Hey, welcome back for a new round of WeWriWa (Weekend Writing Warriors) a weekly hop for writers who blog their work! Thanks everyone for dropping by last time and commenting. Much appreciated.
Last week I posted an excerpt from Wicked with Him, and I’m continuing today with an excerpt a little further along in the story…
The sound slowly rose to a crescendo before some grabbed him by the shoulders to whisper. “Did you hear? Sweet Paragon has been ruined!”
It had begun. Roman glanced back at the speaker, feigning utter surprise at hearing such shocking news. Lord Stratford Sweet, one of Amity’s male cousins, was grinning from ear to ear though.
Roman narrowed his eyes. “Should you be spreading gossip about your own cousin like that?”
“I didn’t do it,” Stratford exclaimed hastily. “George is livid. You should see the scene he’s making over in the library.”
“Also your cousin,” Roman drawled slowly, hiding how he really felt behind an expression of concern. But he turned his eyes toward the far door, hoping to catch a glimpse of his enemy brought low, and of Amity, too.
And a little more…
“Why are you not there now?”
“Ravenswood sent me away. One of my aunts has fainted and I failed to catch her. Algernon is trying to take charge.”
Roman had not realized the Duke of Ravenswood and his oldest son and heir, Algernon Sweet, Earl of Fairbridge, was in attendance tonight. Roman may not have agreed to meet with Amity if he’d know of their presence. Ravenswood was a cold bastard, but Fairbridge, although quieter than Stratford, was someone a fellow should never think to cross either. He hoped Amity could hold her tongue in the face of that cousin’s likely displeasure. “What will be done about finding the fiend?”
Stratford shrugged. “No doubt Ravenswood will do his best to flush him out so George can have the pleasure of shooting him at dawn tomorrow.”
Amity had predicted that possibility, too, and still Roman had gone to her. Helped her ruin herself and enjoyed every moment. He scanned the room discreetly, reminding himself where the closest exit was if a speedy departure became necessary. “Do they have any idea who it might have been?”
“No. Amity’s lips are sealed tighter than her legs once were,” Stratford muttered coarsely, then chuckled. “I always knew my cousin had a wild heart hidden under all of that prim muslin and lace she wears.”
Wild heart, indeed.
About the Book
Scandals rarely take place in the center of the ballroom, but on the fringes anything is possible.
From the moment George Sweet stole his intended, Roman Crawford has pursued every possible manner of revenge against the nasty scrub. Though he does have his limits. Debauching Sweet’s sister, a veritable paragon of vestal goodness, is beyond the pale—yet that is exactly what the lady herself requests.
If public humiliation is the only way Amity can escape an arranged marriage to one of her vicious brother’s cronies, then it will be on her terms. She enlists the aid of her brother’s greatest enemy, who she’s certain will be happy to see her brother brought low by her corruption. But Amity is no fool. Roman’s heart will always belong to another.
***
Click the link to the Wicked with Him page to continue reading and to find other authors taking part in WeWriWa, click the image below.
The Next Release
Prefer to read in print? There’s a paperback edition too.
