My Scandalous Viscount
Page 31
It humbled him somehow, jarred him out of the focus on himself. He could not quite manage a smile, but he gave the old woman a respectful nod, then walked on.
Heading where, he had no idea.
And yet, strangely, he felt lighter the moment those roses were out of his possession.
If the woman he’d meant to make his wife could care so little about him, then maybe he had just dodged a bullet. Maybe Laura had served her purpose as naught but a figment in his head to keep him going. Perhaps it had been a delusion all along. What now? he wondered, at a loss.
What now, indeed.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading My Scandalous Viscount. Before we part, I thought you might like to know about some of the real historical inspiration behind this story. The “bad business” among the villains in this tale came from the 1812 assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, who was gunned down in broad daylight while he was walking into the House of Commons. I combined the assassination of the Prime Minister with the Cato Street Conspiracy of 1820, in which a group of would-be revolutionaries plotted to blow up the full Cabinet of King George IV (AKA Prinny, in his first year as king). A few of the Cato Street Conspirators were the last men to be sent to the Tower of London as traitors, interestingly enough.
Also, anyone who has visited Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London will no doubt recognize it (and its famous, ghastly Chamber of Horrors) as the inspiration for the waxworks in this story. Madame Tussaud herself first learned how to make wax models in 1770s Paris, and later became an art tutor to the sister of Louis XVI at the Palace of Versailles. This put her right in the middle of the action when the French Revolution broke out. She was forced to make likenesses of guillotine victims, including making copies of the decapitated heads of the more famous unfortunate souls (like the royals), so that they could be displayed on pikes at various locations—proof of their deaths.
No doubt the artist was glad to make a new life for herself upon her arrival in England in 1802. For the next thirty-three years, her waxworks exhibit was a traveling show, until the Baker Street location in London opened in 1835, where it still stands today—allegedly containing the actual guillotine blade that beheaded Marie Antoinette! Go figure.
On a happier note, many readers have written to ask me if there will be more Inferno Club tales to come. As you have probably guessed by now, the answer is yes!
The story you’ve just read acts as a bridge between the previous four installments and the final set, focusing on the members of Beau’s team. (If you missed them, the first four books in order are: My Wicked Marquess, featuring Max and Daphne; My Dangerous Duke, with Rohan and Kate; My Irresistible Earl, Jordan and Mara; and My Ruthless Prince, featuring Drake and Emily.)
With those nasty Prometheans sewn up in Drake’s story, the rest of our heroes are now free to turn their attention to matters of the heart. Trevor’s book will be next, although the last we left him, things were not looking too bright for him, poor fellow. Bad boy Nick will be our grand finale, but I’m afraid he’s got to do some time in the Order’s Scottish dungeon first.
I don’t have titles or release dates for either story yet, but if you’ll visit my website (www.gaelenfoley.com), you can sign up for my monthly e-newsletter and be the first to hear my news as it happens. You can also find Chapter One of all the previous books available there for your perusal.
Thank you again for reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed Beau and Carissa’s story. It’s always a joy and a privilege to entertain you.
Best always,
Gaelen
About the Author
GAELEN FOLEY is the author of eighteen rich, sexy, and dramatic Regency historicals. Her books have won many awards, are published in numerous languages, and appear regularly on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. She lives in Pennsylvania with her college-sweetheart husband, Eric, and a spoiled bichon frise named Bingley. To learn more about Gaelen, her novels, and the romantic Regency period in which her books are set, please visit her on the web at www.gaelenfoley.com.
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By Gaelen Foley
My Scandalous Viscount
My Ruthless Prince
My Irresistible Earl
My Dangerous Duke
My Wicked Marquess
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are 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.
Bonus chapter copyright © 2013 by Gaelen Foley
MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT. Copyright © 2012 by Gaelen Foley. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780062075765
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062075932
FIRST EDITION
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