The first balloon to fly from England to France was in 1785. It landed in Calais.
As for the Fire King, he was based on a real Victorian street performer who revealed how he managed to swallow fire, and the moment I read his personal account, he filled my imagination with possibilities. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of him.
Acknowledgments
I’m not certain why I struggled so much writing this story, but from the beginning I couldn’t seem to make it work. Eventually it became a Frankenstein project, scenes hobbled together as I came to better understand the characters. As a writer, I am always amazed by how a word, thought, or experience can open up a world of possibilities within my imagination.
I owe a great deal to the three people who played a role in bringing the story to life. My editor, May Chen, whose insights helped me to understand where I’d gone wrong; Addison Fox, who helped me see my heroine more clearly; and my son, Alex, who read the draft and offered suggestions for improving the depth of the story and also said, “I can’t believe you didn’t have him tell her, ‘You were never a passing fancy.’” And thus, a different hero came to be.
An Excerpt from Beauty Tempts the Beast
Lorraine Heath concludes her breathtaking Sins for All Seasons series with the story everyone has been waiting for
BEAUTY TEMPTS THE BEAST
Benedict “Beast” Trewlove has long haunted London’s dark and treacherous underworld, offering protection to those who need it. But when he comes to the aid of a mysterious beauty, he discovers she is a danger to his heart.
Coming Fall 2020
Prologue
London
1840
The frantic knocking woke Ettie Trewlove from her first restful sleep in days. Her three lads, each only a few months old, were teething, which made them a grumpy lot, but tonight for some inexplicable reason they were sleeping like the angels they normally were.
The rapping continued. With no hope of it stopping unless answered, she tossed back the covers and climbed out of her bed. After turning up the flame in the lamp on the bedside table, she carried it with her to light the way as she passed by her dear boys, smiling at the way they snuggled against each other in the small crib. They’d soon be outgrowing it, and she’d have to make other accommodations for them.
Shuffling to the door, she opened it a crack and peered out, surprised to see a woman, a little younger than her own twenty years, standing there, a blanketed bundle cradled tightly in her arms. Until tonight, only men had made the deliveries.
“Are you Ettie Trewlove, the woman who takes in bairns born out of wedlock and sees them well cared for?” Hope and fear wove themselves through her thick Scottish brogue.
Ettie nodded. A baby farmer by trade, she took in by-blows no one wanted, for a few pounds each, sparing their mums the shame and the challenges to their lives that their presence would have brought them. “Aye.”
“Will you take my lad? I’ve only a few shillings to leave with you, but you won’t have to keep him long.” With wide, dark eyes, she glanced around quickly. “Just until it’s safe. And then I’ll be back for him.”
A few shillings would see him fed for only a couple of weeks, and she had three others in need of food. Still, she set the lamp on the table beside the door, opened it wider, and held out her arms. “Aye, I’ll take him.”
The young woman eased aside the blanket and pressed a kiss to the sleeping babe’s cheek.
“What the devil did you do to him?” Ettie asked in dismay.
The stranger jerked up her head, held her gaze. “Nothing. He was born like this. But he’s a good boy, will give you no trouble a’tall. Please don’t turn him away. You’re my last hope for protecting him from those who would see him harmed.”
Ettie knew there were those who believed children born out of wedlock were born in sin and should be denied breath.
“I don’t blame babes for things that aren’t their fault.” If she did, she wouldn’t have found herself with three born on the wrong side of the blanket. Now four. She wiggled her fingers. “Hand him to me.”
Taking care not to wake him, the lass—the light caught her fully, showing her to be more girl than grown—gently placed the lad in Ettie’s waiting arms. “Promise me you’ll love him like he was your own.”
“’Tis the only way I know how to love a wee one.”
With a tremulous smile, she pressed the coins into Ettie’s palm. “Thank you.”
Turning away, she took three steps before looking back over her shoulder, tears now glistening in her eyes. “His name is Benedict. I will come back for him.”
The words were spoken with fervent conviction, and Ettie wasn’t certain who the lass was trying to convince: Ettie or herself.
She darted into the heavy fog and quickly disappeared into the shrouded darkness.
And Ettie Trewlove kept her promise. She raised the lad as though he were her own and loved him as only a mother could.
About the Author
LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases, articles, and computer code, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s prestigious RITA®. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.
lorraineheath.com
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By Lorraine Heath
The Earl Takes a Fancy
The Duchess in His Bed
The Scoundrel in Her Bed
Texas Legacy (novella)
When a duke loves a woman
Beyond Scandal and Desire
Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses (novella)
An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
When the Marquess Falls (novella)
The Viscount and the Vixen
The Earl Takes All
Falling into Bed with a Duke
The Duke and the Lady in Red
The Last Wicked Scoundrel (novella)
Once More, My Darling Rogue
The Gunslinger (novella)
When the Duke Was Wicked
Deck the Halls with Love (novella)
Lord of Wicked Intentions
Lord of Temptation
She Tempts the Duke
Waking up with the Duke
Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman
Passions of a Wicked Earl
Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel
Surrender to the Devil
Between the Devil and Desire
In Bed with the Devil
Just Wicked Enough
A Duke of Her Own
Promise Me Forever
A Matter of Temptation
As an Earl Desires
An Invitation to Seduction
Love with a Scandalous Lord
To Marry an Heiress
The Outlaw and the Lady
Never Marry a Cowboy
Never Love a Cowboy
A Rogue in Texas
Texas Splendor
Texas Glory
Texas Destiny
Always to Remember
Parting Gifts
Sweet Lullaby
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.
Excerpt from Beauty Tempts the Beast copyright © 2020 by Jan Nowasky.
the earl takes a fancy. Copyright © 2020 b
y Jan Nowasky. 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition APRIL 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-295188-5
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-295190-8
Cover designed by Amy Halperin
Cover illustration © Victor Gadino; © Engin Korkmaz/Dreamstime.com (staircase)
Avon, Avon & logo, and Avon Books & logo are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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