A Season for Scandal by Golden Angel

Chapter 1

Josie

Staring down at the note in her hand, Josie did her best not to gasp. An unknown man had just delivered it. He had done no more than flash a smile when he handed her the note, then disappeared into the crowd, leaving her bewildered—even more so when she opened the note and read it. Her heart was now pounding so rapidly inside her chest, she thought it might burst.

Dearest Josie,

I have made a terrible mistake. Please come meet me in the garden immediately. I need your help.

Yours,

Joseph Stuart

Exactly what the mistake was, was unclear. Had Joseph finally come to his senses and realized his rumored upcoming engagement to Miss Priscilla Bliss was a horrible decision? He had been dancing attendance on the young woman for weeks now, completely enamored to all appearances.

Josie chewed on her lower lip. So far, her first season in London had been painful, watching the man she had loved for the past five years fall in love with someone else. What if he was not truly in love with Miss Bliss?

What if he had finally realized he should not be marrying her but did not know how to gracefully step back?

Yours.

He had signed it Yours.

Did that possibly indicate Joseph finally returned her affections? At the very least, he had never signed a note in such a manner that she knew of, and she had grown up next door to him.

“Miss Pennyworth? Is it bad news?” Baron Stillwell’s concerned voice penetrated Josie’s racing thoughts.

She looked up at him with a brilliant smile, which she then bestowed on the rest of her circle of suitors. There were quite a few of them. She had been collecting them all Season, but unfortunately, not one of them had managed to distract her steadfast heart from the young man who had stolen her heart without even realizing it.

“No, no, but please excuse me. I must find my mother.” The resulting sighs of resigned dissatisfaction were gratifying. Though she did not particularly want to marry any of them—much to her mother’s frustration—Josie did appreciate their devotion. She was quite a catch—declared a Diamond of the First Water and an Original in her first Season, an ample dowry, granddaughter of a Marquess, and one of the best friends of the newly married Marchioness of Hartford.

Cynically, she knew it was her social connections more than her personality that drew her suitors, but they seemed to appreciate her quick wit and sunny nature. At least she had a personality, which was more than Miss Bliss could claim. Everyone agreed she was sweet but dull—everyone except Joseph.

Grinding her teeth as she made her way through the crush of people, fingers still clutched around the note, she looked for her friends, Mary or Lily, hoping one or both would be available to come with her. Unfortunately, she did not see Mary, or more to the point, Mary’s very tall husband anywhere. As petite as Mary was, she would be impossible to find in such a crowd. Lily was marginally easier, as she and Josie were both a touch above average height for women, but Josie did not see her, either.

Well, blast.

She could not ignore the note. Joseph needed her to save him from a life of boredom with Miss Bliss.

Settling a demure smile on her face, she moved toward the doors to the gardens. Going out there alone was unwise for a debutante, but she doubted she would be long, and Joseph would be able to vouch for her.

Someone jostled her, and Josie turned to snap at him when he grabbed the hand holding Joseph’s note and lifted it to his lips.

“Such beauty, unparalleled…” His voice trailed from the terrible attempt at poetry, and he blinked drunkenly, trying to remember what he was saying. Josie had never seen him before, and she quickly snatched her hand away.

“We have not been introduced, my lord.” She hurried off, her nose in the air and her heart pounding. What a cad, approaching her like that!

Quickening her step toward the doors, she did not notice she no longer held the note in her hand.

Elijah

Now where the devil was Josie off to? Swanning through the ballroom, nose in the air, she did not even seem to notice how gentlemen’s eyes followed her through the room. His lips pressed together with a wave of disapproval. While he knew it was expected of a debutante to draw the attention of marriage-minded gentlemen, seeing her made him even less enamored of the process.

She was the belle of the ball, garbed in a stunning pale blue gown that emphasized her bosom to the point of daring for a debutante and her blonde curls delicately piled into an elaborate array, pinned with winking sapphires. The same gem glittered at her throat and ears, bringing an extra sparkle to her already bright eyes.

That was what the gentlemen of London saw. None of them knew what an unmitigated hoyden she was, the way she could race a horse, or the fact that she wore breeches when in the country. They only saw the Diamond of the First Water, the acknowledged beauty of the Season, and the demure lady looking for a likely match.

Likely whoever married her would disapprove of the other side.

For all she drove Elijah mad when they were in the country, and he was there to witness her exploits, he hated the idea of a stern husband denying her a part of herself. Which she was likely to get, as everything about the Season was set up to deceive a man into marriage with a woman he did not actually know. Though he wished his brother Joseph every bit of happiness with Miss Bliss, he wondered what secrets about the woman his brother did not know.

There would always be something.

He hoped his brother would find marital bliss since Elijah was depending on either Joseph or Adam to birth his heir. He did not intend to marry. The number of miserable couples among the ton had long ago convinced him that such a union was not for him.

Seducing the bored, unhappy wives of the ton—usually not difficult—was a time-honored pastime for rakes, Elijah included. Now, as part of the Society of Sin, an exclusive club for certain like-minded individuals within society, he saw even more married lords and ladies living their own lives. The point of marriage seemed to be to produce an heir, and Elijah had brothers to fulfill that duty for him. Though there were a few happy unions around, it seemed like quite a gamble to make, and Elijah never bet anything he could not afford to lose.

Which was why the idea of Josie married to some jackanapes who would not appreciate her vexed him, but there was nothing he could do about it. She was a young miss, and she wanted to be married. As long as she left his brother alone, it was not his business.

However, finding his cousin Evie was his business, and Josie had received a note before leaving her circle of suitors.

Watching from his point on the balcony, Elijah frowned when Josie made her way to the doors to the gardens—then walked out alone! Bloody hell. Was she trying to have her reputation ruined? Quite a few curious looks followed her out the door. Sometimes, he swore Josie did not have a lick of common sense.

Unless… perhaps the note was from Evie, and she needed Josie. That was the only reason Elijah could think Josie might drop everything and rush out.

Pressing his lips together, he hurried down the hall to the stairs, following her out. If his cousin was in the gardens, he was going to catch her and drag her back to his father, even if he had to throw her over his shoulder.

Josie

Hurrying away from the drunk lord, Josie’s heart was pounding when she stepped outside. The night air was cool on her cheeks, refreshing after the heat of the ballroom, and she sighed with relief. It was a crush inside.

Glancing around the patio, she saw several couples and small groups milling about on the stones, but no Joseph. Moving to the top of the three steps that led down into the gardens, she saw a dark figure on a path to the right. Thanks to the large hedges, he was completely in shadow and would be invisible to those on the patio. It was impossible to see his features, but he was the same size as Joseph, and when she looked at him, he raised his hand in greeting, gesturing her to join him.

“Bloody hell,” she muttered under her breath, lifting her skirts to descend the few steps to the garden path. Joseph was lucky she loved him as she did. Otherwise, she would turn around and march back inside.

Aware she was risking her reputation by disappearing into the hedges, she walked toward him, only to curse when he nodded in approval—and moved down another path! Her temper grew when she came to where he had originally stood and turned right to follow him.

“This had better be important,” she said waspishly as she walked into the grotto where he stood under a tree.

Stepping out from underneath the branches, the moonlight now on his face, the stranger grinned at her. The smile on his face was not pleasant. It was cruel. Malicious. Josie’s breath caught in her throat, her thoughts racing, sifting through her options in less than a second.

Scream.

Do not scream. You will be ruined.

You are already ruined. Scream, so you are not harmed.

Even if they only think he ruined you, you will be forced to marry him.

I do not want to marry a total stranger who set a trap for me.

“It is,” he said, his voice deep and threatening.

Josie stepped back, then whirled to run, but he was faster. If she had been in breeches, she might have stood a chance, but her skirts hampered her movements as they swished around her, and he caught her arm in a cruel grip. She cried out, though not loudly, as she was hauled back against him. Harsh fingers gripped her breast, sending a shocking pain through her as he dug into the soft flesh. No man had ever touched her like this, so intimately, so callously, but she had not forgotten everything Evie had taught her.

Josie, tall for a woman, threw her head back, hitting him on the chin with the back of her skull. Pain exploded in her head, but she hurt him as well. A small surge of victory rushed through her when he cursed, and his grip on her breast loosened. Twisting, she tore herself out of his grasp, turning and striking. He dodged the blow aimed at his face. Blast. She was out of practice—that should have landed.

“Bitch.” He snarled, grabbing the front of her dress and yanking.

This time, Josie shrieked, unable to stop herself as the fabric tore with a loud ripping sound. She felt the cool night air on her chest all the way down to her stomach. She gasped, choking back a sob, barely aware of the tears on her cheek as she tried to cover herself.

Someone rushed by her, barreling into the man who had assaulted her. There was a flurry of fists, moonlight on dark hair… Josie blinked the tears away.

There was a shout behind her, back toward the patio, and the two men broke apart. She could finally see her rescuer.

“Elijah?” she whispered, almost unable to believe what she was seeing. Elijah was her hero?

The villain ran off into the darkness of the gardens, and for a moment, Elijah looked to follow him, but Josie whimpered, and he paused. The shouts behind her were growing louder.

Eyes falling to where Josie was clutching the tattered fabric of her dress, trying to cover her breasts, Elijah cursed. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Angry, dark eyes blazed as he glared down at her, mere inches from her tear-stained face. Despite the anger in his eyes, she was not afraid. Elijah was here when she was in trouble, the same way he had always been her entire life, getting her and Evie out of scrapes.

She was in far more dire straits than any childhood trouble, but she trusted him to take care of it.

“Not one word,” he whispered fiercely, tension vibrating through every line of his body. “Do not say one word. I will do the talking.”

She did not have a chance to respond before there was a loud chorus of gasps behind her.