Saving my soul, p.20
Dared by a Rogue (Wagers and Wallflowers Book 17), page 20
DARED BY A ROGUE
WAGERS AND WALLFLOWERS
BOOK SEVENTEEN
ALYSSA CLARKE
Dared by a Rogue is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.
For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher: Darkanpress@gmail.com
First Edition August 2024
Edited by AuthorsDesigns
Proofread by Jeanne Olynick
Cover Art by Forever After Romance Designs
Cover design and formatting by AuthorsDesigns
Copyright © 2024 by Alyssa Clarke
For my family who rooted for me to write this series! For my amazing husband, who did all the cooking while I burrowed in the writing hut.
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
About Alyssa Clarke
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of emails and messages from you, the wonderful fans of the Wagers and Wallflowers series. Many of you have encouraged me to write books for all 35 members, and I must admit, I gasped, laughed, and even shed a few tears at the thought of how cherished this series has become.
Your enthusiasm and support mean the world to me.
I want to thank everyone who reached out to remind me about Lady Jenna, whom we first met in Ruin Me if you Dare, book 4 of the series. Her heart was broken, and you all felt she truly deserved her happiness. This book is dedicated to you, the readers, who never forgot her story and inspired me to give her the ending she deserves.
Happy reading,
Alyssa
CHAPTER ONE
Lady Jenna Hawkins felt wretched, as if she had failed her mother’s every expectation as she slipped through the crowd and all but ran down the hallway of Lady Clementine’s townhouse. The ball had been enjoyable until Lord Davidson mentioned he would call upon her father tomorrow to make an offer for her hand. Jenna had almost been charmed by his earnestness, and there had been only indifference in his gaze. By chance, several minutes later, she overheard him say to his friend that while she was remarkably pretty, there was another debutante he found more alluring, but Jenna owned the fattest dowry. It was her ill luck that he heard her stricken gasp, and he had the audacity to pursue her through the crushed ballroom to offer an explanation.
Lord Davidson tried to speak with her; however, Jenna danced away, laughing and chatting with her friends, ignoring the earl. His frustration grew with each thwarted attempt, and he had acted most indiscreetly a few moments prior, causing a stir. Jenna had little choice but to escape his pursuit, and the dratted man followed. She grabbed the edges of her ballgown and sprinted down the hallway. Jenna barely made it into a room before he appeared in her view.
“Drat,” she whispered, her heart pounding. “Did he see me?”
She closed the door with a snick and dropped her forehead against the smooth wood. How could an evening that had been so delightful now feel horrible? Jenna lurched back when the knob rattled.
“Lady Jenna,” Lord Davidson called. “Please open the door and allow me to explain my words. I do not wish for this misunderstanding to exist between us.”
She fisted her hands at her sides but refused to answer him or open the door.
“I know you are inside, Lady Jenna. Please open the door.”
Still, she kept silent. He remained insistent, and to her horror, it sounded as if the earl was trying to use some means to open the door. It was entirely possible to pick a lock, as she had been learning the skill from the highly secretive ladies’ club she had recently joined. Jenna could not be caught alone with Lord Davidson! Surely, he would use it to his advantage and trap her into marriage.
Refusing to stay in the room and wait to see if he would enter, Jenna rushed toward the window and shoved it open. Oddly, it stopped halfway, and despite using all her strength, it would budge no further. Huffing out a sharp breath, Jenna decided to climb through. She slipped one leg over the sill, bent over low, and started to ease forward, only to find herself stuck.
“Oh, dear,” she gasped, stricken.
Jenna tried to move forward and, for some wretched reason, could not move. She attempted to slither back into the room and found it was the same challenge. Panic clawed at her when the doorknob fiercely rattled.
“Surely I will not be found by that blackguard in this position!”
The very notion almost sent her into a faint.
A hand touched her hip, and a low voice said, “Let me help you.”
Jenna froze, so shocked for a moment she could not breathe. Her heart was beating in a slow, ponderous rhythm that threatened to choke her. She inhaled sharply, a much-needed breath and a warm scent invaded her body. “Are you … a real person?”
“What other types are there?” the voice asked, rich with amusement.
“There are ghosts,” she choked out. “Where … where did you come from?”
“I was sitting in the dark contemplating the oddities of life when you dashed into my awareness.”
Oh! “You could have made your presence known, sir.”
A low sound of amusement came from him. “Then I would have missed the delightful show.”
Before she could respond, the stranger gently but firmly shoved the window upward and helped her maneuver through it. With his assistance, Jenna managed to slip through and land lightly on the soft grass below. She looked up to see a tall, dark-haired man climb through the window with ease, his movements fluid and controlled. The shadows in the back garden were so deep she could not discern his features. It was inescapable that she was in an even more secluded space with an unknown man.
“Who are you?” Jenna asked, still trying to catch her breath. She noticed that her hands were shaking a little, and she drew two more deep breaths.
The dark shadow peered at her for a few beats. “Viscount Sallis, at your service,” he replied with a courteous bow.
He took a single step closer, and her heart lurched.
“My lord, you must not stand so close to me!”
“Why not?”
Her nerves felt tightly drawn. “It is scandalous.”
His low laugh sounded entirely too sensual. “I am a scandalous gentleman.”
That unrepentant drawl startled her for a moment. Jenna also became aware that she could step back. He should not be that close to her. She knew it, yet she couldn’t retreat.
“Are you admitting to being a libertine? That … that means I should not be out here with you alone,” she said softly, more to herself than the viscount.
“I have a need to enjoy the fresh air, and I can see that you do too, Lady Jenna. I promise there is no need to run away inside. You will always be safe with me.”
“I … I am safe with you?”
“Yes, Lady Jenna, upon my honor, I promise this.”
How absurd that he could promise and expect her to believe him. She stared helplessly at his implacable reply, wondering what to do now. She realized he would have heard the earl calling her name, for Jenna certainly never met the viscount before. A young lady should not linger in the presence of rakes and libertines but dash madly away from them. Jenna did not wish to return to the ballroom, her mother’s expectations and the earl’s pursuit.
Lord Sallis turned around and dragged the window down, closing it.
“Your pursuer has entered the room,” he said softly. “Do you want me to do away with him?”
Why does that sound so ominous?
She took a halting step toward the window. Lord Davidson had indeed entered. Why was he so persistent? Hopefully it would not occur to him that she had fled through the window. Jenna moved from the window and hastened toward the darker alcove, hoping if he had the idea to peek out, she would not be visible.
Somehow, she sensed that Viscount Sallis followed. Jenna swallowed, her heart still racing from the unexpected encounter and the sheer recklessness of being alone with a gentleman. Jenna sat on a stone bench, acutely aware of the viscount’s presence. He stood by the fountain, his head canting as if he listened to see if the earl followed. How she wished to make out his features. A crescent moon hung low in the sky, but it did little to suppress the dark shadows of the night. Lord Sallis’s broad shoulders and tall frame exuded an air of confidence and arrogance that intrigued and unsettled her.
Why was she not fleeing inside?
“I do not believe he is following,” the viscount said. “Perhaps he accepted that you were not i n the room.”
A relieved sigh escaped Jenna, and Lord Sallis turned to face her.
“Why does the earl hound you?”
Jenna tightened her fingers on the edges of the stone bench. “He wishes to court me.”
“Court you for marriage?”
“There are other types of courtship?”
“How innocent,” he murmured.
She felt her cheeks warm under his regard. Surely, he could not see her, yet she could feel the intensity of his stare. Jenna delicately cleared her throat. “It is a marriage that Lord Davidson is after.”
“That is not the way to go about it,” he said drily. “Beauty has always had the power to turn men into fools. Still, it is no excuse for his behavior.”
Startled, she stared at him. “Lord Davidson was more drawn to my dowry. I suspected it, but I was in denial until I overheard his words that confirmed my suspicions.”
Stillness flowed over the viscount, and silence stretched between them for several beats.
Jenna cleared her throat, feeling oddly unbalanced. “Thank you for your helping me through the window. I apologize for interrupting the solace you found in pondering the peculiarities of life.”
“On the contrary,” he replied, his tone lightly mocking, “I rather enjoy a bit of excitement. It keeps life from becoming dreadfully dull. Would you like a drink?”
She blinked, feeling bemused. “A drink?”
“Hmm.”
“Would you not think I am unladylike for accepting?”
“Would you care about my opinion?”
Jenna smiled. “No.”
“There is a condition, I am afraid; perhaps you should hear it first.”
“A condition to drinking with you?” she squawked, flushing, for she sounded like a mouse.
“Yes.” Lord Sallis prowled over, sat beside her on the stone bench, took a flask from his pocket and handed it to her. “Should we be discovered, I will not marry you to save your reputation.”
Startled, she laughed, then sobered. “Truly?”
“Yes.”
“How wonderful,” she murmured. “I would not accept your offer if we were caught.”
“Good.”
Jenna uncapped the flask and took a tentative sip, the warm liquid easing some of the tension from her body. Her breathing quickened, and she grew flushed. She handed it back to him, and he took a drink as well. Their eyes met over the rim of the flask. The deep gold of his eyes was like a spark of ember in the darkness. There was that evocative scent again, and awareness flamed through her body.
She looked away from the viscount, and he merely drank, at times handing the flask to her. Each time, she barely pressed the opening of the flask to her lips instead of drinking. She had a poor tolerance, but she did not tell him this, content with the façade that she was doing something so wicked.
Perhaps it was because the viscount seemed a calming, protective force compared to the one who chased her with his dastardly intention, or it could be that she had grown more daring after joining 48 Berkeley Square, but Jenna did not feel afraid being alone with Lord Sallis. Smiling, she shared the flask and stared at the night sky, enveloped in a most peculiar sense of contentment, surrounded by the beauty of the garden and her unexpected companion.
CHAPTER TWO
6 weeks later …
Lady Jenna flushed as she gripped the edges of her ballgown and surveyed the crowded ballroom. She experienced a thrilling surge of excitement and anxiety and tried her best to give the appearance of a young lady coolly composed. Jenna had taken special care with her appearance tonight, wearing a rose-colored, high-waisted gown with a far too scandalous décolletage that drew more than a few appreciative glances. Her raven-black hair was caught in an intricate chignon, with artful curls kissing her cheeks and forehead, framing her face with allure. Despite her evening gloves, she gripped her delicately painted fan until her palm ached.
Why did you wish for me to attend this ball? Jenna silently asked. The thought of her latest love poem to Cillian Stanhope, Viscount Sallis, brought heat to her cheeks. She discreetly sent it to his townhouse in Grosvenor Square yesterday and knew every line written, for she had agonized over sending the viscount such intimate and improper thoughts.
Love was just a dream to me
A gallant knight from days of yore
A kiss beneath the greenwood tree
A hope to fill my bottom drawer
But then I gazed deep in your eyes
My heart danced to an unknown beat
I knew that I had met my prize
Your kisses hot and very sweet
In response to her poem, which she felt bared her entire heart, a one-line reply was delivered to her.
Attend Lady Panton’s midnight ball.
“Arrogant and high-handed,” she had whispered, then twirled inside her bedchamber, hugging the note to her chest. Jenna closed her eyes, and the kiss she wrote to him about was pressed against her lips by her phantom lover. Even now, her heart raced as she recalled how tenderly he had cradled her cheeks, the scandalous way he held her against his chest, and the sensual fieriness in which he claimed her mouth.
My very first kiss and it was so gloriously wonderful.
The memory sent a fierce want surging through Jenna’s heart, and her lips tingled as if the viscount had just kissed her again.
“Your cheeks are a frightful red,” a voice whispered beside her.
Smiling, Jenna glanced at one of her dearest friends, Prudence, Countess Wycliffe, who was also a member of their secret ladies’ club at 48 Berkeley Square. Prue’s attire was stunning—a deep emerald gown that complemented her bright eyes with her hair arranged high atop her head in a series of soft curls.
“Do you think he will declare himself to me tonight, Prue?” Jenna asked, her voice trembling with a mixture of hope and fear.
Her friend worried her bottom lip with her teeth, a glow of wariness in her eyes. “I …”
Jenna’s heart lurched at Prue’s indecisiveness. This was not like her friend at all. “What is it?”
“I have no wish to cause you distress, Jenna.”
She touched her friend’s arm. “Please do not hide what you know from me.”
Prue glanced around the ballroom, ensuring they were not overheard. “I overheard a conversation … Lord Sallis was speaking with Lord Pembrook. The viscount mentioned something about a loan that the bank denied.”
“A bank loan?” Jenna repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion and unease.
“Yes, it appears the viscount’s estates are severely indebted,” Prue confirmed, her voice barely above a whisper. “And has been so for many years.”
“I … Lord Sallis never shared this, and we’ve had so many conversations,” Jenna said, her belly tightening into a knot. “Could it be idle gossip?”
“It was the viscount himself who said a loan was denied and he has exhausted all avenues. No bank would dare offend a lord unless they believed he was not creditworthy.”
“My family does not know about this. I declare no one in society knows, or the rumors would be all about town,” Jenna said.
Prue nodded. “I fear there may be more to Lord Sallis’s invitation than a simple declaration of affection.”
Jenna felt as if the ground had shifted beneath her feet. “What do you mean?”
Prue took a deep breath, her eyes filled with concern. “I fear he might be playing a game, Jenna. I know you deplored your mother’s actions when she made it known your dowry was rather impressive. Lord Pembrook urged him to marry an heiress as soon as possible to save his estates.”
“No!” Jenna’s grip on her fan tightened, the delicate wood creaking under the pressure. “How did the viscount reply?”
“Lord Sallis made no reply to Pembrook’s urgings. The viscount merely walked away.”
Jenna’s heart was a pounding mess. The viscount was impoverished, and she had a dowry of fifty thousand pounds along with a lovely country manor in Berkshire. Her mother had thought it sensible if the ton knew about her wealth, while Jenna had feared only those who wanted her fortune would pay court to her.
She thought about the heated way Lord Sallis watched her when he thought she did not notice, his eyes lingering with an intensity that made her heart race with thrill and anticipation. She recalled how he had danced with her under the stars, his touch gentle yet possessive, how he had walked with her in Hyde Park while she gaily twirled her parasol and chatted about everything and nothing.
