“Because only the finest champagne is fit for a countess,” announced Anna. “Ha, ha, ha.”
“Oh, please, put a cork in it,” retorted Olivia, and then took her head in her hands. “Ugh.”
But despite the touch of queasiness in her stomach, she felt a delicious warmth spreading through the rest of her body as she recalled John’s arms around her during the carriage ride home, and the intimate endearments he had whispered in her ear.
Love. Of all the words she had ever penned, that was perhaps the most powerful one of all…
Paper crackled as Caro once again waved the Morning Gazette. “Will you two stop your quibbling long enough for me to read this aloud?”
“Oh, go ahead.” Olivia expelled a sigh. “It’s likely the only way I’ll get rid of you.”
Caro rolled her eyes. “Ha! What would you do without us?”
“Go back to enjoying a peaceful sleep and sweet dreams,” she replied dryly. Her smile, however, belied the teasing tone.
“Dreams of dark eyes and a shining suit of armor,” chortled Anna. “And don’t try to deny it. For all your avowals to the contrary, at heart you’re as much of a romantic as we are.”
“I am,” admitted Olivia. “Truly. Madly. Deeply.”
Caro rapped her knuckles on the bedpost. “Well, speaking of romance, there is a notice in this morning’s newspaper o
n just that subject. It says—and I quote—The editor of this newspaper requests the ladies of Mayfair to cease sending letters in response to our recent advertisement for a wife. The position has been filled. No other candidates need apply.”
She looked up thoughtfully. “You know, Anna, have you considered that a newspaper advertisement could add a very interesting plot twist to your new work-in-progress—”
“Don’t you dare,” warned Olivia.
Anna’s expression was impossible to read. “Never mind my novel,” she murmured. “Do you think if I put an advertisement in the Morning Gazette, I would find a Perfect Hero for myself?”
Caro took a seat on the end of the bed and drew her knees up to her chest. “It seems to me that Perfect Heroes are rarer than hen’s teeth. But you never know where you might find one…”
About the Author
Cara Elliott started writing Western novels at the age of five. However, she traded in her cowboy boots for Regency high-top Hessians after reading Pride and Prejudice in junior high school and hasn’t looked back. She graduated from Yale University, and she now lives and works in New York City.
You can learn more at:
CaraElliott.com
Twitter, @CaraElliott
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cara.elliott.71
The Hellions of High Street series continues with Sinfully Yours
Please see the next page for a preview
Chapter One
Alessandro twisted free and fell back against the rough stones just as a dagger thrust straight at his heart. Steel sliced through linen with a lethal whisper, but the blade cut naught but a dark curl of hair from his muscled chest.
“Tsk, tsk—you’re losing your edge, Malatesta,” he called, flashing a mocking smile. “In the past, your strike was quick as a cobra. But now…” He waggled an airy wave. “You’re sluggish as a garden snake.”
“You’re a spawn of Satan, Crispini!” Another slash. “And I intend to cut off your cods and send you back to Hell where you belong.”
“Oh, no doubt I shall eventually find my testicolos roasting over the Devil’s own coals. But it won’t be a slow-witted, slow-footed oaf who sticks them on a spit.”
With a roar of rage, Alessandro’s adversary spun into a new attack.