Hell’s Wedding Bells: A Devilish Debutante’s Novella

by Anders, Annabelle

  A gust of wind blew, causing the gauzy curtains to billow out from the panes of glass along the ballroom. Cecily could barely make out the outline of her husband and his lover standing scandalously close to each other. Were they in fact touching one another? By God, they were — from hip to chest.

  A man possessed of even a morsel of honor would at the very least have feigned affection for his new wife whilst in public. Instead, Flavion’s unrepentant disregard laid her open to scorn and ridicule. And as each day passed, the situation grew more unbearable. Making matters worse, but unable to help herself, Cecily could not pretend to be anything other than a lady scorned. She had fallen from the pinnacle of happiness to the depths of despair. Her dreams were shattered.

  She was trapped in a loveless marriage.

  Furthermore, in the perverse way of the ton, despite outwardly flaunting his infidelity, Flavion continued to be well-received and even revered. For he was one of them. Our poor, dear Lord Kensington, stuck with a lowborn wife! They’d understood his action to be perfectly acceptable. Their precious earl was a martyr, a hero, a victim! What did Lady Kensington expect?

  She’d gotten her title, after all. Good lord, Miss Cecily Findlay had been elevated to the title of countess. Amazing, what money could buy these days!

  “You are clenching your jaw again, Cece.” Her friend Emily’s voice broke into Cecily’s bitter thoughts. “You’ll grind up all of your teeth if you keep doing that. Here, I’ve brought you another glass of champagne.” And then, turning to follow the direction of Cecily’s gaze, Emily sighed. “I know. I saw them leave, too. He ought to have two horns and a tail instead of well… looking like such an angel, rather.”

  Cecily dragged her eyes away from the terrace doors toward her friend and attempted a smile. The image of Flavion with horns protruding from his head and a tail shooting out behind him nearly caused her to laugh out loud. But she did not. For if she were to begin laughing, she very well might become hysterical.

  The alcohol made her more than a little fuzzy. Since her wedding night, she’d acted with reckless disregard for her reputation. But did it matter? She’d followed the rules of etiquette diligently when she’d first been introduced to Society, and look where that had gotten her. Now, ironically, as a countess, she received the cut direct nearly everywhere she went. No one but her dearest friends ever met her eyes anymore. She was not one of them. She never would be. She wished her father had not set his sights so high for her.

  But, in all fairness she could not lay all the blame for this catastrophe at her father’s door. For she herself had been swept up in the intoxication of Flavion’s romantic declarations.

  When she’d said, “I do,” returning his loving gaze, she’d thought she had finally found her happily ever after — her fairy tale prince. But, nay, that had been a fantasy.

  She had become a countess, but she’d also become an object for ridicule.

  Thank God for Emily, Sophia, and Rhoda, (short for Rhododendron). The three of them had been marginalized to the periphery of the ballroom by diminutive dowries; Cecily by low birth. The bonds of mutual rejection were apparently stronger than one would have thought.

  In spite of their respective parents’ disapproval, the small group of friends had stood by her through it all. They’d rejoiced with her when they thought she was making a glorious love match with Flavion, they’d cried with her when she left her wedding breakfast, and then they’d cried with her again when she broke the news to them that it had all been a charade. He only needed her money.

  Since then, daily and with unabridged enthusiasm, her three friends now concocted elaborate plots for her to escape her despicable marriage. Alas, all they had been able to come up with to date were methods for murdering him. The law did not allow a woman to divorce her husband. This being the case, their suggestions encompassed poisonous herbs, carriage accidents, and outright shooting the louse through the heart.

  And eventually, they’d succeeded in making her smile again.

  Fixing her gaze on a distant candle, Cecily wished for the thousandth time that her father was still in London. He would hopefully receive her letter soon. And then, return to England on the next ship. The last time he’d crossed, it had taken thirty-two days to do so. He would likely be unable to return to London for another month — or longer. But even then, could he do anything to help her? His wealth had gotten her into this marriage; surely it could buy her way out of it.

  “Perhaps you could get Flavion to divorce you!” Sophia sidled up beside Emily. “You could do something so very terrible that he could not help but begin divorce proceedings.” With Sophia being the most timid and shy of her friends, this suggestion came as a bit of a surprise.

  Emily pushed her spectacles up higher onto the bridge of her nose and grimaced. “It would have to be truly horrible. The cost of a divorce is exorbitant! He would end up spending a huge part of your dowry on legal fees. And if he divorced you, Cece, your reputation would be beyond repair. The scandal would be horrendous.”

  By this point, Rhoda had returned from the ladies’ retiring room and picked up on the last part of the conversation. As the four had continuously discussed methods to free Cecily from her marriage for several days now, she had no difficulty in picking up on the train of thought. “What could possibly make him angry enough to do that? Cece’s dowry was his sole purpose for marrying her after all.”

  Cecily closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips to her temples. She could barely organize her champagne-muddled thoughts. After a few moments, she picked up the idea again. “He is growing quite angry with me for locking my chamber door at night. Despicable man. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold him off. I find it reprehensible that he still expects for me to… that I will… well, that I would present him with an heir — the lying, snake-in-the-grass, scum-sucking rat.”

  “You could make him into a cuckold. Present him with another man’s child,” Sophia suggested breathlessly.

  Three sets of widened eyes turned on her at the same time.

  “That’s perfect!” Rhoda said.

  “She’d be an outcast,” Emily stated.

  A shiver ran down Cecily’s spine as she imagined Flavion’s reaction to such a scandal. “I’d be free,” she whispered. “But how would I go about doing such a thing? I know nothing of seduction, and if I did, who on earth would I seduce?”

  In that moment, a commotion arose by the doors where a man bearing an eerie resemblance to Flavion Nottingham stood. Instead of being fair and blond, this man’s skin was bronzed and his hair more of a tarnished golden color — but the eyes were the same, the features nearly identical. And as several ladies swooped in on him, it quickly became apparent that he also possessed the same lethal magnetism.

  “What about him?” Emily asked with a wicked glint in her eyes.

  Other Regency Romances by Annabelle Anders

  Devilish Debutantes

  Hell Hath No Fury

  Hell in a Hand Basket

  Hell Hath Frozen Over

  Hell’s Belle

  Hell of a Lady

  To Hell And Back

  Lord Love a Lady Series

  Nobody’s Lady

  A Lady’s Prerogative

  Lady Saves the Duke

  Lady at Last

  Lady Be Good

  Lady and the Rake

  Not So Saintly Sisters Series

  The Perfect Debutante

  The Perfect Spinster

  The Perfect Christmas

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br />   Devilish Debutantes Series

  Hell Hath No Fury

  (Devilish Debutante’s, Book 1)

  To keep the money, he has to keep her as well…

  Cecily Nottingham has made a huge mistake.

  The marriage bed was still warm when the earl she thought she loved crawled out of it and announced that he loved someone else.

  Loves. Someone else.

  All he saw in Cecily was her dowry.

  But he’s in for the shock of his life, because in order to keep the money, he has to keep her.

  With nothing to lose, Cecily sets out to seduce her husband’s cousin, Stephen Nottingham, in an attempt to goad the earl into divorcing her. Little does she realize that Stephen would turn out to be everything her husband was not: Honorable, loyal, trustworthy…Handsome as sin.

  Stephen only returned to England for one reason. Save his cousin’s estate from financial ruin. Instead, he finds himself face to face with his cousins beautiful and scorned wife, he isn’t sure what to do first, strangle his cousin, or kiss his wife. His honor is about to be questioned, right along with his self-control.

  Amid snakes, duels and a good catfight, Cecily realizes the game she’s playing has high stakes indeed. There are only a few ways for a marriage to end in Regency England and none of them come without a high price. Is she willing to pay it? Is Stephen? A ‘Happily Ever After’ hangs in the balance, because, yes, love can conquer all, but sometimes it needs a little bit of help.

  Hell in a Hand Basket

  (Devilish Debutante’s, Book 2)

  Sophia Babineaux has landed a husband! And a good one at that!

  Lord Harold, the second son of a duke, is kind, gentle, undemanding.

  Perhaps a little too undemanding?

  Because after one chance encounter with skilled rake, Captain Devlin Brooks, it is glaringly obvious that something is missing between Lord Harold and herself… pas-sion… sizzle… well… everything. And marriage is forever!

  Will her parents allow her to reconsider? Absolutely not.

  War hero, Devlin Brookes, is ready to marry and thinks Sophia Babineaux might be the one. One itsy bitsy problem: she’s engaged to his cousin, Harold.

  But Devlin knows his cousin! and damned if Harold hasn’t been coerced into this betrothal by the Duke of Prescott, his father.

  Prescott usually gets what he wants.

  Devlin, Sophia and Harold conspire to thwart the duke’s wishes but fail to consider a few vital, unintended consequences.

  Once set in motion, matters quickly spiral out of control!

  Caught up in tragedy, regret, and deceit Sophia and Devlin’s love be-comes tainted. If they cannot cope with their choices they may never find their way back once embarking on their journey… To Hell in a Hand Basket…

  Hell’s Belle

  (Devilish Debutante’s, Book 3)

  There comes a time in a lady’s life when she needs to take matters into her own hands…

  A Scheming Minx

  Emily Goodnight, a curiously smart bluestocking – who cannot see a thing without her blasted spectacles – is raising the art of meddling to new heights. Why leave her future in the hands of fate when she’s perfectly capable of managing it herself?

  An Apathetic Rake

  The Earl of Blakely, London’s most unattainable bachelor, finds Miss Goodnight’s schemes nearly as intriguing as the curves hidden beneath her frumpy gowns. Secure in his independence, he’s focussed on one thing only: evading this father’s manipulating ways. In doing so, ironically, he fails to evade the mischief of Emily’s managing ploys.

  Hell’s Bell Indeed

  What with all the cheating at parlor games, trysts in dark closets, and nighttime flights to Gretna Green, complications arise. Because fate has limits. And when it comes to love and the secrets of the past, there’s only so much twisting one English Miss can get away with…

  Hell of a Lady

  (Devilish Debutante’s, Book 4)

  Regency Romance between an angelic vicar and a devilish debutante: A must read if you love sweet and sizzle with an abundance of heart.

  The Last Devilish Debutante

  Miss Rhododendron Mossant has given up on men, love, and worst of all, herself. Once a flirtatious beauty, the nightmares of her past have frozen her in fear. Ruined and ready to call it quits, all she can hope for is divine intervention.

  The Angelic Vicar

  Justin White, Vicar turned Earl, has the looks of an angel but the heart of a rake. He isn’t prepared to marry and yet honor won’t allow anything less. Which poses something of a problem… because, by God, when it comes to this vixen, a war is is waging between his body and his soul.

  Scandal’s Sweet Sizzle

  She’s hopeless and he’s hopelessly devoted. Together they must conquer the ton, her disgrace, and his empty pockets. With a little deviousness, and a miracle or two, is it possible this devilish match was really made in heaven?

  Hell Hath Frozen Over

  (Devilish Debutantes, Novella)

  The Duchess of Prescott, now a widow, fears she’s experienced all life has to offer. Thomas Findlay, a wealthy industrialist, knows she has not. Can he convince her she has love and passion in her future? And if he does, cans she convince herself to embrace it?

  To Hell And Back

  (Devilish Debutantes, Novella)

  Eve Mossant’s life has been quite turned over. As has the carriage she was traveling in to attend her estranged husband’s funeral. Thank heavens for Mr. Waverly, her ever dependable man of business. She shouldn’t know where she’d be without him…

  Lord Love a Lady Series

  Nobody’s Lady

  (Lord Love a Lady Series, Book 1)

  Dukes don’t need help, or do they?

  Michael Redmond, the Duke of Cortland, needs to be in London—most expeditiously—but a band of highway robbers have thwarted his plans. Purse-pinched, coachless, and mired in mud, he stumbles on Lilly Beauchamp, the woman who betrayed him years ago.

  Ladies can’t be heroes, or can they?

  Michael was her first love, her first lover, but he abandoned her when she needed him most. She’d trusted him, and then he failed to meet with her father as promised. A widowed stepmother now, Lilly loves her country and will do her part for the Good of England—even if that means aiding this hobbled and pathetic duke.

  They lost their chance at love, or did they?

  A betrothal, a scandal, and a kidnapping stand between them now. Can honor emerge from the ashes of their love?

  A Lady’s Prerogative

  (Lord Love a Lady Series, Book 2)

  It’s not fair.

  Titled rakes can practically get away with murder, but one tiny little misstep and a debutante is sent away to the country. Which is where Lady Natalie Spencer is stuck after jilting her betrothed.

  Frustrated with her banishment, she’s finished being a good girl and ready to be a little naughty. Luckily she has brothers, one of whom has brought home his delightfully gorgeous friend.

  After recently inheriting an earldom, Garrett Castleton is determined to turn over a new leaf and shed the roguish lifestyle he adopted years ago. His friend’s sister, no matter how enticing, is out-of-bounds. He has a run-down estate to manage and tenants to save from destitution.

  Can love find a compromise between the two, or will their stubbornness get them into even more trouble?

  A betrothal, a scandal, and a kidnapping stand between them now. Can honor emerge from the ashes of their love?

  Lady Saves the Duke

  (Lord Love a Lady Series, Book 3)

  He thinks he’s saving her, but will this Lady Save the Duke, instead?

  Miss Abigail Wright, disillusioned spinster, hides her secret pain behind encouraging smiles and optimistic laughter. Self-pity, she believes, is for the truly wretched. So when her mother insists she attend a house party—uninvited—she determines to simply make the best of it…until an unfortunate wardrob
e malfunction.

  Alex Cross, the “Duke of Ice,” has more than earned the nickname given him by the ton. He’s given up on happiness but will not reject sensual pleasure. After all, a man has needs. The week ought to have been pleasantly uneventful for both of them, with nature walks, parlor games, and afternoon teas on the terrace…but for some inferior stitchery on poor Abigail’s bodice.

  And now the duke is faced with a choice. Should he make this mouse a respectable offer and then abandon her to his country estate? She’s rather pathetic and harmless, really. Oughtn’t to upset his life whatsoever.

  His heart, however, is another matter…

  Lady at Last

  (Lord Love a Lady Series, Book 4)

  She can't make a baby without a husband!

  Or can she?

  After witnessing the miracle of birth, self-determined spinster Miss Penelope Crone is having second thoughts about swearing off marriage. She wants – no, she needs – to experience the blessed event herself. Dear God, she’s practically thirty! Time is running out!

  Hugh Chesterton, Viscount Danbury, is relatively intelligent, good looking, unmarried, and most importantly, close at hand. With a little décolletage, a sway of the hips, and a few drinks of brandy, Penelope is certain she can extract a respectable offer.

  If only she’d accounted for the power of passion.

  Because unchecked lust takes over, leaving Penelope in a most precarious predicament. And Lord Danbury –– the goose-brained jackanapes –– is proving far less attainable than she’d imagined.

  Is Penelope to be cast out of society or will Lord Danbury take a leap of faith and save her from ruin? He'd better act fast if he's going to make her his lady. HIs Lady At Last...