Katherine Langford is in London ready to make her debut to society when she discovers that the home next door is being rented by the "Murderous Marquess" Hayden Rowling. Always impulsive, Katy decides to sneak over and take a peek at the notorious M...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Perhaps it wasn't too late to trade my soul for his...
"Aunt Katy's come home! Aunt Katy's come home!"
As Katy descended from the carriage in front of Deansbrook House, her niece's jubilant cry greeted her from an upstairs window. The front door of the house flew open and her family came spilling out, all laughing and chattering at once.
For a few minutes, all was chaos as they enveloped her in a bruising round of hugs and kisses. Josephine beamed as Hero swung Katy around in a wide circle, lifting her clean off her feet. Uncle Felix and Aunt Mercy had been invited for supper, so their twins and their spaniels added to the noisy confusion by frolicking beneath everyone's feet. When Katy heard a sharp yelp, she quickly moved her foot, unsure if she had stepped on a dog or a toddler.
Anthony thumped her on the back, grinning like a drunkard. "I never thought I'd miss your prattling, sis, but I must say it's been deadly dull around here ever since you left."
"That's not what I heard," Katy retorted, nodding toward her traveling companion, who was helping Karina down from the carriage. "Sir Tristan tells me that you've been courting a certain red-haired opera dancer for the past fortnight."
Scowling at Tristan, Anthony blushed to the roots of his sandy hair. "Balderdash! It's more like she's been courting me."
"Aunt Katy! Aunt Katy!" Eight-year-old Arthur tugged at the sleeve of her spencer. "Is it true what they say about Cornwall? Do they have fearsome giants there who clean their teeth with children's bones?"
"I should say not, Arthur." Katy raked a lock of wavy dark hair out of her nephew's brown eyes. "The giants in Cornwall eat the bones as well. You can hear them crunching in the middle of the night when you're trying to sleep."
As he squealed in delight, his nine-year-old sister rolled her eyes. "Boys are so silly. Everyone knows that there are no such things as giants in Cornwall. Or anywhere else, for that matter."
"You're right, Amelia," Katy said, keeping her expression utterly serious. "But that's only because the sea monsters ate them all."
"See!" Arthur shouted. "I told you there were sea monsters in Cornwall!" Hooting with triumph, he gave one of his sister's golden curls a sharp yank. As he went dancing out of her reach, Uncle Felix scooped both a spaniel and a twin out of harm's way.
"Why, you wretched little—" Abandoning all pretense of sophistication, Amelia took off after her brother, chasing him down the tree-shaded block.
As Katy gazed after them, Josephine slipped an arm around her waist. "Why so wistful? You can't tell me you've missed their constant bickering."
"I was just thinking about how much I'd love to introduce them to someone I know."
"Your daughter?"
Realizing that she had never thought of Madelaine that way until that very moment, Katy felt her throat tighten. "Yes," she said softly. "My daughter."
