A Kiss Gone Wylde

A KISS GONE WYLDE CHASITY BOWLIN Copyright © 2023 by Chasity Bowlin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ALSO BY CHASITY BOWLIN PARANORMAL HISTORICAL ROMANCE: THE VICTORIAN GOTHIC COLLECTION House of Shadows Veil of Shadows Passage of Shadows DARK REGENCY The Haunting of a Duke The Redemption of a Rogue The Enticement of an Earl A Love So Dark A Passion So Strong A Heart So Wicked An Affair So Destined REGENCY ROMANCE: STANDALONE The Beast of Bath Worth the Wait Pretty In Pink (Preorder) THE LOST LORDS SERIES: The Lost Lord of Castle Black The Vanishing of Lord Vale The Missing Marquess of Althorn The Resurrection of Lady Ramsleigh The Mystery of Miss Mason The Awakening of Lord Ambrose A Midnight Clear: A Lost Lords Holiday Novella Hyacinth: A Regency Romance Novella The Pirate’s Bluestocking (Pirates of Britannia) THE HELLION CLUB SERIES: A Rogue to Remember Barefoot In Hyde Park What Happens In Piccadilly When An Earl Loves A Governess The Duke’s Magnificent Obsession The Governess Diaries All I Want For Christmas Is You: A Regency Historical Romance Novella Making Spirits Bright: A Regency Historical Romance Novella The Boys of Summer THE DUNNE FAMILY SERIES The Last Offer The First Proposal The Other Wife The Late Husband The Plain Bride The Perfect Groom The Scandalous Elopement The Inconvenient Compromise THE COLLECTIONS Christmas in Cumbria THE WYLDE WALLFLOWERS… One Wylde Night A Kiss Gone Wylde Too Wylde To Tame (Available for Preorder) On The Wylde Side (coming soon) THE LYON”S DEN Fall of the Lyon Tamed By The Lyon Lady Luck and The Lyon CONTENTS Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 About the Author Also by Chasity Bowlin PROLOGUE Benedicta Wylde was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of nothing. Not as in she had no thoughts at all, but as in nothing ever happened in her life. Nothing. There was no excitement, no adventure, no flirtation. It wasn’t that she was unhappy. She had a comfortable home, the company of her sister and often her cousins. Her parents did not harangue her in regards to her unwed state. Though surely they were of the same mind as everyone else. The Wylde Wallflowers, as they had been dubbed, were in that state even beyond spinsterhood. They were not simply unwed, but unweddable. Even now, in the luxury and comfort of her aunt’s London home, with the season looming before them, she had no great hope of her lot improving. Charity and Felicity were the beauties with their curvaceous figures and blonde locks. Cordelia, her younger sister, was lovely as well, in a quieter way perhaps than their cousins. But as for Benny, she knew what she was. Thin with hardly any bosom to speak of, the figure of a preadolescent boy and plain brown hair that refused to be either curly or straight. It just hung about her face in some mutinous combination of the two and refused all attempts to dress it properly. She was smart, she was witty—when she wasn’t with strangers—but alas, every one was a stranger because no one cared to converse with a group of Wallflowers. The gentlemen in attendance at parties thought them all lonely and desperate. The other ladies in attendance at parties thought their inability to land husbands was something contagious perhaps and would not risk their own daughters’ futures by encouraging acquaintances with them. In short, they were pariahs in their current city just as they had been pariahs in Bath. Changing locations had done nothing to change their lives. So perhaps something more than a change of location was required? Perhaps it was time for a change in behavior, as well? In the neighboring bed, her younger sister snored less than delicately. Then again, Cordelia did nothing delicately. Smaller in stature and more slight of figure than any of them, Cordelia always charged ahead like a bull. Sighing heavily, Benny rolled onto her side. The curtains were drawn and she could see nothing outside. Of course, there was little to see that interested her at all. She was not a fan of London. To say the least, it was certainly not what she had expected. They’d all had ideas about what the city might be like. For starters, social and romantic success had been envisioned by one and all. Felicity had succeeded on that front, but not without some difficulty. The rest of them would hardly be so lucky. Lightning, after all, rarely struck twice. At her age, she couldn’t even hear thunder from her position on the dusty shelf reserved for spinsters. “Benny, what’s the matter?” “Did I wake you?” Benny asked, sitting up in bed. She shrugged into her wrapper. “I’m sorry, Delia. I am a bit restless tonight. I’ll go downstairs to the library to read so that I don’t disturb you.” “I can keep you company,” Delia offered. “I’ll warm some milk and perhaps scavenge some teacakes from the kitchen.” Benny smiled. “No. You sleep. You will be unbearable tomorrow if you do not.” Cordelia laughed. “You are correct, of course. I cannot even abide myself when I haven’t had enough rest.” Benny walked toward the door to their shared chamber. “Rest, sister. I will come back to bed in a while… once I have quieted my mind.” “Are you troubled, Benny? I know you were closer to Felicity than to any of us. You must be lonely without her here.” “How could I be lonely with you and Charity to keep me company? I’m