Sins and Scandals Collection: Whisper of Scandal / One Wicked Sin / Mistress by Midnight / Notorious / Desired / Forbidden

Sins and Scandals Collection: Whisper of Scandal / One Wicked Sin / Mistress by Midnight / Notorious / Desired / Forbidden
Nicola Cornick

SINS AND SCANDALS COLLECTIONSix luscious Regency novels by international bestselling author Nicola Cornick. Enjoy the adventures of these Scandalous Women of the Ton!WHISPER OF SCANDAL“One whisper of scandal and a reputation dies…”London, May 1811 Widow Lady Joanna Ware has no desire to wed again but that doesn’t stop the flurry of suitors knocking on her door. Desperate to thwart another proposal, Joanna brazenly kisses Arctic dventurer Alex, Lord Grant. Joanna knows she’s just set the gossip mill turning.ONE WICKED SIN“I hired you as a novelty, an attraction, the most notorious woman in London…”London, July 1813 Once the toast of the ton, Lottie Cummings is now notorious for being divorced – and without a penny. Shunned by society the destitute beauty is forced to become a Covent Garden courtesan. Refusing to oblige her customers, Lottie’s about to be turned out onto the streets. Until a dangerous rake saves her with a scandalous offer.MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT“To have one unfaithful wife could be construed as a misfortune. To have two would be worse than careless. ”London, November 1814Merryn Fenner is on a mission to ruin the Duke of Farne. A beautiful bluestocking with a penchant for justice, Merryn has waited ten years to satisfy her revenge against sensual, mysterious Garrick Northesk. Her family name had been tarnished at his hands, her life destroyed. And now she intends to return the favour – by finding the true heir to the duke’s title and disinheriting Garrick.NOTORIOUS'Devlin squared his shoulders and prepared to be introduced to the wife he had thought was dead.'London, June 1816 Dangerously seductive and sinfully beautiful, Susanna Burney is society’s most sought-after matchbreaker. Paid by wealthy parents to part unsuitable couples, she’s never yet failed. Until her final assignment brings her face to face with the man who’d once taught her an intimate lesson in heartache… James Devlin. Let the scandal of the season begin…DESIREDCovent Garden, London, October 1816 Tess Darent’s world is unravelling. Danger threatens her stepchildren and she is about to be unmasked as a radical political cartoonist and thrown into gaol. The only thing that can save her is a respectable marriage. But when it comes to tying the knot Tess requires a very special husband - one who has no desire to consummate their marriage… Owen Purchase, Viscount Rothbury cannot resist Tess when she asks for the protection of his name. But he has no intention of making a marriage in name only.FORBIDDENScandal isn't just for rogues, as the daring women in USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Cornick's scintillating series prove…. As maid to some of the most wanton ladies of the ton, Margery Mallon lives within the boundaries of any sensible servant. Entanglements with gentlemen are taboo. Wild adventures are for the Gothic novels she secretly reads. Then an intriguing stranger named Mr. Ward offers her a taste of passion, and suddenly the wicked possibilities are too tempting to resist….

Sins and Scandals Collection

Mistress by Midnight

Whisper of Scandal

One Wicked Sin

Notorious

Desired

Forbidden

Nicola Cornick

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

Mistress by Midnight

Nicola Cornick’s novels have received acclaim the world over

“Cornick is first-class, Queen of her game.”

—Romance Junkies

“A rising star of the Regency arena.”

—Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series

“A riveting read.”

—New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney on Whisper of Scandal

“One of the finest voices in historical romance.”

—SingleTitles.com

“Ethan Ryder (is) a bad boy to die for! A memorable story

of intense emotions, scandals, trust, betrayal and all-

encompassing love. A fresh and engrossing tale.”

—Romantic Times on One Wicked Sin

“Historical Romance at its very best is

written by Nicola Cornick.”

—Mary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer

Acclaim for Nicola’s previous books

“Witty banter, lively action, and sizzling passion.”

—Library Journal on Undoing of a Lady

“RITA

Award-nominated Cornick deftly steeps her latest intriguingly complex Regency historical in a beguiling blend of danger and desire.” —Booklist on Unmasked

Author Note

Like the other books in this trilogy, Mistress by Midnight is inspired by real-life events. In this case, the London Beer Flood of 1814, when a vat on top of the brewery in Tottenham Court Road exploded, flooding the nearby streets with beer and claiming several lives. One of those was a man who died of alcohol poisoning from drinking too much of the flood.

Mistress by Midnight tells Merryn’s story. The younger sister of celebrated society hostess Lady Joanna Grant, Merryn is a bluestocking whose scholarly activities hide a secret life working for the private investigator Tom Bradshaw. Merryn also has a vendetta to pursue against Garrick, the new Duke of Farne, the man responsible for her brother’s death. When the Beer Flood traps Merryn and Garrick together and they are in fear of their lives, a new sort of connection develops from their bond of hatred—this time a bond of wild passion. But will it outlive the terror of the flood?

I have adored writing these three books in the Scandalous Women of the Ton series and there is much more background history and exciting detail to explore on my website at www.nicolacornick.co.uk. Look out for more in the Scandalous Women of the Ton series. Coming soon!

“Ah Love! Could you and I with fate conspire

To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire

Would not we shatter it to bits—and then

Re-mould it nearer to the heart’s desire!”

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, verse 108, translated by Edward Fitzgerald

For my mother, Sylvia

CHAPTER ONE

London, November 1814

“WE WERE NOT expecting you, your grace,” Pointer, the butler, said.

Garrick Northesk, Duke of Farne, paused in the act of loosening his greatcoat. The raindrops on the shoulders glittered in the dim candlelight of the hall like dusty diamonds before sliding down to splash on the tiled floor.

“Lovely to see you again, too, Pointer,” he said.

The butler’s expression did not waver. Evidently, Garrick thought, his late father had not been given to jokes with the servants. Of course he had not. The eighteenth Duke had been famed for many things but a sense of humor was not one of them.