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This Rake of Mine

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Overview

Scandal, outrage, ruin, rapture ... Who knows where one kiss can lead

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Author Information

Bio of Elizabeth Boyle

Elizabeth has written stories since childhood--including tales about her imaginary friend, an oversize Holstein by the name of John Clapper--and from there graduated to notebooks full of the usual bad adolescent poetry full of angst and dreary tales of woe that only a teenager can conjure up. After college and a stint of traveling, Elizabeth returned to writing what she loved to read: romance novels. However, she hit a small bump in the road when she discovered that aspiring writers still have to pay their rent and buy groceries, so she worked as a paralegal, compiling case profiles on insurance fraud (arsons, faked burglaries, faked accidents) and police misconduct (assaults by officers, shooting inquests). Eventually she worked for a software company investigating piracy in North America. During her time "pirate hunting," she participated in civil and criminal seizures with the FBI, U.S. Customs, and the Canadian RCMP. After years of these modern-day adventures, it is no wonder that counterfeiting, forgery, and espionage find their way into her Regency-set romances, which she now writes full-time. Writing at night and on weekends, Elizabeth completed four manuscripts before Brazen Angel won the Dell Diamond Debut Award in 1996. The story of her first sale is considered romance legend, an event she says could not have happened without the love and determination of her husband. The entire story can be found here. Since then, she has written eleven more historical romances, as well as a novella, which have made eight appearances on the USA Today bestseller list, earned a spot on the New Times Extended list, received four RITA nominations (including This Rake of Mine and His Mistress by Morning) and one win, garnered countless Romantic Times nominations, and won the praise of fans worldwide, who call her fast-paced, adventurous romances "page turners" and "keepers." Her most recent book, Love Letters from a Duke, is the third novel in her Bachelor Chronicles series. Always one for an adventure herself, Elizabeth has driven a train through the Highlands of Scotland, hitchhiked in Ireland, and carries a Cook Island driver's license in her wallet. After her hometown of Seattle, Elizabeth's top three places to explore and people-watch in are London, New York, and Las Vegas--a trio of cities where, she says, story ideas can be found on just about every corner. Traveling aside, Elizabeth's favorite place is home, where she finds her foremost writing inspiration in her die-hard romantic and hero-handsome husband, Terry, whom she considers the best birthday present she's ever received. Elizabeth and Terry used to live in a quiet Seattle neighborhood, enjoying their own romantic view of Puget Sound, ferryboats, and the Olympic Mountains. That is, until they became parents--so, while they still enjoy their Northwest panorama, "quiet" has become a term they use only with the past tense.

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Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins

Filesize

889.51 KB

Number of Pages

384

eBook ISBN

9780061179167

Awards

  • RITA Award

Excerpt from: This Rake of Mine by Elizabeth Boyle

Miss Emery's Establishment for the Education of Genteel Young Ladies
Bath, England
1810

"I don't see why he has to be allowed in," Lady Philippa Knolles complained to her cousin, Miss Felicity Langley, as they crept down the back stairs of their school.

"Pippin, when the Duke of Parkerton sends his brother to perform an errand of such a delicate nature," Felicity explained, "one cannot simply bar the door to the man. Even if he is a disreputableýa horribleý"

"Rake," supplied Felicity's twin sister, Thalia, who brought up the rear of this illicit party. Tally, as she was known, was not one for delicacy of words, and besides, she was rather excited at the prospect of getting a look at such a man.

To Tally the word rake conjured all sorts of dreamy possibilities, like pirate or highwayman or smuggler. And the very notion that Miss Emery had banished the entire school to their rooms for the afternoon until their "visitor" had departed was just too much to bear.

A rake at Miss Emery's? Why, it was like history in the making, a moment not to be missed.

"Really," Tally had declared, "how does Miss Emery expect us to recognize this sort of man if we have never seen an example of one?"

Felicity had readily agreed. Pippin had been a bit more hesitant than her daring cousins, but in the end, she'd relented and joined the party, if only because she too held a secret curiosity about the infamous rake, Lord John Tremont.

"Who was it that Lord John ruined?" Pippin asked.

"Miss Miranda Mabberly," Felicity supplied without hesitation. "He kissed her rather inappropriately at the opera."

Felicity's knowledge of the ton never ceased to amaze Pippin, especially given that up until two years ago, the Langley sisters had never even set foot in England, having spent their entire lives traveling the world with their father, Lord Langley, a distinguished member of the Foreign Office.

"Oh, dear," Pippin said. "If that is so, why didn't he just marry Miss Mabberly?"

Tally finished the story, for at the moment Felicity was timing their descent to ensure that they didn't run into the headmistress or one of their other teachers, especially their decorum teacher, Miss Porter.

"Miss Mabberly was betrothed to the Earl of Oxley at the time," Tally whispered. "Oxley cried off when he learned what happened."

"And Miss Mabberly?" Pippin asked. "What of her?"