Vexing The Viscount (35 page)

Even in a work offiction such as
Vexing the Viscount
, there is always some basis in fact. The Society of Antiquaries met regularly in 1731, and the association still exists today for the express purpose of “the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries” (Royal Charter, 1751). The earliest recorded minutes of the group are dated December 5, 1707. But instead of having their own edifice, complete with lecture hall, as described in this novel, the Society was obliged to meet in various taverns until 1780, when George III granted them use of Somerset House. I hope readers will forgive my slight shuffling of the facts to serve my story.

My description of the disastrous South Sea Bubble, which so devastated my hero’s father, recounts a historically accurate stock swindle. The debacle has been dubbed “the Enron of En gland.” Shares in the South Sea Company soared to such ridiculous heights in the summer of 1720, it inspired shysters everywhere to urge investment in
their
schemes. One newly formed enterprise advertised itself as “a company for carrying out an undertaking ofigreat advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” When the South Sea Company defaulted, the entire market crashed with it. However, since the principal cargo the company intended to market to the New World was slaves from Africa, I can’t help but feel the cosmic justice of total financial ruin was fitting.

Rome controlled portions of Britain for four hundred years. The time referenced in
Vexing the Viscount
(a.d. 405) was near the end of that occupation. Rome was imploding. By a.d. 410, the Emperor Honorius advised Romans in
Britain to defend themselves, for he would send no more troops from the south. My freedman, Caius Meritus, is fictional, but he would have been pleased by their fate, had he lived long enough to see it.

The druid isle of Braellafgwen is purely the product of my imagination, but barrows and standing stones dot the U.K., enigmatic glimpses into what was. You can’t walk the land without sensing the magic of the past. My heroine, Daisy, is right: sometimes, the rocks do cry out with words only the heart hears.

I hope you enjoyed
Vexing the Viscount
! I had a wonderful time writing it. If You’d like to know what’s coming next, please visit me at
www.emilybryan.com
.

Wishing you the best of everything,

Emily

EMILY BRYAN

                                                        “An author to watch.”

                                                                       —Michelle Buonfiglio, LifetimeTV.com

BURIED TREASURE

All it took was a flick of the wrist. A deft touch of his sword point and Drake the Dragon bared her bound breasts. Then with the heat of his hands along her skin, he bared her soul. All the wantonness Jacquelyn had denied herself as a famous courtesan’s daughter, all the desire she’d held in her heart while running Lord Gabriel Drake’s estate flooded through her at his touch. Not that she could let a bloody pirate know it.

Gabriel may have left his seafaring days behind, but his urge to plunder was stronger than ever. Especially if it involved full, ripe lips and a warm, soft body. Unfortunately, he needed Jacquelyn’s help, not her maidenhead, to learn how to behave properly toward a lady so he could marry and produce an heir. Ye t Mistress Jack was the only woman he wanted, no matter what her heritage. And everyone knows what a pirate wants, a pirate takes….

Pleasuring the Pirate

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-6133-1

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1-800-481-9191

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where you can look up your favorite authors, read excerpts, or glance at our discussion forum to see what people have to say about your favorite books.

New York Times
Bestselling Author

Elaine Barbieri

His love could heal her heart.

After Norman raiders killed her family and confiscated their holdings, Rosamund of Hendsmille dressed as a lad and dreamed of revenge. But even roughly chopped hair and breeches could not disguise her extraordinary beauty. Soon she was in a more urgent kind of danger—until an injured stranger rode into her life and taught her to trust again.

Her tears could bring him to his knees.

He became her shadow, her fierce protector, her lover, but even as he won her heart, Dagan feared that he could never keep it. As a warrior, he would fight to have the woman he’d claimed as his own. But when she realized that the loyalty he’d sworn to her belonged equally to the king she loathed, would she relinquish her hatred to save their love?

The Rose
& The Shield

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-6014-3

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Our books are also available at your local bookstore, or you can check out our Web site
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where you can look up your favorite authors, read excerpts, or glance at our discussion forum to see what people have to say about your favorite books.

Romantic Times
Career Achievement Award–Winner

Leigh
greenwood

At nineteen, Rafe Jerry had discovered the woman he adored in bed with another lover—his father. Ordered off the family’s California ranch, he swore never to return and ran away to war. The harsh realities of battle had made a crack soldier of him, but a traitor in the ranks had turned him into a man to be feared. He would not rest until he achieved revenge.

Rafe rode for California with two goals—tracking down Laveau diviere and breaking his father’s will. He would never run Rancho los Alamitos for the beautiful yet treacherous widow; he would not help to raise his vulnerable young half brother; he refused to give in to his longing for Maria de la Guerra, the first woman to touch his hardened heart. But with Laveau on the attack and all he held most dear at risk, Rafe realized the one thing he could not fight was love.

Someone Like You

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-6135-5

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USA Today
Bestselling Author
RITA Award Winner

JENNIFER ASHLEY

It was whispered all through London Society that he was a murderer, that he’d spent his youth in an asylum and was not to be trusted—especially with a lady. Any woman caught in his presence was immediately ruined. Ye t Beth found herself inexorably drawn to the Scottish lord whose hint of a brogue wrapped around her like silk and whose touch could draw her into a world of ecstasy. Despite his decadence and intimidating intelligence, she could see he needed help. Her help. Because suddenly the only thing that made sense to her was…

The Madness of
Lord Ian Mackenzie

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-6043-3

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Our books are also available at your local bookstore, or you can check out our Web site
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where you can look up your favorite authors, read excerpts, or glance at our discussion forum to see what people have to say about your favorite books.

LISA COOKE

Texas Hold Him

As if losing the war to the Yankees hadn’t been bad enough, Lottie Mason now needed §15,000 to keep her ailing father out of prison. The only place she could think of to get that kind of money was a riverboat poker tournament. Problem was, she didn’t know a thing about playing cards.

Dyer Straights may have been the best cardsharp in New Orleans, but the true goal of this hardened gunslinger was vengeance, not profit. He didn’t have time for a beautiful belle who wouldn’t take no for an answer. So to scare her off, he upped the ante with a proposition: He’d give her the lessons she was so desperate for. And if she won the jackpot, she’d owe him one naked night in his bed. He didn’t realize she couldn’t afford to refuse.

As the cards are dealt and the seduction deepens, the two find they’re taking a gamble on a lot more than a good hand and a one-night stand—they’re betting on a lifetime of love.

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-6254-3

To order a book or to request a catalog call:

1-800-481-9191

Our books are also available at your local bookstore, or you can check out our Web site
www.dorchesterpub.com
where you can look up your favorite authors, read excerpts, or glance at our discussion forum to see what people have to say about your favorite books.

Bonnie Vanak

NOBLE IN ALL BUT NAME

Anne Mitchell, born illegitimate and raised in a workhouse, sold by her mother and packed off by her father to the East, had every reason to lose faith. But in Egypt she found identity with the Khamsin, a tribe of Bedouin warriors. Greater even than the secret they entrusted to her was her newfound honor, and for that she would give all.

NOBLE IN ALL BUT ACTION

Nigel Wallenford was an earl. He was also a thief, a liar and a libertine. Regaining his birthright of Claradon had been a start. Next he required wealth, and he knew of just the fabled treasure…and its key’s guardian was a ripe fig waiting to be plucked. Never before had he scrupled to cheat, steal or even murder. One displaced Englishwoman, no matter how fair, would hardly be his match.

The Lady & the Libertine

ISBN 13: 978-0-8439-5976-5

To order a book or to request a catalog call:

1-800-481-9191

Our books are also available at your local bookstore, or you can check out our Web site
www.dorchesterpub.com
where you can look up your favorite authors, read excerpts, or glance at our discussion forum to see what people have to say about your favorite books.

PLEASURING THE PIRATE