Home > The Rake Gets Ravished (The Duke Hunt #2)(52)

The Rake Gets Ravished (The Duke Hunt #2)(52)
Author: Sophie Jordan

Mercy was happy. Silas was happy. Grace was happy. It seemed that everyone who mattered to her was happy. Even Gwen Cully had married. No one expected such an improbable thing. The lady blacksmith, so very stalwart in her unmarried state, had married . . . and to someone so unexpected. It was astonishing really. Quite the juicy chatter for the residents of Shropshire.

As for Bede, Silas had given him no choice regarding his fate. Prior to their marriage, Silas had demanded Bede sign over the farm to Mercy or he would ruin his name throughout London, making certain all doors were closed to him. Mercy had not protested or defended him against such a threat, even when Bede pleaded with her to intervene. It was necessary. She knew something had to be done. Bede could not be given any more chances. He had done too much damage. He could not continue on his destructive path. If not for Silas . . .

She shuddered, not caring to think what her fate would have been. And she needed not consider it. There was only joy in her life now. There would only be joy to come.

Silas was generous enough to give Bede some money so that he could make a start of it elsewhere. Some place other than England. He permitted Bede the choice, and her brother chose New Zealand. Silas paid for his fare, sent him off with a plump purse, and that was the end of it.

“He’s made it to Christchurch and has taken a position there at a school.”

“He has found employment?” Grace blinked in surprise.

Mercy nodded and handed the letter over to Grace to read. The money Silas gave him would not last forever. Perhaps her brother had changed and was thinking to his future. Perhaps he had grown up. More outrageous things had happened. Things like Mercy marrying Silas Masters.

A whimsical smile played about her lips. Who would ever have imagined such a thing? Such a wild, improbable thing?

And yet here she was. In love. Married. Loved in return . . . and not just by any man. Loved by a man like Silas Masters. Beautiful. Strong. Good and kind.

Still smiling, she returned to her husband’s lap, not even caring that they had an audience. She loved the man too much to stay away for even a few moments.

“Oh, you two.” Grace looked at them over the letter. “Can you not keep your hands to yourselves?”

“No,” Mercy responded, pressing a lingering kiss to her husband’s cheek and threading her fingers in the hair at his nape. He bestowed a tender smile on her, and she smiled back at him. “We can’t.”

Announcement

Don’t miss

The Scoundrel Falls Hard

The next book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s Duke Hunt series.

Available from Avon Books

August 2022

About the Author

SOPHIE JORDAN grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of more than thirty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with anything that has a happily ever after.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

By Sophie Jordan

The Duke Hunt Series

The Rake Gets Ravished

The Duke Goes Down

The Rogue Files Series

The Duke Effect

The Virgin and the Rogue

The Duke’s Stolen Bride

This Scot of Mine

The Duke Buys a Bride

The Scandal of It All

While the Duke Was Sleeping

The Devil’s Rock Series

Beautiful Sinner

Beautiful Lawman

Fury on Fire

Hell Breaks Loose

All Chained Up

Historical Romances

All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue

A Good Debutante’s Guide to Ruin

How to Lose a Bride in One Night

Lessons from a Scandalous Bride

Wicked in Your Arms

Wicked Nights with a Lover

In Scandal They Wed

Sins of a Wicked Duke

Surrender to Me

One Night with You

Too Wicked to Tame

Once Upon a Wedding Night

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

the rake gets ravished. Copyright © 2022 by Sharie Kohler. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2022 ISBN: 978-0-06-303569-0

Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-303567-6

Cover design by Nadine Badalaty

Cover illustration by Alan Ayers

Avon, Avon & logo, and Avon Books & logo are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.

HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.

first edition

About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia