The Lady Gambles. Carole Mortimer

       He introduced himself. ‘I am Dominic Vaughn, Earl of Blackstone.’

      Caro felt a tightness in her chest as she realised this man was a member of the ton—a man no doubt as arrogant as her recently acquired guardian. ‘If that is meant to impress me, my lord, then I am afraid it has failed utterly.’

      He raised dark brows. ‘I believe it is the usual custom at this point for the introduction to be reciprocated.’

      Her cheeks burned at the intended rebuke. ‘If you have spoken to Mr Butler, then you must already know that my name is Caro Morton.’

      He looked at her shrewdly. ‘Is it?’

      Her gaze sharpened. ‘I have just said as much, my lord.’

      ‘Ah, if only the saying of something made it true,’ he mused.

      The tightness in Caro’s chest increased. ‘Do you doubt my word, sir?’

      ‘I am afraid I am of an age and experience, my dear Caro, when I doubt everything I am told until it is proven otherwise.’

      AUTHOR NOTE

      Welcome to the first in a trilogy featuring The Copeland Sisters! Caroline, Diana, and Elizabeth Copeland, eager to escape their new guardian’s unacceptable marriage plans, decide to leave the comfort and safety of their home in Hampshire for the first time, and embark on exciting and separate adventures in London.

      They certainly find adventure—and danger—and, most importantly of all, the men destined for each of them. And by doing so they begin the biggest adventure of their lives—love. The sisters are totally different in temperament, of course, but all are feisty and brave. And I do believe I fell in love with each and every one of my heroes during the writing of this trilogy. I hope you do too.

      Enjoy!

      About the Author

      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, ‘I’m happily married to Peter senior; we’re best friends as well as lovers, which is probably the best recipe for a successful relationship. We live in a lovely part of England.’

       Previous novels by the same author:

       In Mills & Boon^® Historical Romance

      THE DUKE’S CINDERELLA BRIDE*

      THE RAKE’S INDECENT PROPOSAL*

      THE ROGUE’S DISGRACED LADY*

      LADY ARABELLA’S SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE*

      *The Notorious St Claires mini-series

       You’ve read about The Notorious St Claires in Regency times. Now you can read about the new generation in Mills & Boon^® Modern^™ Romance:

       The Scandalous St Claires

       Three arrogant aristocrats—ready to be tamed!

      JORDAN ST CLAIRE: DARK AND DANGEROUS

      THE RELUCTANT DUKE

      TAMING THE LAST ST CLAIRE

       Also available in Modern^™ Romance:

      SURRENDER TO THE PAST

       And in Mills & Boon^® Historical Undone! eBooks:

      AT THE DUKE’S SERVICE

      CONVENIENT WIFE, PLEASURED LADY

       Did you know that these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

       The Lady Gambles

       Carole Mortimer

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Prologue

       April 1817—Palazzo Brizzi, Venice, Italy

      ‘Have I mentioned to either of you gentlemen that I had thought of offering for one of Westbourne’s daughters?’

      Lord Dominic Vaughn, Earl of Blackstone, and one of the two gentlemen referred to by their host, Lord Gabriel Faulkner, found himself gaping inelegantly across the breakfast table at the other man in stunned disbelief. A glance at their friend Nathaniel Thorne, Earl of Osbourne, showed him to be no less surprised at the announcement as he sat with his tea cup arrested halfway between saucer and mouth.

      Indeed, it was one of those momentous occasions when it seemed that time itself should cease. All movement. All sound. Indeed, when the very world itself should simply have stopped turning.

      It had not, of course; the gondoliers could still be heard singing upon their crafts in the busy Grand Canal, the pedlars continued to call out as they moved along the canal selling their wares, and the birds still sang a merry tune. That frozen stillness, that ceasing of time, existed only between the three men seated upon the balcony of the Palazzo Brizzi, where they had been enjoying a late breakfast together prior to Blackstone and Osbourne’s departure for England later today.

      ‘Gentlemen?’ their host prompted in that dry and amused drawl that was so typical of him, one dark brow raised mockingly over eyes of midnight blue as he placed the letter he had been reading down upon the table top.

      Dominic Vaughn was the first to recover his senses. ‘Surely you are not serious, Gabe?’

      That mocking dark brow was joined by its twin. ‘Am I not?’

      ‘Well, of course not.’ Osbourne finally rallied to the occasion. ‘You are Westbourne!’

      ‘For the past six months, yes.’ The new Earl of Westbourne acknowledged drily. ‘It is one of the previous Earl’s daughters for whom I have offered.’

      ‘Copeland?’

      Westbourne gave a haughty inclination of his dark head. ‘Just so.’

      ‘I—but why would you do such a thing?’ Dominic made no effort to hide his disgust at the idea of one of their number willingly sacrificing himself to the parson’s mousetrap.

      The three men were all aged eight and twenty, and had been to school together before serving in Wellington’s army for five years. They had fought together, drunk together, eaten together, wenched together, shared the same accommodations on many occasions—and one thing they had all agreed on long ago was the lack of a need to settle on one piece of succulent fruit when the whole of the basket was available for the tasting. Gabriel’s announcement smacked of a betrayal of that tacit pact.

      Westbourne shrugged his wide shoulders beneath the elegance of his dark-blue superfine. ‘It seemed like the correct thing to do.’

      The correct thing to do! When had Gabriel ever bothered himself with acting correctly? Banished to the Continent in disgrace by his own family and society eight years ago, Lord Gabriel Faulkner had lived his life since that time by his own rules, and to hell with what was correct!

      Having