The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous) Read Online Free Page A

be foolish to consider another.”
    Foolish, yes. But not entirely unwise. Especially if he enjoyed flirting.
    “And you, Sarah?” Henrietta asked. “Will you be assisting too?”
    “Of course. I shall endeavor to make certain your nosegay is always filled and pinned to the inside of your corset, lest your nerves get the better of you again. We wouldn’t want you to appear the fool in front of the earl, now would we?” Sarah gave her a reassuring smile.
    Their mother snapped open her fan and cast a determined look in Henrietta’s direction. “Mark my words, you will be the next mistress of Plumburn. We’ll see to that.”
    …
    Simon stared down at the previous day’s issue of London’s most popular gossip rag, the thin flame of a solitary candle illuminating the curled pages spread out across his library desk. Not a hint of his past graced the fine print.
    Until he flipped a page. His name stood out in bold letters—adjacent to his moniker and the details of a death he could not put to rest. Anne . Her limp body cradled in his arms. And the ill-timed visitors who witnessed him weeping over the woman who had betrayed him.
    He crumpled the paper and hurled it into the grate, the dying embers of what remained of the fire licking at the foolscap. How was he supposed to counter the rumors? It had taken five bloody years for Anne’s sister to come forward. Five years for facts to be polluted with lies, for his reputation to sour, and the title to become tainted with scandal.
    A scandal that seemed determined to flourish, no doubt fed by Simon’s younger brother. If Philip could somehow push Simon to the same fate that had claimed Anne, the earldom would be his, and the significant Amhurst fortune along with it.
    Which was why Simon was so damned desperate to take a wife, preferably one with powerful connections and a pristine reputation, to not only lift his name from the mire, but with the gift of an heir, prevent his avaricious brother from inheriting.
    Rubbing his temples, he sought to ease the mounting pressure building within his head, an annoying ache that made it almost impossible to think of little else.
    Almost.
    Try as he might, he could not dislodge a certain pair of golden brown eyes from his memory. They remained fixed, staring at him, their translucent depths filled with a curiosity equal to his own.
    And worse, they were attached to a body no innocent should possess. Visions of her standing before him, trembling in her sheer gown, made it harder than hell to focus, let alone sleep. She waited for him in his dreams, taunting him with her beauty. If he didn’t know the anguish she indubitably promised, he would meet her there, to wake with an erection and his right hand ready to ease his frustration.
    He had done his best to divert his thoughts to the other ladies present. He had tried in earnest to recall each of their names, but the effort was in vain. None of them had captured his interest.
    Which was precisely why they were perfect candidates for his wife. Lady Henrietta Beauchamp was not in the running for his bride. He had trusted in three dark-haired beauties and each time had emerged from their grasps scarred, betrayed, and scorned.
    He had to eliminate Lady Henrietta from his mind. She promised nothing but misery. And he’d bloody well had enough of misery.
    Lifting the sputtering candle, he made his way into the hall, desperate for relief. Brandy, rum, he wasn’t particular. The former earl had to have some hidden stores located throughout the house. He was a father to three daughters, after all.
    Moonlight streamed through the hallway’s lead glass windows, casting pools of silver across the floor and on the clawed feet of the numerous tables lining the walls, saving his toes from certain anguish.
    The creak of a door froze him by one particularly gnarled looking chair leg. The soft pad of feet had him blowing out the candle and casting around for somewhere to hide.
    It was past three in