Silk Is For Seduction: A Passionate Regency Romance Where an Ambitious Dressmaker Enchants a Duke (The Dressmakers Series, 1) - Softcover

Chase, Loretta

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061632686 ISBN 13: 9780061632686

Verlag: Avon, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

“One of the finest romance authors of all time.”
—Julia Quinn

“[Loretta Chase has] a rare talent for creating crackling sexual tension and characters so fresh and compelling that readers won’t be able to forget them.”
—Susan Elizabeth Phillips

One of the most beloved authors in the field of historical romance, the remarkable Loretta Chase proves that Silk is For Seduction. The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author brings readers the first in a very sexy, emotionally rich new series in which sisters from a rather scandalous aristocratic family—the purveyors of the most fashionable shop in Regency London—discover passion and love as sumptuous as the exquisite gowns they create. Stephanie Laurens fans will adore this sensuous love story, as ambitious dressmaker Marcelline attempts to win the patronage of a future duchess…and ends up inadvertently enchanting the Duke!

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Loretta Chase has worked in academe, retail, and the visual arts, as well as on the streets—as a meter maid—and in video, as a scriptwriter. She might have developed an excitingly checkered career had her spouse not nagged her into writing fiction. Her bestselling historical romances, set in the Regency and Romantic eras of the early 19^th century, have won numerous awards, including three from the Romance Writers of America. They have been published in a great many different languages, which she wishes she could read.

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From the Design Book of Marcelline Noirot:
The allure of the perfect gown should be twofold:
ladies would die to wear it . . .
and gentlemen would kill to remove it!

Brilliant and ambitious dressmaker Marcelline Noirotis London's rising star. And who better to benefitfrom her talent than the worst-dressed lady in the ton,the Duke of Clevedon's intended bride? Winning thefuture duchess's patronage means prestige and fortunefor Marcelline and her sisters. To get to the lady,though, Marcelline must win over Clevedon, whosestandards are as high as his morals are . . . not.

The prize seems well worth the risk—but this timeMarcelline's met her match. Clevedon candesign a seduction as irresistible as her dresses;and what begins as a flicker of desire between twoof the most passionately stubborn charmersin London soon ignites into a delicious inferno . . .and a blazing scandal.

And now both their futures hang by anexquisite thread of silk . . .

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Silk is for Seduction

By Loretta Chase

Avon

Copyright © 2011 Loretta Chase
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780061632686

Chapter One

THE LADIES? DRESS-MAKER. Under this head
we shall include not only the business of a Mantua
Maker, but also of a Milliner . . . In the Milliner,
taste and fancy are required; with a quickness
in discerning, imitating, and improving upon
various fashions, which are perpetually changing
among the higher circles.
The Book of English Trades,
and Library of the Useful Arts, 1818
London
March 1835
Marcelline, Sophia, and Leonie Noirot, sisters and
proprietresses of Maison Noirot, Fleet Street,
West Chancery Lane, were all present when Lady Renfrew,
wife of Sir Joseph Renfrew, dropped her bombshell.
Dark-haired Marcelline was shaping a papillon bow
meant to entice her ladyship into purchasing Marcelline?s
latest creation. Fair-haired Sophia was restoring to order
one of the drawers ransacked earlier for one of their more
demanding customers. Leonie, the redhead, was adjusting
the hem of the lady?s intimate friend, Mrs. Sharp.
Though it was merely a piece of gossip dropped casually
into the conversation, Mrs. Sharp shrieked?quite as
though a bomb had gone off?and stumbled and stepped
on Leonie?s hand.
Leonie did not swear aloud, but Marcelline saw her
lips form a word she doubted their patrons were accustomed
to hearing.
Oblivious to any bodily injury done to insignificant
dressmakers, Mrs. Sharp said, ?The Duke of Clevedon
is returning??
?Yes,? said Lady Renfrew, looking smug.
?To London??
?Yes,? said Lady Renfrew. ?I have it on the very best
authority.?
?What happened? Did Lord Longmore threaten to
shoot him??
Any dressmaker aspiring to clothe ladies of the upper
orders stayed au courant with the latter?s doings.
Consequently, Marcelline and her sisters were familiar with all
the details of this story. They knew that Gervaise Angier,
the seventh Duke of Clevedon, had once been the ward
of the Marquess of Warford, the Earl of Longmore?s
father. They knew that Longmore and Clevedon were the
best of friends. They knew that Clevedon and Lady Clara
Fairfax, the eldest of Longmore?s three sisters, had been
intended for each other since birth. Clevedon had doted
on her since they were children. He?d never shown any
inclination to court anyone else, though he?d certainly
had liaisons aplenty of the other sort, especially during
his three years on the Continent.
While the pair had never been officially engaged, that
was regarded as a mere technicality. All the world had
assumed the duke would marry her as soon as he returned
with Longmore from their Grand Tour. All the world had
been shocked when Longmore came back alone a year
ago, and Clevedon continued his life of dissipation on the
Continent.
Apparently, someone in the family had run out of
patience, because Lord Longmore had traveled to Paris a
fortnight ago. Rumor agreed he?d done so specifically to
confront his friend about the long-delayed nuptials.
?I believe he threatened to horsewhip him, but of that
one cannot be certain,? said Lady Renfrew. ?I was told
only that Lord Longmore went to Paris, that he said or
threatened something, with the result that his grace promised
to return to London before the King?s Birthday.?
Though His Majesty had been born in August, his birthday
was to be celebrated this year on the 28th of May.
Since none of the Noirot sisters did anything so
obvious as shriek or stumble or even raise an eyebrow, no
onlooker would have guessed they regarded this news as
momentous.
They went on about their business, attending to the
two ladies and the others who entered their establishment.
That evening, they sent the seamstresses home at
the usual hour and closed the shop. They went upstairs
to their snug lodgings and ate their usual light supper.
Marcelline told her six-year-old daughter, Lucie Cordelia,
a story before putting her to bed at her usual bedtime.
Lucie was sleeping the sleep of the innocent?or as
innocent as was possible for any child born into their
ramshackle family?when the three sisters crept down the
stairs to the workroom of their shop.
Everyday, a grubby little boy delivered the latest set
of scandal sheets as soon as they were printed?usually
before the ink was dry?to the shop?s back door. Leonie
collected today?s lot and spread them out on the work
table. The sisters began to scan the columns.
?Here it is,? Marcelline said after a moment. ? ?Earl
of L____ returned from Paris last night . . . We?re
informed that a certain duke, currently residing in the
French capital, has been told in no uncertain terms
that Lady C_____ was done awaiting his pleasure . . .
his grace expected to return to London in time for the
King?s Birthday . . . engagement to be announced at a
ball at Warford House at the end of the Season . . .
wedding before summer?s end.? ?
She passed the report to Leonie, who read, ??Should
the gentleman fail to keep his appointment, the lady will
consider their ?understanding? a misunderstanding.? ? She
laughed. ?Then follow some interesting surmises regarding
which gentleman will be favored in his place.?
She pushed the periodical toward Sophia, who was
shaking her head. ?She?d be a fool to give him up,? she
said. ?A dukedom, for heaven?s sake. How many are
there? And an unmarried duke who?s young, handsome,
and healthy? I can count them on one finger.? She stabbed
her index finger at the column. ?Him.?
?I wonder what the hurry is about,? Marcelline said.
?She?s only one and twenty.?
?And what?s she got to do but go to plays, operas,
balls, dinners, routs, and so on?? said Leonie. ?An aristocratic
girl who?s got looks, rank, and a respectable dowry
wouldn?t ever have to worry about attracting suitors. This
girl . . .?
She didn?t have to complete the sentence.
They?d seen Lady Clara Fairfax on several occasions.
She was stunningly beautiful: fair-haired and blue-eyed
in the classic English rose mode. Since her numerous
endowments included high rank, impeccable lineage, and a
splendid dowry, men threw themselves at her, right and
left.
?Never again in her life will that girl wield so much
power over men,? Marcelline said. ?I say she might wait
until her late twenties to settle down.?
?I reckon Lord Warford never expected the duke to
stay away for so long,? said Sophy.
?He always was under the marquess?s thumb, they
say,? Leonie said. ?Ever since his father drank himself to
death. One can?t blame his grace for bolting.?
?I wonder if Lady Clara was growing restless,? Sophy
said. ?No one seemed worried about Clevedon?s absence,
even when Longmore came home without him.?
?Why worry?? said Marcelline. ?To all intents and
purposes, they?re betrothed. Breaking with Lady Clara
would mean breaking with the whole family.?
?Maybe another beau appeared on the scene?one
Lord Warford doesn?t care for,? said Leonie.
?More likely Lady Warford doesn?t care for other
beaux,? said Sophy. ?She wouldn?t want to let a dukedom
slip through her hands.?
?I wonder what threat Longmore used,? Sophy said.
?They?re both reputed to be wild and...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Avon
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0061632686
• ISBN 13: 9780061632686
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 384
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irland