A Lady Dares

A Lady Dares
Bronwyn Scott

A LADY IN A GENTLEMAN’S WORLDAccording to Society, I, Elise Sutton, haven’t been a lady for quite some time – a lady couldn’t possibly run the family company and spend her days on London’s crowded, tar-stained docks. And she most certainly wouldn’t associate herself with the infamous Dorian Rowland – privateer, smuggler and The Scourge of Gibraltar himself! But I need Rowland and his specialised expertise – especially with the wolves circling, waiting for me to fail. I yearn to feel alive and Rowland, who can kiss like the devil, inflames my senses and makes me dare to break free…Ladies of Impropriety… Breaking Society’s Rules!

Dorian softened his tone. ‘A lady doesn’t build ships. Therefore Miss Sutton isn’t a lady. Indeed, she can’t be a lady by the very definition of what Society says a lady is. Do you see my point?’

A furrow of twin lines formed between her eyes, the look not unattractive. It stirred him to want to do something about it, to erase the consternation. He wasn’t used to such chivalrous feelings.

‘I understand your meaning quite well and I respectfully disagree.’ Elise’s chin went up a fraction in defiance.

‘You will have to choose,’ Dorian insisted. ‘My being here or not is the least of your worries if you’re thinking about your reputation. Building your yacht is enough to sink you in most circles. No pun intended.’

Instinctively, he moved close to her, his hands going to her forearms in a gentle grip to make his point, to make her see reason.

She swallowed nervously, the pulse at the base of her throat leaping in reaction to his nearness. ‘Again, I disagree,’ she said with quiet steel. ‘I think this yacht will be the making of me.’

‘If it is, it will be the making of a lady most improper.’ Dorian gave a soft chuckle, breathing in the tangy lemongrass scent of her just before his mouth caught hers.

About the Author

BRONWYN SCOTT is a communications instructor at Pierce College in the United States, and is the proud mother of three wonderful children (one boy and two girls). When she’s not teaching or writing she enjoys playing the piano, travelling— especially to Florence, Italy—and studying history and foreign languages.

Readers can stay in touch on Bronwyn’s website,

www.bronwynnscott.com, or at her blog,

www.bronwynswriting.blogspot.com—she loves to hear from readers.

Previous novels from Bronwyn Scott:

PICKPOCKET COUNTESS

NOTORIOUS RAKE, INNOCENT LADY

THE VISCOUNT CLAIMS HIS BRIDE

THE EARL’S FORBIDDEN WARD

UNTAMED ROGUE, SCANDALOUS MISTRESS

A THOROUGHLY COMPROMISED LADY

SECRET LIFE OF A SCANDALOUS DEBUTANTE

UNBEFITTING A LADY† (#ulink_e6927ea9-a209-5e0e-a0b0-cd072deddbf4)

HOW TO DISGRACE A LADY* (#ulink_800301ef-871f-5197-98fa-e7e343ae2290)

HOW TO RUIN A REPUTATION* (#ulink_800301ef-871f-5197-98fa-e7e343ae2290)

HOW TO SIN SUCCESSFULLY* (#ulink_800301ef-871f-5197-98fa-e7e343ae2290)

A LADY RISKS ALL** (#ulink_d365bd26-919b-569c-a48a-aea73a24893c)

And in Mills & Boon ® Historical Undone! eBooks:

LIBERTINE LORD, PICKPOCKET MISS

PLEASURED BY THE ENGLISH SPY

WICKED EARL, WANTON WIDOW

ARABIAN NIGHTS WITH A RAKE

AN ILLICIT INDISCRETION

HOW TO LIVE INDECENTLY* (#ulink_800301ef-871f-5197-98fa-e7e343ae2290)

† (#ulink_029e379c-0869-5068-a716-b4920aa1f591)Castonbury Park Regency mini-series

* (#ulink_c72e1fd9-8b47-5844-887c-975b1ba74def)Rakes Beyond Redemption trilogy

** (#ulink_10a422f5-24dc-56eb-b1c2-ed7953cfab6b)Ladies of Impropriety

And in M&B:

PRINCE CHARMING IN DISGUISE

(part of Royal Weddings Through the Ages)

Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks?Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

AUTHOR NOTE

Yachting is nearly as English as horse racing! The Royal Thames Yacht Club has a rich history. For locations of race courses and information regarding 1838 club officers I drew from the records contained in Captain A.R. Ward’s The Chronicles of the Royal Thames Yacht Club. 1838 was also an exciting year for yachting, as serious racers began transitioning from river racing to open water racing on the Solent.

I should add a final note about locations used in the story: the Sutton Shipyards at the Blackwell Docks and the restaurant foray to the Italian trattoria. To determine the locations I consulted the excellent book London: A Life in Maps by Peter Whitfield. This is one of my favourite books and I consult it over and over. The Blackwell Docks had become the West India Docks by 1838, but were often still referred to as the Old Blackwell Docks, so I did take a bit of licence there. However, Soho was indeed a thriving immigrant neighbourhood that took advantage of the ‘new’ fad to dine out. And the tavern, The Gun, where Elise first meets Dorian is real! You can still visit it today, and maybe if you’re lucky you’ll meet your own sexy ‘almost’ pirate too, just like Elise.

Stop by my blog at www.bronwynswriting.blogspot.com to see what else is coming!

Enjoy!

A Lady Dares

Bronwyn Scott

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

DEDICATION