SCANDAL OF THE SEASON

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PROLOGUE

The heavy, stifling heat of the London ballroom was alive with the flutter of silk fans and the sharp, venomous hum of gossip.
Standing near the shadows of the conservatory, Miss Julia Preston—a diamond of the first water with lively green eyes and a tongue known to be exceedingly sharp—watched the unfolding drama with fascination.
She had just witnessed the most extraordinary piece of theatre. The pretty, young, respectable widow, Mrs Charlotte Wendover, had just emerged from Mr Durham’s private quarters with her hair slightly askew and her cheeks flushed. Charlotte was currently standing in the centre of the corridor, deliberately drawing the horrified gasps of the chaperones and dowagers to herself to shield her foolish, shivering cousin, Araminta Partington, who was hiding just out of sight.
Yes, that’s what Julia knew was happening. Mrs Wendover was creating a ruinous, self-sacrificing scandal.
And why?
To protect that undeserving little slattern, Miss Araminta Partington!
It wasn’t long, however, before Julia’s scorn turned to something far more calculating.
She, Julia, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant who had spared no expense to see her “tricked out” to make a good catch, suddenly saw that what Araminta had nearly got away with was an attempt at something that Julia now saw as absolute, dazzling tactical genius. No, Julia did not see ruin; she saw opportunity.
Her gaze drifted across the crowded room to Sir Archibald Ledger, Floppy Ledger’s son. Archie was a spindly-legged, chinless young baronet who spent his evenings in clubs being easily led by his feckless companions. He was currently huddled with his cronies, boasting loudly about some foolish wager.
Chinless, easily-let Archie didn’t want for much, he was now boasting loudly.
But what he was wanting was…a wife.
So, if a widow could fabricate a scandal to save a cousin, why shouldn’t a merchant’s daughter use a calculated indiscretion to trap a baronet? Fainting into Lord Clairmont’s arms on a dare had won Julia a pearl choker, but snaring a husband required a far more permanent compromise.
Julia folded her fan, smoothed her skirts, and let a slow, predatory smile curve her lips.
Stepping out of the shadows, she began to glide toward the unsuspecting Sir Archie.
Darling, deserving Sir Archie didn’t know what he needed but there would be compensations. Julia would make sure of it.
Well, for their first encounter, she’d make sure he believed it.