An Unexpected Countess

An Unexpected Countess
Laurie Benson

‘Dash it, Miss Forrester, what are you doing up here?’The Earl of Hartwick delights in scandalising the Ton with his behaviour. But it’s his turn to be scandalised when, on one of his escapades, he bumps into Miss Sarah Forrester—in the rain, at night, on a rooftop!Sarah is hunting for a diamond, and the last thing she needs is the infuriating Hart distracting her. But he’s looking for the jewel too! They might be rivals, but the sparks between them are uncontrollable. And soon Sarah finds herself longing for another treasure—becoming Hart’s countess!

“Dash it, Miss Forrester, what are you doing up here?”

The Earl of Hartwick delights in scandalizing the ton with his behavior. But it’s his turn to be scandalized when, on an escapade, he bumps into Miss Sarah Forrester—in the rain, at night, on a rooftop!

Sarah is hunting for a diamond, and the last thing she needs is the infuriating Hart distracting her. But he’s looking for the jewel, too! They may be rivals, but the sparks between them are uncontrollable. And soon Sarah finds herself longing for another treasure—becoming Hart’s countess!

Secret Lives of the Ton (#uc2ee4661-aed7-58d1-b37f-1d9105148723)

What Society doesn’t know...

Meet Julian Carlisle, the Duke of Lyonsdale, Gabriel Pearce, the Duke of Winterbourne, and Phineas Attwood, the Earl of Hartwick.

In the eyes of the Ton, these three gentlemen are handsome, upstanding men who—mostly!—play by the rules. But what Society doesn’t know is that behind closed doors these three men are living scandalous lives and hiding scandalous secrets!

Read Julian’s story in

An Unsuitable Duchess

Read Gabriel’s story in

An Uncommon Duke

And read Hart’s story in

An Unexpected Countess

All available now!

Author Note (#uc2ee4661-aed7-58d1-b37f-1d9105148723)

Hart and Sarah weren’t supposed to fall in love. When I started writing An Unsuitable Duchess I simply intended them to be the best friends of my hero and heroine. But as I wrote that book it became obvious to me that these two would be perfect together. They needed their own story, and that story would open with them running into each other on a rooftop in London in the middle of the night. I just needed to figure out why they were there!

Around that time I read an article about the Sancy Diamond. This diamond was once part of the pre-Commonwealth Crown Jewels of England, but was sold by James II to Cardinal Mazarin in 1657. In 1792 the Sancy, along with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, was stolen when the Royal Treasury was stormed during the French Revolution. The Sancy Diamond disappeared, and its whereabouts was unknown until Prince Demidoff, a Russian nobleman, bought it from an unnamed source in 1828. The mystery of where it had been for thirty-six years was too intriguing to pass up, and it gave me a reason to put Hart and Sarah on that roof.

I hope you enjoy reading their story. For information about my other releases visit my website at lauriebenson.net. While you’re there you can also search my blog to find information about some of the other interesting historical titbits I uncovered while doing research for this book.

An Unexpected Countess

Laurie Benson

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

LAURIE BENSON is an award-winning historical romance author and Golden Heart® Award finalist. She began her writing career as an advertising copywriter, where she learned more than anyone could ever want to know about hot dogs and credit score reports. When she isn’t at her laptop, avoiding laundry, Laurie can be found browsing in museums or taking ridiculously long hikes with her husband and two sons. You can visit her at lauriebenson.net (http://www.lauriebenson.net).

Books by Laurie Benson

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

Secret Lives of the Ton

An Unsuitable Duchess

An Uncommon Duke

An Unexpected Countess

Visit the Author Profile page

at www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.

For Lori, who crossed an ocean with me and let me drag her around London in search of hiding places. And for Mia, who has been on Team Hart from the beginning. This one is for the two of you.

A big thank-you to my editor, Kathryn Cheshire, for helping me bring Hart and Sarah to life. You’re a gem! And thanks to the rest of the team at Harlequin, especially Krista Oliver, Linda Fildew, Tilda McDonald, Miranda Indrigo and Lucy Gough for all you’ve done for me.

I’m very thankful to my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan with Handspun Literary Agency, for helping me fulfil my dream of publishing all three books in this trilogy.

To my family–thanks for your support and encouragement while I worked on this book. I’m sorry about the dust bunnies and the empty refrigerator. At least we know a good pizza place that delivers. I love you guys!

And, last but far from least, thank you to my readers. Your enthusiasm and kind words about my books have truly touched my heart.

Contents

Cover (#u3cf7d9a3-490d-5bb2-9108-1a2a6fd5b529)

Back Cover Text (#u7724f24a-c07d-5ccc-bdda-1e08e6b10c99)

Secret Lives of the Ton (#uddc5df9b-5b97-5dc1-bac6-916152aae863)

Author Note (#u299f1f1d-f435-59b4-9524-03800a4735e7)

Title Page (#u9db5469f-9129-5fcc-b91c-0b6139b9e9c2)

About the Author (#ube49e24d-80c4-54a0-bd34-10f2b343eafc)

Dedication (#u8a251737-630f-57dc-8043-167a986e27e0)

Chapter One (#udf15c312-d815-5c04-a03f-378665e47c9c)

Chapter Two (#u158d99f2-b91f-5640-bc73-8acbe1c372ad)

Chapter Three (#uf036c914-6af7-54e9-8395-3f4acda77f73)

Chapter Four (#u4cdb7f23-3b63-5123-ad5d-f791efd9bab1)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)