The Viscount's Code

THE VISCOUNT’S CODE RECKLESS ROGUES BOOK TWO ELLIE ST. CLAIR CONTENTS 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 Epilogue The Scholar’s Key - Chapter One Also by Ellie St. Clair About the Author ♥ Copyright 2023 Ellie St Clair All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher. Facebook: Ellie St. Clair Cover by AJF Designs Do you love historical romance? Receive access to a free ebook, as well as exclusive content such as giveaways, contests, freebies and advance notice of pre-orders through my mailing list! Sign up here! Reckless Rogues The Earls’s Secret The Viscount’s Code The Scholar’s Key Prequel, The Duke’s Treasure, available in: I Like Big Dukes and I Cannot Lie For a full list of all of Ellie’s books, please see www.elliestclair.com/books. CHAPTER 1 “We cannot welcome that man into our home.” Hope bit her lip, staring up at her sister’s set jaw, the hard line of her lips, the steely determination in her eyes. “We would be doing so to help Cassandra and Gideon, Faith. It is not for ourselves.” Faith turned her stare away from the man in question toward Hope, hands on her hips and a disapproving frown on her face. “One of these days, Hope, you will have to start thinking of yourself instead of everyone else.” Hope sighed as she glanced across the room at Anthony Davenport, Viscount Whitehall. She agreed with her sister – she would rather not welcome to their home a man who had just called their father a thief, even if he hadn’t meant for her and Faith to overhear. However, to refuse would not only disappoint one of her closest friends in the world but would also put a stall to this entire treasure hunt. For that was what it appeared they had embarked upon – willingly or not. “Hope, there you are.” Cassandra stepped between them and wrapped Hope’s hands in her own, a warm smile on her face. “I was never able to properly thank you for all you did to bring Devon and I back together. I’m not sure that I would ever have forgiven him had you not intervened.” Heat crept up Hope’s cheeks. “It was nothing, Cassandra, truly. I simply told him the truth.” “But had you not sought him out, the two of us would have been far too hard-headed to ever admit to our faults, I’m sure,” Cassandra said, although the look she sent her fiancé’s way was nothing but endearing. “You are quite the peacemaker.” Hope simply nodded. Cassandra was correct in that it had taken a great deal of courage for Hope to approach the earl and tell him what her friend had believed of him, but it had been tearing her apart to see Cassandra so distraught over what Hope had been sure was a misunderstanding. Fortunately, Lord Covington, who was best friends with Cassandra’s brother, Gideon, had taken her seriously and repaired their relationship. Along the way, they had led the rest of them on a rather interesting quest which had resulted in not a treasure as expected, but rather a second clue to this puzzle that had begun at the beginning of the summer. “Cassandra?” Hope asked now, looking around the room. It was not as though this was a great secret, as all ten of them were in on it. There were the five women whose relationship with one another had centered around their interest in reading inappropriate novels and a penchant for brandy, and the five men who, apparently, had created a club in which they sought out daring schemes and pursuits. “Yes?” Cassandra asked, raising her eyebrows as she pushed a strand of her auburn hair back behind her ear. “Do you truly believe the viscount is the only man who can solve this code that appears to exist in the latest clue? And are you sure it even is a code?” Cassandra’s initial sigh turned into a chuckle. “I am not actually certain of anything – except that the viscount seems quite convinced that the book we found will match a second, and my father was certain that your father possessed an identical volume. Do you think it will be an issue for the viscount to visit your estate?” “I certainly think so,” Faith huffed. “Do you know what he had to say about our father?” Hope quelled her sister’s words with a look, shaking her head slightly. It wouldn’t do to upset Cassandra on this day that was supposed to be for her and her soon-to-be husband. “It will be fine,” she said, attempting to smooth it all over. “Our mothers are such good friends. I should see no issue.” “Thank you,” Cassandra said, relief evident on her face. “Gideon is so counting on us finding a treasure of value to restore the family’s fortunes. He was utterly disappointed when the riddle we found only led to another clue, but at least it was not the end of it.” She turned when her name was called from across the room. “I best go speak to my soon-to-be mother-in-law. Thank you again for helping us in this.” As she walked away, Hope turned to her sister. “Do you see? We cannot disappoint Cassandra.” Faith sighed. “Fine. But if the viscount says anything further untoward about our family, I shall have to tell Father.” Hope cringed. Their father was not a man who many wanted to cross. “Very well,” she said, hoping the viscount would behave himself. He was rather surly, though