Page 1 of How to Ruin a Rake

CHAPTER 1

Lady Allegra Musgrove gazed out over one of Hyde Park’s vistas and swallowed hard. She was trying to be brave about the disastrous events of the past few weeks, but she wasn’t the kind of person to hide from the truth. Her marital prospects were in ruins, society had turned its back on her, and the only thing left to do was retire to the countryside with what was left of the shattered remains of her dignity and reputation.

“But it’s not fair,” Allegra muttered to herself. “I have done nothing wrong!”

The trouble had started years ago when her aristocratic father had met and fallen in love with a famous Italian opera singer. That, in itself, was unremarkable, but marrying such a woman was apparently beyond the pale. Her parents were ostracized by society and their children barely tolerated. And now Carenza, Allegra’s older sister, had caused another scandal by advertising for a lover in the newspapers and then blatantly admitting to it at a charity ball attended by the whole ton.

All of this meant that Allegra, who had never set a foot wrong in fear of being seen as undesirable, was now considered an object of pity, and an unmarriageable one at that. Her latest suitor had recently been seen escorting another young lady around town, and he hadn’t bothered to speak to Allegra since the awful night of the charity ball. To be fair, Allegra didn’t care about losing that particular suitor, because any so-called gentleman who wasn’t prepared to stand by her was not worth it. But she’d had hopes, and now they were dashed.

She took one more look at the picturesque groups of trees where her dog Jester loved to roam and turned back to the walking path. Dusk was falling, and she was out alone—something even her mother wouldn’t have approved of. Most of the staff at the townhouse, including her dog and her maid, had left with the carrier for her parents’ house in Norfolk that morning. Allegra was expecting the family carriage to bear her off to their country home—and a solitary future—at any moment.

Would she ever return to London? She sighed. She’d miss the concerts, the theater, and the opportunity to do some good in the world. She wouldn’t miss the people. If she was honest, she knew she’d only been tolerated for her potential to shock or amuse. Nothing she and Carenza had ever done had been enough.

She approached the house in Tavistock Square and went down the basement steps to the back door, where she found the key under the mat. After unlocking the door, she went through to the kitchen. As most of the staff had already left, the space was deserted, the range left to go out, and quiet had replaced the usual cheerful hustle and bustle. A caretaker would stay on to keep an eye on things while the family were away, but Allegra wasn’t certain the family would ever come back to this house. Her father didn’t care to expose his wife to a society who treated her disrespectfully.

Allegra went up the back stairs to her bedroom to retrieve her largest reticule, which contained several interesting books, her latest needlework project, and some coin to see her through her journey in case the aged coachman needed to stop to rest the horses. A strange sense of hopelessness filled her as she contemplated a vastly restricted life under her uptight brother’s eye.

With a shake of her head, she attempted to throw off her gloom. She would have time to pursue her interests without worrying about what the ton thought of her. She would not need a maid following her around when she took her morning walks with Jester. She would have delightful conversations and musical evenings with her mother.

The sound of a carriage arriving outside the house had her hurrying down the stairs. Her bags were stacked ready in the hall, and all she had to do was leave, possibly forever. There was no sign of Tom the caretaker, but the front door was not locked up for the night, so she let herself out, her reticule in her hand. It had started to rain, and the sky had darkened considerably as she came down the steps, her gaze directed downward to prevent herself from slipping.

A hand closed around her arm, and she looked up into the masked face of an unknown man.

He grinned at her. “Hello, darling girl.”

She tried to pull away, but he simply laughed, picked her up, and tossed her into the carriage before climbing in after her and closing the door. The horses moved off with great speed.

After righting herself with some difficulty, Allegra turned to face him. “How dare you! Let me out immediately!”

His smile didn’t change. “Settle down, sweetheart. You’ll come to no harm.”

She scrambled for the door handle, and his fingers closed around her wrist. She experienced a sudden stab of terror and her heart thumped in her chest.

“Don’t be silly. We’re moving quite fast. If you attempt to leave, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

“Hurt myself? Stop this carriage!”

“I do apologize, but I can’t do that.” He held her gaze. “I need the money.”

“I’ll give you money! Just let me out!”

He winced. “Please settle down, you’re giving me a terrible headache.”

“You stink of alcohol.”

“That’s hardly surprising when I’ve been at my club.”

“Then go back there, drink yourself senseless, and leave me alone.” Allegra tried to iron the trembling from her voice. Her father had always told her that standing up to bullies required courage. “You have no right to abduct me.”

“Calm down. I’m not doing anything of the sort. It’s just a small wager. I’ll have you back home before you even know it.”

“You will take me back home now!”

“I’ll take you home when I’ve won my wager. Now, be a good girl and be quiet.”

Allegra grabbed hold of her reticule and placed it on the seat beside her. Holding the infuriating man’s gaze, she extracted the very large book of improving sermons she’d brought to read and held it up in her hand.

“Stop this carriage,” she demanded. “Or I’ll—”