Scandalising the Ton. Diane Gaston

       ‘Do you need money?’

      His hand swept the room. ‘You light fi res only for show. You have no flowers. And there is the matter of your servants…’

      Would he tell the creditors and reporters? If word of her true situation escaped, all of England would know the shocking state of her fi nances.

      ‘I don’t need money.’ Lydia felt her cheeks heat. ‘Would that not mean I was in your keeping? Do not mistresses accept money from their…patrons?’

      ‘I offer it without obligation.’

      Adrian said this so sincerely she almost believed him. It made no sense that a near stranger, a known rake, would offer her money without expecting something in return.

      For a moment he looked as if he would cross the room to her, but instead he turned and walked to the door. She twisted away, not wishing to watch him disappear out of her life.

      His voice came from behind her. ‘I am your friend, Lydia. Remember that.’

      She spun back around, but he had gone.

       Praise for Diane Gaston A TWELFTH NIGHT TALE

      ‘…pure pleasure…’

       —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

       INNOCENCE AND IMPROPRIETY

      ‘Diane Gaston’s unconventional male and female heroes

       give INNOCENCE AND IMPROPRIETY, her latest elegantly written Regency historical, a refreshingly different twist.’ —Chicago Tribune

      ‘If you are weary of aristocratic heroes and heroines

       in Regency historical romances, then Diane Gaston’s INNOCENCE AND IMPROPRIETY is just the book for you. Well-written and entertaining… provocative…highly recommended!’ —Romance Readers Connection

       A REPUTABLE RAKE

      ‘…a delightful and thought-provoking look into

       a side of London we don’t usually get to see.’ —Romance Junkies

       THE WAGERING WIDOW

      ‘The protagonists are so deeply sculpted into

       living-breathing individuals that the reader will immediately be feeling their emotional turmoil…the entire tone of the book is steeped in sensuality…reading of the highest order!’ —Historical Romance Writer

       THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M

      ‘Wow… it’s a real emotional roller-coaster ride…

       you simply cannot put [it] down— absolutely mesmerising! …an unusual gritty Regency packing such an emotional punch.’ —Historical Romance Writer

      ‘This is a Regency with the gutsiness of a Dickens novel.

       It’s not always pretty, but it’s real and passionate. Gaston’s strong, memorable debut provides new insights into the era and characters that touch your heart and draw you emotionally into her powerful story.’ —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

      As a psychiatric social worker, Diane Gaston spent years helping others create real-life happy endings. Now Diane crafts fictional ones, writing the kind of historical romance she’s always loved to read. The youngest of three daughters of a US Army Colonel, Diane moved frequently during her childhood, even living for a year in Japan. It continues to amaze her that her own son and daughter grew up in one house in Northern Virginia. Diane still lives in that house, with her husband and three very ordinary housecats. SCANDALISING THE TON features characters you will have met in THE VANISHING VISCOUNTESS.

      Visit Diane’s website at http://dianegaston.com

       Previous novels by the same author:

      THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M

      THE WAGERING WIDOW A REPUTABLE RAKE INNOCENCE AND IMPROPRIETY A TWELFTH NIGHT TALE

      (in A Regency Christmas anthology) THE VANISHING VISCOUNTESS

      SCANDALISING THE TON

      Diane Gaston

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

       To my sister Judy, my first and forever friend

      Chapter One

      Once the finest ornament of the beau monde, a beauty so astounding and sublime a man would kill to possess her hand in marriage, the notorious Lady W— mourns her murderous husband in secret. How much knowledge did she possess of her husband’s villainous acts?—The New Observer, November 12, 1818

      “Leave me this instant!”

      A woman’s voice.

      Adrian Pomroy, the new Viscount Cavanley, barely heard her as he rounded the corner into John Street. Not even halfway down the road he saw the woman stride away from a man. The man hurried after her. They were mere silhouettes in the waning light of this November evening and they took no heed of him.

      Adrian paused to make sense of this little drama. It was most likely a lovers’ quarrel, and, if so, he’d backtrack to avoid landing in the middle of it.

      “One moment.” The man kept his voice down, as if fearing to be overheard. “Please!” He seized her arm.

      “Release me!” The woman struggled frantically to pull away.

      Lovers’ quarrel or not, Adrian could not allow a woman to be treated so roughly. He sprinted forwards. “Unhand her! What is this?”

      The man released the woman so quickly she tripped on her long hooded cloak. Adrian clasped her arm before she fell, holding her until she regained her balance. From the mews nearby a horse whinnied, but otherwise it was quiet.

      The man backed away. “This is not as it appears, sir. I intend no harm to the lady.” He raised his hands as if to prove his words.

      The lady? Adrian assumed he’d rescued some maid from a stableman’s unwanted advances, but the woman’s cloak was made of fine cloth, and the man was dressed more like a tradesman than a stableman.

      Adrian turned to the lady. “Did he harm you, ma’am?”

      “No.” The hood of her cloak shrouded her face. “But I do not wish to speak to him.”

      The man stepped forwards again. “I merely asked the lady a few questions—”

      “I will not answer them,” she cried from beneath her hood.

      Adrian had the advantage of size on the man. He straightened his spine to make certain the man knew it. “If the lady does not wish to speak to you, that is the end of it.”

      “Let me explain, sir.” The man stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to Adrian. “I am Samuel Reed from The New Observer.”

      Adrian glanced at the card. “You are a newspaper reporter?” He had read the new London paper, quite recently, in fact.

      The man nodded. “All England wishes to know Lady Wexin’s reaction to the events surrounding her villainous husband. I am merely requesting the information from her.”

      “Lady Wexin?”

      Adrian regarded the cloaked figure with new interest. Adrian had just called upon his friend, the Marquess of Tannerton. Tanner had shoved The New Observer article about Lady Wexin under Adrian’s nose not more than half an hour ago.

      His friend, Tanner, had recently returned from