The Scandalous Ladies of London

Contents Cover Title Page Dedication 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 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Epilogue Announcement Excerpt from The Scandalous Ladies of London: The Duchess About the Author Also by Sophie Jordan Copyright About the Publisher iii v 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 ii 391 iv Guide Cover Contents Prologue Dedication For Katie Horton . . . my refuge in the wilderness. I’m so glad you came into my life. Prologue THE LONDON TITTLE TATTLE 14 April 1821 It is official. The Lady Cordelia Chatham is out, and Society is agog! She is all that is beauty and grace. Surely her impeccable pedigree will be enough to outweigh any scarcity of dowry that might attend the daughter of an earl known to spend more than a passing amount of time in the gaming hells. Fortune hunters need not apply, but those wishing for a titled and well-positioned bride need look no further than this striking, if not costly, adornment to grace the arm of any gentleman lucky enough to win her. The belle of the season has arrived . . . Chapter 1 A lady rarely chooses her husband, but she may choose her friends. Is it any wonder she prefers her friends’ company? —Gertrude, the Countess of Chatham Grosvenor Square London, England Gertrude set the scandal rag down with a contented little sigh, fully aware that this might have been the first time she had ever touched the wretched paper with anything other than contempt in her heart. As much as she loathed scandal rags for all the damage they could do—and did—this one was positively delightful. None of its usual swill, to be sure. Good things were happening for Delia, and this signaled it. She would have choices. Her pick of suitors. A fate of her own design. All things Tru had vowed her daughter would have. It was all coming together quite nicely. She reached for her nearby cup of tea. “You look very pleased with yourself,” Hilda said as she fluttered about the bedchamber, tidying the space and gathering things to ready Tru for the day. “Oh, I am.” “And it has to do with that?” Hilda pointed a discarded slipper at the newspaper in dubious fashion. “Indeed. Delia has found herself a subject of high praise in the Tittle Tattle today.” Chatham himself might have been delivered a subtle slap, but no insult had been done to Delia. There was that. And that was everything. “Oh.” Her maid’s eyebrows winged high. “Has she now?” Hilda gently draped Tru’s freshly pressed day dress upon the chaise. “Then Lady Delia should be pleased.” “Indeed.” Tru nodded, her smile less than certain. She hoped so. This portended great things. Things her daughter was too young and inexperienced to appreciate, but Tru did. Tru wholly understood. Hilda angled her head thoughtfully. “What do you think, my lady? Your pearls? Or perhaps the sapphire brooch is best?” Tru considered the sunny yellow frock she was to wear that day. “Sapphires feel more suitable for spring, I think.” Nodding agreeably, her maid helped her dress for the day, cinching her tightly into her corset. “Not too tight,” Tru instructed. Gone were the days of a minuscule waist. She cared for Cook’s crumpets far too much. “I’d like to breathe.” “Yes, my lady.” Tru studied her wild-haired reflection in