Seduced: The Scandalous Virgin. Deborah Hale

ection>

      Fresh from scandal in India, headstrong Genia Vernon is being shipped off to England, where she faces a gray future as companion to her aged aunt. When she meets arrogant rake Blade Maxwell on board, she has her one and only chance for a hot, passionate fling …

      Blade wants to sow his wild oats one last time before duty forces him to marry. And being in such close proximity to fiery Genia has him more than tempted to break his golden rule—to never seduce a virgin!

      In 1819, the British established a trading post on the tiny island of Singapura, in a move to break a virtual Dutch monopoly on the lucrative East Indies trade. Since vast fortunes were made in those early years, I decided the heroes of my new trilogy for Mills & Boon Historical would be partners in a successful trading firm. Having amassed money and power, they now faced the far greater challenge of finding lasting love.

      Seduced: The Scandalous Virgin is the story of Blade Maxwell, a friend of the Vindicara partners returning to England from exile in the Orient. Eager to sow the last of his wild oats, Blade soon discovers the only available lady onboard is the beautiful, spirited Genia Vernon. Despite her attraction to Blade, Genia is still vexed with him for rejecting her overtures when they first met. Besides, she dares not risk being involved in any further scandal!

      I love to hear from readers, who are welcome to contact me by email at [email protected]. I also invite you to visit me on the web at www.deborahhale.com or through my Facebook page Regency Author Deborah Hale.

      To my cousins and long friends, Dawn Kelly and Myrtle Graham, who know all my scandalous secrets!

      About the Author

      In the process of tracing her Canadian family to their origins in eighteenth-century Britain, DEBORAH HALE learned a great deal about the period and uncovered plenty of true-life inspiration for her historical romance novels! Deborah lives with her very own hero and their four fastgrowing children in Nova Scotia—a province steeped in history and romance!

      Deborah invites you to become better acquainted with her by visiting her personal website www.deborahhale.com, or chatting with her in the Harlequin/Mills & Boon online communities.

      Seduced: The Scandalous

      Virgin

      Deborah Hale

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Chapter One

       Singapore, December 1820

      “A toast to my old friend, Blade Maxwell.” Ford Barrett raised a glass of potent Batavia arrack. “Perhaps it is no coincidence that the two greatest mischief-makers in the history of our school should meet up again so far from it. Though I am sorry to see him go, I wish him a happy return to civilization.”

      “To Maxwell.” Ford's business partners, Hadrian Northmore and Simon Grimshaw, drank the toast while Blade nodded his thanks for their good wishes.

      He could not pretend he was sorry to leave Singapore. The British trading post had been founded on this tiny island less than two years ago and conditions were still primitive. Though Ford and his partners had made their fortunes as free traders, they all lived together in this simple, palm-thatched dwelling they'd built beside their warehouse. All food had to be imported, making it expensive and often unpalatable. The coming of winter would only relieve the oppressive heat by a degree or two. After three years’ exile in the sweltering East Indies, Blade longed for the familiar amenities of Penkensey Manor and a bracing Atlantic breeze.

      At the same time, he tried to forget the price he would pay for those comforts.

      “To your safe voyage.” Hadrian Northmore regarded Blade with greater cordiality than usual, now that he was about to leave. A North Countryman of humble origins, he'd made it clear he had little use for the son of an earl. “May your ship be spared from storms and reefs.”

      “Pirates and mutinies,” added Simon Grimshaw in a fierce tone Blade was at a loss to explain.

      “And may you not expire from boredom,” Ford concluded with a wry chuckle. “Though I doubt there's much fear of that provided your fellow passengers include at least one fair female between the ages of eighteen and eighty.”

      Blade grinned and hoisted his glass. “To the ladies of the good ship Hartwell and the last few wild oats I have left to sow!”

      Ten long days later, Blade thought back to his last evening in Singapore as he gazed from the Hartwell's starboard railing toward the Coromandel Coast of India. The ship had stopped to take on additional cargo and passengers from Madras before resuming its long voyage to England. Since this part of the coast lacked a proper harbor, everything had to be ferried out from the shore by native massoulah boats.

      “Let there be just one likely lady among them,” Blade muttered under his breath.

      The voyage so far had been deadly dull. The only female passengers were a middle-aged vicar's wife and her niece, an empty-headed chit of seventeen who'd made a few awkward attempts to flirt with him. Though the girl was not ill-looking, Blade went out of his way to avoid her. Despite a well-deserved reputation as the black sheep of his family, he did have a few scruples about the sort of women he seduced. Happily wed wives were strictly offlimits, as were innocent virgins.

      He sought the company of women for mutual pleasure. He did not want his conscience burdened by the loss of some poor girl's reputation and the lifetime of misery she might endure as a consequence. Neither could he risk being forced to wed one of his paramours. His family had made it clear that taking a wife other than one they chose for him would result in his being disowned and disinherited. No woman was worth that.

      Watching the rickety-looking boats struggle from shore through the pounding surf, Blade wished they might bring him just one lonely widow to console, or perhaps an estranged wife looking for a bit of excitement to enliven the coming weeks at sea.

      His hopes quickly faded as the new passengers were brought aboard. Neither of the women came close to meeting his modest standards. Much as he longed to get back to his comfortable life in England, he wasn't certain he could settle down properly without sowing the last of his wild oats.

      Then one last passenger was hoisted aboard, looking much the worse for her wild ride through the crashing breakers. Her hat had blown off, sending her long dark hair rippling over her shoulders. Seawater had soaked her light muslin gown, making the fabric appear almost transparent as it clung to her body's alluring curves. The lady looked as delightfully tousled as she might after a vigorous encounter with an eager lover.

      For an instant Blade stood rooted to the deck as desire coursed through his body, igniting a hundred sensual fancies. Then his tardy sense of chivalry caught up with him.

      Peeling off his coat, he strode toward the lady and began to wrap it around her. “Pray make use of this, ma'am, until you find some better covering.”

      Pleased at being the first to reach her and ingratiate himself with this small favor, he bowed low and took the liberty of introducing himself as he waited for her thanks. “Blade Maxwell, at your service.”

      The words had scarcely left his lips when his coat came hurling back at him and a strangely familiar voice addressed him in a tone that conveyed more scorn than gratitude. “I know who you are, Mr. Maxwell, and I will thank you to keep your coat and your hands to yourself!”

      Blade looked up into the flashing hazel eyes of Genia Vernon, the only woman who'd ever seriously tempted him to break his rule about not seducing virgins. Her blazing glare warned him he would never get that opportunity with her.

      The sight of Blade Maxwell on the deck of the Hartwell