The Scandalous Lord Lanchester. Anne Herries

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       ‘Can you not think of someone you might recommend, Andrew? Will you not save me from taking the next fortune-hunter that crosses my path?’

      ‘Are you playing a game with me?’ Andrew stopped walking, turning to look into her eyes. ‘If this is your idea of amusement we may banter and then forget it—but if you are in earnest I shall give the matter some serious thought. However, I think you must give yourself a little more time.’

      Mariah pouted. ‘Must I? Very well. I am prepared to wait a few months longer, if I must, but please take me seriously. If you cannot help me I may have to decide for myself—and then I might make a mistake. How would you feel with that on your conscience? I am a lonely widow at the mercy of unscrupulous men—and I am asking you for help. Ignore me at your peril.’

      ‘My hands are tied for the moment. Come, can you truly not wait a little longer to find a husband who will love and care for you?’

      ‘If he was the right man I would wait for ever,’ Mariah said, and for once she was not laughing. Her heart raced. Surely he must know what was in her mind? She could not have been plainer …

       SECRETS AND SCANDALS

       Nothing stays secret for long in Regency Society!

      The truth threatens to reveal a scandal

       for all three couples in this

       exciting new trilogy from

       Anne Herries

      THE DISAPPEARING DUCHESS—

       February 2012

      THE MYSTERIOUS LORD MARLOWE—

       March 2012

      THE SCANDALOUS LORD LANCHESTER—

       April 2012

      You can also find these as eBooks. Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

      About the Author

      ANNE HERRIES lives in Cambridgeshire, where she is fond of watching wildlife, and spoils the birds and squirrels that are frequent visitors to her garden. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature, and sometimes puts a little into her books, although they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment, and to give pleasure to her readers. She is a winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romance Prize. She invites readers to contact her on her website: www.lindasole.co.uk

       Previous novels by the same author:

      THE RAKE’S REBELLIOUS LADY

A COUNTRY MISS IN HANOVER SQUARE^*

      AN INNOCENT DEBUTANTE IN HANOVER SQUARE^*

      THE MISTRESS OF HANOVER SQUARE^*

FORBIDDEN LADY†

      THE LORD’S FORCED BRIDE†

      THE PIRATE’S WILLING CAPTIVE†

      HER DARK AND DANGEROUS LORD†

      BOUGHT FOR THE HAREM

      HOSTAGE BRIDE

THE DISAPPEARING DUCHESS^**

      THE MYSTERIOUS LORD MARLOWE^**

^*A Season in Town trilogy

^† The Melford Dynasty

^**Secrets and Scandals

      And in the Regency series The Steepwood Scandal:

      LORD RAVENSDEN’S MARRIAGE

       COUNTERFEIT EARL

      And in The Hellfire Mysteries:

      AN IMPROPER COMPANION

       A WEALTHY WIDOW

       A WORTHY GENTLEMAN

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

      The Scandalous

       Lord Lanchester

      Anne Herries

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

       Prologue

      See Naples and die. Those romantic words could be taken two ways. Andrew, Lord Lanchester, smiled wryly as he looked at the rundown hovels along the waterfront and knew them to be the haunt of knaves, cutthroats and thieves. Was he truly likely to find the man he sought in those rundown hovels? Looking about him at the peeling paint and trying not to gag on the stench of the gutters, Andrew frowned. The man he was searching for was a rogue and a thief and his journey would in all probability be a wasted one. Yet he had no choice if he wanted to clear his own name of the shadow that hung over it.

      For the moment his commanding officer had promised to keep silent about the letter accusing Andrew of stealing regimental silver worth more than ten thousand pounds.

      ‘You know I would take your word above anyone’s, Lanchester, but the fact remains that the silver was stolen at a time when you were in charge of its safe-keeping—and this letter accuses you of taking it.’

      ‘I swear to you, Harrison, that I am innocent of the crime. Yes, at the time I was a little short of funds for a while. It was difficult, I shall not deny it, but I solved my problem. Of what possible use would the silver be to me? If it was melted down, the metal would be worth only a fraction of its true worth and it must be impossible to sell.’

      ‘Unless it was taken abroad somewhere.’

      ‘Even so …’ Andrew felt a spurt of anger. ‘You think that my visit to Italy at about that time might have been for such a purpose?’

      ‘I have not said I suspect you, Lanchester. Curb your pride, man. If I wished, I could take this to headquarters and have you brought to a court-martial—but I am as certain as it is possible to be that whoever took the silver meant to implicate you. My opinion is that you have an enemy. Think carefully, Andrew—who hates you enough to want you brought down?’

      ‘I have no idea. As far as I know I have no enemies—at least none that would go to such lengths to ruin me.’

      ‘There must be someone … what about Lieutenant Gordon? Did you not have him disciplined for cheating at cards and general behaviour unworthy of a gentleman and officer?’

      ‘William