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Prologue

London, England

April 1813

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell blinked back tears as she fled the ballrooton House, the scene of heree of spring as she rushed down the greather footsteps and propelling her forward into the shadows of the vast, darkened gardens Once hidden froh and slowed her pace, finally safe Her hter outside without a chaperone, but nothing could have kept Callie inside that horrible room

Her first season was an utter failure

It hadn’t even been a hter of the Earl and Countess of Allendale, Callie should by all rights have been the belle of the ball; she’d been raised for this life—all graceful dancing and perfectbeauty That was the probleht be a fine dancer with imatic, and she knew better than to believe she was one of those

I should have known this would be a disaster, she thought as she plopped herself down onto a e maze

She’d been at the ball for three hours and had not yet been asked to dance by a suitor asn’t entirely unsuitable After two invitations fro bore, and another from a baron who couldn’t have been a day under seventy, Callie hadn’t been able to continue feigning enjoyment It was obvious that she orth little more to the ton than the sum total of her dowry and her ancestry—and even that total was not enough to garner a dance with a partner she ht actually like No, the truth was, Callie had spent the better part of the season overlooked by eligible, coveted, young bachelors

She sighed

Tonight had been the worst As if it weren’t enough that she was visible only to the boring and the elderly, tonight she’d felt the stares of the rest of the ton

“I never should have allowed my mother to pourdown at the gown in question, at its too-tight waistline and its too-sood deal larger than fashion dictated She was positive that no belle of the ball had ever been crowned in such a vibrant shade of mandarin sunset Or in such a hideous frock, for that matter

The dress, her ht of fashion When Callie had suggested that the goas not the ure, she had been informed by the countess that she was incorrect Callie would look stunning, her mother had pro and prodding and squeezing her into the gown And, as she watched her transforree with thely awful

Wrapping her ar chill, she closed her eyes in mortification “I cannot return I shall just have to live here forever”

A deep chuckle sounded fro in surprise She could barely ure of a ht and atte heart Before she could think to escape, she spoke, allowing her distaste for the entire evening to lace her tone “You really shouldn’t sneak up on people in the dark, sir It isn’t gentlemanly”

He responded quickly, the deep tenor of his voice sweeping over her “My apologies Of course, onein the darkness isn’t exactly ladylike”

“Ah There you have it wrong I a in it Quite a different thing, altogether” She pressed back into the shadows

“I shan’t give you away,” he spoke quietly, reading her ht as well show yourself You’re well and truly trapped”

Callie felt the prickly hedge behind her even as he loohed in irritation How et? Just then, he stepped into a sliver ofhis i

dentity, and she had her answer Much worse

Her coly handsome, and one of London’s most notorious rakes His wicked reputation was matched only by his wicked smile, which was aimed directly at Callie “Oh no,” she whispered, unable to keep the desperation from her voice She could not let hioose A oose

“What could be so bad, moppet?” The lazy endearment warmed her even as she looked about for an escape route He was close enough to touch noering over her, a good six inches taller than she For the first ti time, she felt small Dainty, even She had to escape

“I…I o If I were found here…with you…” She left the sentence unfinished He kneould happen

“Who are you?” His eyes narrowed in the darkness, taking in the soft angles of her face “Wait…” She inition, “You’re Allendale’s daughter I noticed you earlier”

She could not contain her sarcastic response, “I’m sure you did, my lord It would be rather difficult to overlook me” She covered her mouth immediately, shocked that she had spoken so baldly

He chuckled “Yes Well, it isn’t the owns”

She couldn’t help her own laughter fro out “How very diplomatic of you You may admit it I look rather too much like an apricot”

This tihed aloud “An apt comparison But I wonder, is there ever a point where one looks enough like an apricot?” He indicated that she should resume her place on the bench and, after a moment’s hesitation, she did so

“Likely not” She smiled broadly, areement as she would have expected No, indeed she found it rather freeing “My hter she can dress like a porcelain doll Sadly, I shall never be such a child How I long for my sister to come out and distract the countess from my person”

He joined her on the bench, asking, “How old is your sister?”

“Eight,” she said, mournfully

“Ah Not ideal”

“An understatement” She looked up at the star-filled sky “No, I shall be long on the shelf by the time she makes her debut”

“What makes you so certain you’re shelf-bound?”

She cast hilance “While I appreciate your chivalry, norance insults us both” When he failed to reply, she stared down at her hands, and replied, “My choices are rather limited”

“How so?”

“I seeed, and the deadly dull,” she said, ticking off the categories on her fingers as she spoke

He chuckled “I find that difficult to believe”

“Oh, it’s true I’entlemen to heel Anyone with eyes can see that”