Led Astray by a Rake: The Husband Hunters Club

384 Pages·2009·1.25 MB·English

by  Sara Bennett

THE
HUSBAND HUNTERS CLUB
This book comes with a thank-you to my friends,
writing and nonwriting, who keep me sane when
times are tough, and who put up with long silences on
my part whnile I’m writimng. This one is for you!
Contents
Prologue
The ballroom was a kaleidoscope of color. Young
girls and… 1
Chapter 1
Olivia held her hands tightly folded at her waist,
refusing… 8
Chapter 2
Olivia poured coffee, added cream, and sipped the
delicious brew,… 25
Chapter 3
Nic wasn’t pleased. He was irritated and annoyed,
mostly with… 33
Chapter 4
Olivia grimaced, her dress dripping, her slippers
squishing, as she… 42
Chapter 5
Olivia was certain she’d escaped any repercussions—she
arrived home in… 57
Chapter 6
The parlor was very quiet, apart from the ticking of… 70
Chapter 7
Olivia was glad to be alone. After yesterday’s
excitement she… 81
Chapter 8
“I won’t cry, I will not cry,” Olivia murmured to… 94
Chapter 9
Nic, elegant in his black and white evening wear, stood… 104
Chapter 10
Despite what she’d said to him, Olivia admitted it would… 119
Chapter 11
She couldn’t believe it. Well, she could, but she didn’t… 129
Chapter 12
When at last Nic opened his eyes, he found they… 139
Chapter 13
Nic forgot his resolutions. He forgot his latest plan, to… 151
Chapter 14
Olivia had never felt so close to anyone in her… 159
Chapter 15
Sleep for Nic wasn’t as easy as it seemed to… 167
Chapter 16
“Who is there?” 177
Chapter 17
Nic didn’t know where his manservant had gone and he… 191
Chapter 18
When Olivia arrived home she fell into her bed and… 199
Chapter 19
At half past ten that same morning Olivia
discovered just… 207
Chapter 20
Nic didn’t know what he’d expected, but it
wasn’t this… 216
Chapter 21
Olivia sat on the swing in the garden, disconsolate, in… 225
Chapter 22
Nic swung his leg over the saddle, grimacing at the… 236
Chapter 23
Nic lifted his head, listening. The sounds of running feet… 246
Chapter 24
Bassingthorpe Church bells were ringing. Their sound
was sweet and… 254
Chapter 25
Olivia rose quietly from the bed, slipping her
shawl about… 266
Chapter 26
Abbot brushed Nic’s jacket with the clothing brush,
frowning as… 276
Chapter 27
The following day Olivia went to a meeting of the… 286
Chapter 28
Nic couldn’t keep his eyes off her. When she appeared… 294
Chapter 29
Olivia was shaking inside. A storm of emotion
she struggled… 305
Chapter 30
Abbot had been waiting and delayed Nic in the hall,… 314
Chapter 31
The narrow house was neat and respectable, and
it stood… 329
Chapter 32
Nic had found Olivia missing in the morning. No one… 339
Chapter 33

Nic had lost her. 348

Chapter 34

The woman came to the door carrying the baby in… 357

Chapter 35

Theodore heard the news as he was sitting down to… 364

Chapter 36

Abbot shivered as he climbed into bed beside

Estelle, drawing… 370

About the Author
Other Books by Sara Bennett
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
Prologue

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Miss Debenham’s Finishing School
Graduating Ball of 1837
T he ballroom was a kaleidoscope of color.
Young girls and their families and friends,
the staff of the finishing school and its supporters,
and a sprinkling of local dignitaries, all in their
finery and vying for attention. The girls in par­
ticular were dressed to be admired, because these
were Miss Debenham’s latest crop of respectable
and refined young ladies, ready to be set, like
jewels, before the country’s eligible bachelors in
the hope that those gentlemen would be dazzled
into proposing marriage to them.
That was the object of the exercise, after all.
That was why the families had spent good money
to send their daughters to Miss Debenham’s Fin­
ishing School: to procure a good marriage. The
school was renowned for it, and Miss Debenham
was known to trot out the names of some of the
highest in the land and claim them as her own
successes.
2 SARA BENNETT
Miss Olivia Monteith knew very well what was
meant by “a good marriage.” Financial security,
respectability, maybe even a title and the chance
to raise herself and her family into the aristocracy.
Marriage was like any other legally binding con­
tract, written in language that was cold and pre­
cise. But nowhere in those close written lines was
there any mention of the heart. Of love. Of happi­
ness. Of desire.
“Miss Monteith, how do you do?”
Olivia smiled and replied to the greeting in her
usual calm, cool manner, never for a moment be­
traying her inner agitation.
“I was speaking with your mother, Miss Mon­
teith. She told me you will not long be a miss.
Should I congratulate you?”
“No, please don’t, nothing is settled . . .”
“If you say so.” The smile was arch and dis­
believing.
Olivia moved away, followed by the usual mur­
murs and stares. She was aware she had the kind
of beauty that was currently much admired—
fair hair and blue eyes and a porcelain complex­
ion. Combined with English reserve and natural
restraint, this caused others to believe she was
devoid of emotion, almost cold.
Unfortunately for Olivia, this was very far from
the truth. Beneath her cool and calm beauty beat
a warm, passionate heart. In reality she was a
woman who longed to seize life with both hands
and live it to the full, with all its ups and downs.
She wanted a husband who could share such a
LED ASTRAY BY A RAKE 3
life with her, a man she could love wholeheart­
edly, and who would love her. She didn’t expect
perfection, she wasn’t a fool, but better to be un­
happy sometimes than to feel nothing. When she
contemplated the future her parents planned for
her she felt like a frightened child, because if she
was to marry and live without emotion, then she
truly would become the ice queen.
Olivia moved on through the crowded ball­
room, smiling and bowing her head in acknowl­
edgment to those who claimed her acquaintance,
and all the time she was moving ever closer to
her real goal. Escape. As she drew nearer to the
side door, her heart began to beat harder and she
found it difficult to breathe, although no one who
did not know her well would ever have guessed
her feelings from her demeanor.
She reached the door and slid out into the shad­
owy corridor, closing it softly behind her. At once
the noise was muffled, and the air was blessedly
cool against her flushed cheeks. For a moment she
stood, simply enjoying being alone, and then with
a laugh she picked up her white tulle skirts and
began to run swiftly along the passageway in her
satin slippers. One of her carefully arranged curls
tumbled to her shoulder, another bounced over
her eyes. She didn’t stop, climbing a set of narrow
stairs toward the very top of the building, and a
place where only a very few of Miss Debenham’s
girls ever ventured.
The door at the end of a final short flight of steps
was closed, but Olivia did not hesitate in open­