All About Passion
Page 42
They had only one formal engagement remaining before leaving for Lambourn—Lady Dalrymple’s Christmas dinner. It was early December, weeks before Christmas, but the last of the ton would soon depart the capital and return to their estates. Gyles would have given a great deal to escape earlier to Lambourn and escape the inevitable roasting from one of the few of his kind who would also be at the dinner.
There was to be no escape.
Francesca, superb in a gown of sea-green silk, drew all eyes, not just because of her lush curves but more so because of the radiant happiness glowing in her eyes, coloring her voice, implicit in her every gesture. To the irritation of his rakish self, he seemed incapable of doing anything other than beam with proprietorial pride.
Devil, of course, saw and understood, as few others would. From across the table set with silver and glittering crystal and the rich tones of Limoges dishes, Devil grinned—devilishly—and raised his glass in a private toast.
Gyles had no difficulty making out his words.
“Welcome to the club.”
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
So at last you’ve learned of Chillingworth’s fate. We can now leave him and Francesca to get on with their well-rounded and passionate lives, and turn our attention to the next Cynsters to fall.
It’s the twins’ turn to find love in the next two Cynster volumes. The years have rolled by and although they’ve been searching constantly and diligently, they’ve yet to find any suitable men—gentlemen of rank who measure up to their high standards, men who can hold their own when compared to their Cynster cousins. They have, they decide, reached the end of their tether—they’re no longer willing to wait on fate to turn her attention their way. So they each devise a campaign—a strategy to find and win the man of their dreams. To Amanda, the matter’s obvious—as they’ve failed to flush out any suitable prey in the conventional hunting fields of ballrooms and drawing rooms, then they need to look elsewhere. She turns her determined sights on venues where more dangerously exciting gentlemen—gentlemen like her cousins before they were wed—are to be found.
In waltzing into their lairs, she discovers it’s not at all difficult to attract attention; unfortunately, not all is of the type she welcomes. In weathering an unexpected storm, she finds herself indebted to the most fascinatingly elusive gentleman, a devastatingly handsome earl who prefers the shadows to the glittering lights of the ton. Amanda decides he’s the lion she wishes to tame, but first she must snare him. In the game that ensues, pursuit and passion go hand in hand, first driving one, then the other, until the love that grows from it is strong enough to demand the resolution of a long-ago mystery, paving the way for Amanda’s earl to return to the light by her side.
Read of Amanda’s pursuit of love in the next volume of the Cynster series, to be released by Avon Books in April 2002. Amelia’s tale will follow in October 2002, followed by the story of Simon, the youngest male of the Bar Cynster generation.
AND NOW FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
Watch out for a Cynster special Christmas volume Avon Books and I have dreamed up just for you. On sale in December 2001 and throughout the festive season, The Promise in a Kiss takes us back in time to witness the first meeting between Devil Cynster’s parents, Sebastian, 5th Duke of St. Ives, and Helena, Comtesse de Stansion. That first magical meeting sows the seeds of the passionate liaison that, over time, lays the foundation for the wonderful world of the Cynsters, and the Cynster generation whose tales you’ve enjoyed reading.
Experience The Promise in a Kiss—and enjoy!
About the Author
New York Times best-selling author Stephanie Laurens began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career, and her series about the masterful Cynster cousins has captivated readers, making her one of the romance world's most beloved and popular authors. She lives in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia with her husband and two teenage daughters.
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Other Books by
Stephanie Laurens
CAPTAIN JACK’S WOMAN
DEVIL’S BRIDE
A RAKE’S VOW
A ROGUE’S PROPOSAL
SCANDAL’S BRIDE
A SECRET LOVE
ALL ABOUT LOVE
THE PROMISE IN A KISS
Also Available the Anthology
SECRETS OF A PERFECT NIGHT
(with Victoria Alexander and Rachel Gibson)
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALL ABOUT PASSION. Copyright © 2001 by Savdek Management Proprietory Ltd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition JANUARY 2003 ISBN: 9780061760211
First Avon Books paperback printing: September 2001
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