THE KNAVE OF HEARTS
Rhymes With Love #5
Elizabeth Boyle
Releasing on January 26, 2016
Avon
In the fifth novel of the captivating Rhymes With Love series from New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle, a young woman's hopes of a match encounter a wickedly handsome complication . . .
Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Add to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep.
Alaster "Tuck" Rowland admits he's partly to blame for Lavinia's disastrous debut. But it's not guilt that compels him to restore her reputation. Rather, he's placed a wager that he can make Lavinia into one of the most sought-after ladies in London. Who better than an unrepentant rake to set society astir?
Tuck's motives are hardly noble. But in teaching the lovely Lavinia how to win any man she wants, he suddenly finds himself tangled in the last place he ever imagined: in love.
Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Add to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep.
Alaster "Tuck" Rowland admits he's partly to blame for Lavinia's disastrous debut. But it's not guilt that compels him to restore her reputation. Rather, he's placed a wager that he can make Lavinia into one of the most sought-after ladies in London. Who better than an unrepentant rake to set society astir?
Tuck's motives are hardly noble. But in teaching the lovely Lavinia how to win any man she wants, he suddenly finds himself tangled in the last place he ever imagined: in love.
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For a young
lady who had made a study of all things proper, Miss Lavinia Tempest always
seemed to find her fair share of mishaps.
The small fire at Foxgrove. The bunting incident
of ’08. And the rather infamous trampling at the Midsummer’s Eve ball two years
earlier.
Sir Roger still claimed he didn’t miss those
toes.
Of course, he was joking. He’d been very fond of
those toes.
And worse, every time Lavinia attended a ball,
soiree, or even just the weekly meetings of the Society for the Temperance and
Improvement of Kempton, someone (usually Mrs. Bagley-Butterton) had to remind
one and all of one of her more recent follies.
So when Lavinia entered the hallowed halls of
Almack’s, it was with, she vowed, a fresh start.
A clean slate.
And so it seemed she was right. No one pulled
their hem out of the way as she drew near for fear of it being trod upon or
worse, the lace being completely ripped away. No one whispered behind their
fan, or laid wagers as to who or what would be broken by the end of the
evening.
She was, for the first time in her life, merely
Miss Tempest, the daughter of the respected scholar, Sir Ambrose Tempest.
“It is just as I imagined,” she said in awe as
she and her sister Louisa handed over their vouchers. The perfect place to
launch herself into the lofty reaches of London Society.
After all, she’d spent most of the afternoon
planning out her evening (when she hadn’t been reading her favorite Miss Darby novel).
First and foremost, she was wearing her new
gown—a demure and respectable dress done in the latest stare of modest fashion. And while she had longed
for brilliant sapphire silk that had been on the shelf at the modiste’s shop,
that color would never do for a debut such as this.
After all, the very rule was on her list:
Proper Rule No. 3. An unmarried lady always
wears demure and respectable colors. Such as white. Or a pale yellow. Or an
apple green, but only if the occasion permits.
So the blue silk could only be eyed from a
distance, and she’d consigned herself to the muslin, for propriety was the
order of the evening.
That is if she was to gain the highest obligation
of every young lady making her debut Season in London:
Proper Rule No. 1. Marriage to a respectable,
sensible, well-ordered gentleman is the order of business for every proper
lady.
So she had the gown, entrance into the very heart
of the Marriage Mart, and now all she had to do was finish the evening without
incident.
But this was Lavinia Tempest, and that was easier
said than done.
“No dancing,” Louisa whispered to her as their
chaperone, Lady Aveley, led them into the Wednesday evening crush. Her sister
held out her hand, pinky extended, and Lavinia wrapped her own finger around it
and the two sisters bound their promise together.
No dancing.
In Lavinia’s defense, she had made her promise
most faithfully with every intention of remaining safely at the side of the
dance floor.
She had demurred when Lord Ardmore had asked.
Begging off in a charming fashion that she was “too nervous to dance,” this
being her first visit to Almack’s.
She’d even refused the very handsome and dashing
Baron Rimswell—though she had been sorely tested for it was only a simple reel,
but then one glance at Lord Rimswell’s glossy boots and she’d thought better of
it and remained firm to her promise.
No dancing.
But apparently no one had told Mr. Alaster
Rowland. Now in his favor, Mr. Rowland’s boots hadn’t a fine gloss and he was
rather squiffy from an indeterminate amount of brandy, so even if she had
stepped on him, he was drunk enough that it would most likely dull the pain.
4.5 stars
ELIZABETH BOYLE has always loved romance and now lives it each and every day by writing adventurous and passionate stories that readers from all around the world have described as “page-turners.” Since her first book was published, she’s seen her romances become New York Times and USA Today bestsellers and win the RWA RITA Award and the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice awards. She resides in Seattle with her family, her garden and always growing collection of yarn. Readers can visit her on the Web at www.elizabethboyle.com.
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