The Wager
By Lily Maxton
4/5
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About this ebook
London, 1818. Anne Middleton never plays by the rules. She is willful when she should be obedient and unabashed when she should be decorous. Worse still, she can never resist a good wager... or a naughty book. And Confessions of a Courtesan is about as sensational and risque as a book can be.
Michael Grey - Earl of Thornhill - had once courted Anne's sweet sister. But while Anne is certainly no lady of decorum, her bold impulsiveness slips through his armor, and propriety is forgotten. Now he too is immersed in the book of forbidden delights, where each page is an invitation to sin and a guide to pleasures unknown...
Roused by heady desire, Michael tempts Anne in a way she cannot resist: a wager. Thus begins a game of chance, where coins have been replaced by a currency that is far more illicit. And the stakes of seduction are dangerous indeed...
The Sisters of Scandal series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 The Affair
Book #2 The Wager
Book #3 The Love Match
Book #4 The Mistake
Book #5 The Improper Bride
Read more from Lily Maxton
The Love Match Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Affair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Improper Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mistake Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Book preview
The Wager - Lily Maxton
A seductive wager... winner takes all.
London, 1818. Anne Middleton never plays by the rules. She is willful when she should be obedient and unabashed when she should be decorous. Worse still, she can never resist a good wager... or a naughty book. And Confessions of a Courtesan is about as sensational and risque as a book can be.
Michael Grey - Earl of Thornhill - had once courted Anne’s sweet sister. But while Anne is certainly no lady of decorum, her bold impulsiveness slips through his armor, and propriety is forgotten. Now he too is immersed in the book of forbidden delights, where each page is an invitation to sin and a guide to pleasures unknown...
Roused by heady desire, Michael tempts Anne in a way she cannot resist: a wager. Thus begins a game of chance, where coins have been replaced by a currency that is far more illicit. And the stakes of seduction are dangerous indeed...
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Lily Maxton. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Scandalous is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Nina Bruhns
Cover design by LJ Anderson
ISBN 978-1-63375-051-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition August 2014
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Discover the Sisters of Scandal Series
The Affair
The Love Match
The Mistake
The Improper Bride
Get Scandalous with these historical titles...
His Forbidden Lady
The Irresistible Miss Peppiwell
The Duke’s Shotgun Wedding
An Unexpected Sin
The Duke’s Quandary
Engaging the Earl
A Little Bit Scandalous
Romancing the Rumrunner
For my mom.
Once, long ago, I made fun of you for reading historical romance novels. Then you lent me a Judith McNaught, and I’ve never looked back.
Chapter One
London, 1818
Anne Middleton threw herself behind the billiards table just as the door to Lord Fairchild’s library opened.
Damnation!
she cursed under her breath, listening to muffled footsteps cross the red-and-gold Persian rug that rested in the center of the floor. The faint, haunting sounds of a Beethoven piece drifted down from the drawing room.
This was all Olivia’s fault. Anne’s younger sister had been telling her about a scandalous novel called Confessions of a Courtesan, which was all the talk of the fancy London soiree they were attending. She and her sister had entered a not-entirely-appropriate conversation about whether their portly host, who liked to extol proper, virtuous behavior in ladies, possessed a copy of the book.
Olivia had said he wouldn’t. Anne had been adamant he would.
So, of course, they’d made a wager.
Not a large one—just a shilling. To Anne, wagering was far more about the satisfaction of winning than the money itself.
Unfortunately, one of them had to search through the man’s study to find the damn thing. Which was why Anne was now crouched behind the billiards table in this masculine space of mahogany furniture and red-painted walls, interrupted from her task of perusing the bookshelves by an unforeseen visitor.
It was probably for naught. If Lord Fairchild was indeed a lecher, she didn’t doubt he kept the book tucked under his pillow for nightly readings.
She heard the creak of the door opening again.
My lord,
said a breathy little voice. I hoped I would find you here.
A hesitation. Indeed, Miss Richards? And why is that?
Anne frowned. The voice—she’d heard it before, but it wasn’t Lord Fairchild’s distinct nasal-tinged tones.
Oh good Lord! Had she been caught in the midst of someone’s assignation?
I ardently admire you,
the feminine voice declared. My feelings will not be repressed!
This was followed by an excited moan and what sounded like a scuffle.
Miss Richards. I must insist you stop this.
The man sounded breathless, but not in a swoony way like his companion—more as if he’d just exerted himself fighting her off and was at the last thread of patience. If I’ve misled you, please forgive me.
But…b-but…
she stammered. You danced with me at last week’s ball. Twice!
I’ve danced with more than one lady twice.
A pause. It’s best if you go. I should hate for someone to find us here and think I was trying to lure you into a compromising position.
The lady gasped, as though the notion was entirely shocking. Anne thought it rang a bit false. But, my lord, the feelings between us—
I insist,
he said, an edge to