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If you’d like a preview of my upcoming standalone Shameless Duke, Book Four in the League of Dukes series featuring Lucien, Duke of Arden and the unexpected lady Pinkerton agent who melts his icy heart, do read on.
Until next time,
Scarlett
Shameless Duke
League of Dukes Book Four
By
Scarlett Scott
Lucien, Duke of Arden, is on the brink of disaster, about to lose everything he worked so hard to attain as the leader of the Special League. When Home Office obliges him to join forces with a Pinkerton agent to keep his position, he is determined to send the fellow back to American shores faster than he can say “Yankee Doodle.” There’s just one small problem with his flawless plan to undermine the unwanted agent…
Hazel Montgomery has spent the last ten years as a Pinkerton detective, fighting to be treated as an equal to her male counterparts, and the list of her successful cases is as long as the Mississippi River. She is not about to allow a supercilious duke to condescend to her. If Arden does not want her assistance, he can take his arrogance and go back to his fancy drawing room where he belongs.
Their clash is as instant as it is inevitable. When a fresh wave of bombings hits London and the danger intensifies, Lucien and Hazel must work together to bring a new ring of Fenians to justice. The more time they spend in each other’s company, the more the underlying attraction between them sizzles, until it bursts into uncontrollable flames.
Haunted by past tragedy, Lucien vowed long ago never to fall in love. Hazel’s sole rule in life is to trust no one. But soon, the cold duke and the bold American find themselves locked in a battle for the greatest prize of all, each other’s hearts.
Chapter One
1882
As far as Lucien was concerned, Mr. H.E. Montgomery could go to the devil.
Not only was the American interloper unwanted, but he was also late. Lucien despised tardiness. It was indignity enough the Home Office had foisted the Pinkerton agent upon him as a proposed—he shuddered—partner. But now, the fellow could not even be bothered to appear at the appointed time for their first meeting.
Lucien removed his pocket watch from his waistcoat and glared at the ticking hands, which revealed Mr. H.E. Montgomery, celebrated Pinkerton and new fellow leader of the Special League, was precisely forty-seven seconds tardy.
“Unacceptable,” he muttered to himself, his irritation mounting with each passing second.
Lucien attempted to distract himself by once more turning his attention back to the compendium of Montgomery’s cases as a Pinkerton, a career which appeared to extend at least a decade into the past. The fellow had successfully routed murderers and thieves and in recent years, had infiltrated a cutthroat band of New York City Fenians known as the Emerald Club.
All well and good. All perfectly fine. He had no doubt Mr. Montgomery was more than capable of performing his job in America. But England was a great deal different, and this was Lucien’s bloody territory. He had been leading investigations into the dangerous network of Fenians threatening England at home and abroad on his own for months now. He had done a damned good job of seeing a number of Fenians arrested, the threat they posed to the public effectively extinguished by his hand. Indeed, if it were not for The Incident, Home Office would never have made such a humiliating demand.
Being forced to accept this Yankee agent was an anathema to him.
Particularly since the man was now—Lucien checked his watch—one minute and seventeen seconds late.
A knock sounded on his study door at last, and the portal opened to reveal the expressionless countenance of his butler, Reynolds.
“Has Montgomery arrived?” he asked, his irritation mounting.
“You do have a visitor, Your Grace,” said Reynolds with a furrowing of his brow. “However, I am afraid it is not a Mr. Montgomery at all, but rather—”
“Miss Montgomery,” drawled a distinctly feminine voice.
An equally feminine figure, clad in a smart navy gown, a jaunty hat atop her head, rudely brushed past Reynolds and sailed into Lucien’s study. The creature who sauntered across the chamber and approached his desk was decidedly not who Lucien had been expecting.
“Forgive me, Your Grace,” Reynolds said in a strangled tone. “I am afraid Miss Montgomery refused to wait until I ascertained if you were receiving callers.”
“You need not speak of me as if I am absent from the room,” the woman admonished his butler, fixing the unfortunate domestic with a look designed to convey her supreme irritation. “I am standing right here, and I do assure you both my ears and my wits are in perfect working order.”
She turned back to Lucien, standing over his desk in a startlingly authoritative fashion. Though she was small in stature, she possessed a commanding air at odds with what one expected of a genteel lady.
“Does everyone in England have a guard dog posted at the door?” she demanded of Lucien without preamble.
Then again, it was becoming increasingly apparent the woman before him, despite being fashionably garbed, was no genteel lady.
Lucien spared a glance for poor Reynolds, who hovered at the threshold, for once appearing uncertain of the protocol. To the domestic’s credit, it was not a daily occurrence for the butler to be routed and then thoroughly browbeaten by a brash American female.
“That will be all, Reynolds.” Lucien waited for his butler to make his discreet exit before turning back to his unexpected visitor. “Please do—” She settled herself into one of the chairs opposite his desk without a hint of grace. “Sit.”
“Thank you.” She thrust her gloved hand forward. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last, sir. I have heard a great deal about your work.”
He frowned, staring at her hand. He supposed she meant for him to shake, so he did, against his better judgment. “Indeed, Miss Montgomery. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, though I must admit your appearance here is unexpected. I presume you are Mr. Montgomery’s sister?”
She frowned back at him. “Who the hell is Mr. Montgomery?”
She was still holding his hand, shaking it with a grip which was strong and altogether unladylike. He did not wear gloves, and though she did, the warmth of her skin burned into his. It seemed somehow intimate. Too intimate. He extricated himself from her grasp, tamping down an unwanted reaction to her.
What manner of female was this, dressed as a lady yet unpardonably rude? Shockingly pretty in spite of her abrasive personality? And why had she asked him who Mr. Montgomery was? Or, to be precise, who the hell Mr. Montgomery was?
He cleared his throat, feeling rather disconcerted, which was unlike himself, but this astonishing creature had him at sixes and sevens. “Forgive me, Miss Montgomery, but I presumed, since I was to meet with Mr. Montgomery, and you share the fellow’s surname, surely the two of you must be familiars, if not relations.”
Icy blue eyes studded with long, dark lashes met his unflinchingly. “There is no Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Arden.”
Mr. Arden?
He was so flummoxed by the sheer effrontery of the woman, it took him an extra second to realize everything she had just said. “Of course there is a Mr. Montgomery,” he snapped. “Madam, I do not know what game you are playing at, but I am not amused. I suggest you take your leave at once. I have neither the time nor the inclination to engage in riddles. Furthermore, I am the Duke of Arden, not Mr. Arden. My correct form address is Your Grace.”
She pursed her lips, and he noted—quite involuntarily—how full they were, how sensual. “I am aware of the proper form of address for a duke, Your Grace. I was merely making a point.”
What the devil? A disconcerting sense of unease slid down his spine.
“A point,” he repeated. “Would you care to elaborate, madam?”
She sighed. “I am beginning to discover your need for my aid, Your Grace. Very well, if I must explain for you, I chose the wrong form of address for you, just as you have done for me. As you can plainly see, I am Miss Montgomery, decidedly not a mister.”
“You are H.E. Montgomery,” he said, the unease blossoming, radiating throughout his entire body.
She smiled, and damnation if that smile did not hit him, first in the gut and then somewhere distinctively lower. “Miss Hazel Elizabeth Montgomery, Pinkerton agent, at your service.”
“But you are a woman,” he said stupidly.
An evident observation, but he could not keep it from bursting forth from him. In all his correspondence with Home Office, in every debriefing he had suffered in the wake of The Incident, he had been told to expect the famed H.E. Montgomery, arriving to act as his partner in the Special League, being diverted from assignment in New York City.
He had never once been told to expect a female.
Miss Montgomery made a great show of glancing down at her person, feigning surprise as she did so. “Why, I am a woman. How shocking, Your Grace! You do have women in England, I presume?”
A maddening, ill-mannered woman, he added silently. He noted again the drawl giving her words their foreign lilt and wondered what part of her country she hailed from. And then he reminded himself it did not matter, for there was no way he was going to accept this creature as his partner in the League, and after today, he would likely never set eyes upon her again.
“Yes, Miss Montgomery,” he replied, careful to keep his tone as frigid as possible. “We do have women in England, and they are all far more refined than you.”
Want more? Get Shameless Duke here!
Don’t miss Scarlett’s other romances!
(Listed by Series)
Complete Book List
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Heart’s Temptation
A Mad Passion (Book One)
Rebel Love (Book Two)
Reckless Need (Book Three)
Sweet Scandal (Book Four)
Restless Rake (Book Five)
Darling Duke (Book Six)
The Night Before Scandal (Book Seven)
Wicked Husbands
Her Errant Earl (Book One)
Her Lovestruck Lord (Book Two)
Her Reformed Rake (Book Three)
Her Deceptive Duke (Book Four)
League of Dukes
Nobody’s Duke (Book One)
Heartless Duke (Book Two)
Dangerous Duke (Book Three)
Shameless Duke (Book Four)
Sins and Scoundrels
Duke of Depravity (Book One)
Prince of Persuasion (Book Two)
Marquess of Mayhem (Book Three)
Stand-alone Novella
Lord of Pirates
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Love’s Second Chance
Reprieve (Book One)
Perfect Persuasion (Book Two)
Win My Love (Book Three)
Coastal Heat
Loved Up (Book One)
About the Author
Amazon bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency romance with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Canadian husband, adorable identical twins, and one TV-loving dog.
A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything, but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. Catch up with her on her website www.scarlettscottauthor.com. Hearing from readers never fails to make her day.
Scarlett’s complete book list and information about upcoming releases can be found at www.scarlettscottauthor.com.
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Dangerous Duke
League of Dukes Book Three
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2019 by Scarlett Scott
Published by Happily Ever After Books, LLC
EPUB Edition
Edited by Grace Bradley
Proofread by CM Wright
Cover Design by Wicked Smart Designs
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events, or locales, is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
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