When the Rogue Returns (39 page)
Read When the Rogue Returns Online
Authors: Sabrina Jeffries
Tags: #Fiction, #Historical romance, #Regency
Let him stare. Now that she knew he only did it to provoke her, she refused to let it bother her. It’s not as if he meant anything by it. He
did
, after all, have a string of beauties trailing after him throughout London, and she wasn’t widely acclaimed a beauty herself.
Oh, men flirted with her often enough, but that was to be expected. She was rich, after all, and her inheritance was substantial. She would much rather they flirted with her because they found her interesting, but barring that, she wouldn’t mind being admired for her more feminine attributes.
Unfortunately, English gentlemen weren’t generally attracted to olive-skinned women with foreign-looking features, no matter how much Mama had always praised her “exotic” appearance. And her aunt, Mama’s sister, despaired of her clothing choices, claiming that they had a bit
too
much dash for good society.
Zoe sighed. Even if by some chance Mr. Bonnaud didn’t mind any of that and actually found her attractive, it didn’t matter. He hardly seemed the marrying sort. And she had too much at stake to be interested in the other sort—scoundrels and rakes and rogues. No matter
how
handsome and daring they were.
“So,” Mr. Manton said as he gestured to a chair and took his own seat behind the desk, “what do you want from me and my fellow investigators?”
Having circled around to lean against the wall nearest the desk, Mr. Bonnaud leveled her with his disapproving stare. But at least he wasn’t smirking at her anymore.
She looked at Mr. Manton, and the enormity of what she was about to reveal hit her. For half a second, she reconsidered her decision. If the Duke’s Men ever let slip even a tenth of what she was about to tell them, her future would be over and her family’s estate, Windborough, would be lost forever.
“My lady?” Mr. Manton prodded. “Why are you here?”
Then again, it might be lost forever if she
didn’t
involve them. Truly, she had no choice.
She gripped her reticule in her hands and fought for calm. “I need you to find my real parents.”
© JESSI BLAKELY FOR TAMARA LACKEY PHOTOGRAPHY
SABRINA JEFFRIES
is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the Royal Brotherhood trilogy, the School for Heiresses series, and the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Her first hardcover release, the stunning holiday novel
’Twas the Night After Christmas
, was named one of
Library Journal’s
Best Romances of 2012. Her all-new series, The Duke’s Men, begins with
What the Duke Desires
and
When the Rogue Returns.
Sabrina Jeffries also headlined the novella collection
The School for Heiresses
and contributed to the holiday anthology
Snowy Night with a Stranger.
There are more than six million copies of her books in print worldwide.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son.
Follow Sabrina Jeffries on
Twitter
, join her more than 12,400 fans on
Facebook
, and visit
www.sabrinajeffries.com
.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
authors.simonandschuster.com/Sabrina-Jeffries
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A
LSO BY
S
ABRINA
J
EFFRIES
By Love Unveiled
’Twas the Night After Christmas
T
HE
D
UKE’S
M
EN
S
ERIES
What the Duke Desires
T
HE
H
ELLIONS OF
H
ALSTEAD
H
ALL
S
ERIES
A Lady Never Surrenders
To Wed a Wild Lord
How to Woo a Reluctant Lady
A Hellion in Her Bed
The Truth About Lord Stoneville
T
HE
S
CHOOL FOR
H
EIRESSES
S
ERIES
Wed Him Before You Bed Him
Don’t Bargain with the Devil
Snowy Night with a Stranger
(with Jane Feather & Julia London)
Let Sleeping Rogues Lie
Beware a Scot’s Revenge
The School for Heiresses
(with Julia London, Liz Carlyle & Renee Bernard)
Only a Duke Will Do
Never Seduce a Scoundrel
T
HE
R
OYAL
B
ROTHERHOOD
S
ERIES
One Night with a Prince
To Pleasure a Prince
In the Prince’s Bed
The first installment in Meredith Duran’s
Rules for the Reckless
series.
CLICK THE JACKET
TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY TODAY!
The next searing installment in Meredith Duran’s hot regency romance series on sale March 25th.
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TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY TODAY!
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Pocket Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Deborah Gonzales
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Pocket Books paperback edition February 2014
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Cover illustration by Alan Ayers
ISBN 978-1-4516-9348-5
ISBN 978-1-4516-9352-2 (ebook)
