Rules of Passion

386 Pages·2005·1.17 MB·English

by  Sara Bennett

Contents
Prologue
Marietta Greentree opened swollen eyelids and
peered miserably across the… 1
Chapter 1
The gas-filled balloon bobbed sluggishly in the
breeze, as if… 6
Chapter 2
The sounds and sights within Vivianna’s
bedchamber were almost more… 29
Chapter 3
Max, Lord Roseby, would probably have
agreed with her. Or… 50
Chapter 4
“Max? You want me to use Max? Oh no, you… 72
Chapter 5
When Marietta and Aphrodite reached the
vestibule, Max’s coach had… 93
Chapter 6
Max drifted in and out of consciousness,
rather like a… 114
Chapter 7
“I’m glad you and his lordship enjoyed my
poor efforts,… 140
Chapter 8
The following morning, Marietta was busy
writing a letter to… 157
Chapter 9
Max was watching her, new shadows under
his eyes, and… 177
Chapter 10
The following morning the streets of London
were busy, as… 192
Chapter 11
Marietta handed the footman another parcel
as she left the… 212
Chapter 12
The room was beautiful. 233
Chapter 13
There was a long silence. For a time
all Marietta… 258
Chapter 14
Marietta was pale but determined as she
prepared to leave… 278
Chapter 15
Desire for Max caught her in its tight
grasp, and… 298
Chapter 16
Francesca had insisted that since she was
in London she… 316
Chapter 17
The room was shaded, as if its occupant
could not… 335
Chapter 18
Marietta reached up to make sure that her gold
mask… 349
Epilogue
Blackwood wasn’t as grim as Max had
threatened, although it… 371
About the Author
Other Romances
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher

Prologue
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Somewhere in the North of England
1841
M
arietta Greentree opened swollen eyelids and
peered miserably across the small, cluttered
room. Her bag lay on the floor, clothing spilling
from it. Among the froth of undergarments was the
fine silk nightgown she had thought to wear on her
wedding night. Her gaze slid away, found the light
that trickled through a narrow window. There were
sounds drifting up from the stableyard. Grooms,
servants, employees who worked and lived at the
inn—the voices of those going about their daily rou-
tine. Everything normal.
Except for Marietta, whose life could never be the
same again.
Gerard Jones, the man she had believed she loved,
the man she had trusted, the man who had per-
suaded her to run off with him to Gretna Green, was
11
2 SARA BENNETT
gone. He had left her here, in an impoverished inn
on the road to the Scottish border.
Her mother, Lady Greentree, had warned her, her
sister Francesca had warned her, but she hadn’t lis-
tened. His unsuitability in their eyes had only made
him the more appealing to her—in her youth and ro-
mantic idealism, she had been certain that she knew
best. They just didn’t understand, she told herself.
This was love as she had always dreamed it to be! So
when Lady Greentree refused to allow the banns to
be called, Marietta thought her heart was broken
and made the desperate decision to agree to run
away with him. He loved her, and she loved him—
surely that was all that mattered? She told herself
that when her family realized how happy they were
together, they would see their mistake and all would
be forgiven.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Marietta groaned and cov-
ered her face with the pillow.
Gerard hadn’t loved her at all. He had wanted her
body, or perhaps not even that. Perhaps he was the
sort of character who found his enjoyment in de-
stroying a young girl’s heart and reputation. He was
the sort of cad who had been secretly laughing at her
all the time as he lured her into his trap. And she was
too silly to know it.
And yet...was being warm and loving and trust-
ing so silly? Marietta had been in love with love for
as long as she could remember, and Gerard had
seemed a natural progression. She had fallen in love
with him, or had she? Was she simply in love with
the idea of being in love with him? She had imag-
ined herself Isolde to his Tristan, Genevieve to his
Lancelot.