“And your lovely duchess is watching over our sister,” Edward pointed out. “What could possibly happen?”

“What indeed?” the duke mumbled.

A short while later Edward noted Lord Coddington escorting his niece, and the young woman who accompanied them, from the ballroom. Mayhap another time, Lady Aurelia, he silently promised.

At half eleven he observed one of their footmen delivering a folded slip of paper to his brother. He knew without asking it was of some urgency and involved the man behind the threats to their family.

As previously arranged, he crossed the expanse of the ballroom to join his sister-in-law, the duchess. “I would have you know how much you have added to my brother’s life, Persephone,” the earl confided. “And ours.”

The look in his sister-in-law’s eyes warmed at his words, then changed abruptly. He had a split-second warning to prepare before all bloody hell broke loose.

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