He was recalled to the present by a tap on the door, followed by Gasthorpe.
Christian opened his eyes.
The majordomo closed the door, then faced him. “A lady has called, my lord, asking to see you. She gave no name, but offered this note.”
Christian beckoned. As Gasthorpe neared, he idly wondered who in all the ton wished to converse with him, and about what—and how any lady had known to run him to earth there. His staff in Grosvenor Square knew better than to reveal his whereabouts, not to just anyone. He lifted the folded parchment from Gasthorpe’s silver salver.
The sight of the script rocked him.
For a moment, he simply stared, then reaction rushed through him, jerking him free of all lethargy with a resounding mental slap.
His fingers shifted, fingertips tracing his name, not the one from long ago but the title he’d since acquired.
Even before he unfolded the note, the scent of jasmine reached him.
No figment of imagination or memory.
He fumbled, nearly dropped the note. His fingertips burned.
Drawing in a deep breath, slowing his movements, steadying them and himself, he smoothed out the note.
He read the few lines within.
Then he leaned back in the chair, his gaze rising, fixing unseeing on the hearth.
He didn’t know what he felt; emotions careened through him, a jumble of reactions impossible to dissect. He breathed deeply, pulling air past the constriction in his chest; gradually a cool tension, an inward steeling, flowed through him.
Fate moved in inscrutable, damnably mysterious ways.
Gasthorpe cleared his throat. “My lord?”
Christian heard himself say over the pounding in his chest, “I’ll join the lady in a moment, Gasthorpe. Tell her to wait.”
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author STEPHANIE LAURENS specializes in writing historical romances set in Regency England. Beyond Seduction is her thirtieth such work, and her sixth in a group of novels about the members of the exclusive Bastion Club, first introduced in her novel The Lady Chosen. Readers can write to Stephanie c/o The Publicity Department, Avon Books, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299, or via e-mail [email protected].
For information on Stephanie’s books, including updates on the Bastion Club and Cynster novels yet to come, visit Stephanie’s website atwww.stephanielaurens.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Enter the World of Stephanie Laurens
The Bastion Club Novels*
*See members list on The Bastion Club
#1 THELADYCHOSEN• #2 A GENTLEMAN’SHONOR
#3 A LADY OFHISOWN• #4 A FINEPASSION
#5 TODISTRACTION
CAPTAINJACK’SWOMAN(prequel)
The Cynster Novels
THETASTE OFINNOCENCE• WHATPRICELOVE?
THETRUTHABOUTLOVE
THEIDEALBRIDE• THEPERFECTLOVER
THEPROMISE IN AKISS• ON AWICKEDDAWN
ON AWILDNIGHT• ALLABOUTPASSION
ALLABOUTLOVE• A SECRETLOVE
A ROGUE’SPROPOSAL• SCANDAL’SBRIDE
A RAKE’SVOW• DEVIL’SBRIDE
Also Available the Anthologies
HERO,COMEBACK• SECRETS OF APERFECTNIGHT
SCOTTISHBRIDES
Coming Soon in Hardcover
WHERE THEHEARTLEADS
Each and every Stephanie Laurens book is always available in stores and online.
For Details of these and upcoming Cynster And Bastion Club novels visit www.stephanielaurenscom .
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BEYOND SEDUCTION. Copyright © 2007 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.
Microsoft Reader July 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-147511-5
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Stephanie Laurens - B 6 Beyond Seduction Page 44