Can true love be born from scandal?
She is young and beautiful and fashionable, Edinburgh’s most flirtatious hostess. But within the merry widow beats a grieving heart. Lady Mairi mourns the husband she lost two years before—and no matter how accomplished a lover Jack Rutherford may be, their wanton night together was an encounter of the body only, and Lady Mairi would prefer to forget it.
But when Mairi is threatened by a blackmailer, Jack is the only man who can protect her. As they work together to uncover where the danger lies, their passion reignites. Little by little, the masks they wear burn away, and their most private secrets come to light….
Nicola Cornick’s novels have received acclaim the world over
‘Her books are fabulous.’
—New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn
‘Cornick is first-class, queen of her game.’
—Romance Junkies
‘A rising star of the Regency arena’
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for the SCANDALOUS WOMEN OF THE TON series
‘A riveting read’
—New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney on Whisper of Scandal
‘One of the finest voices in historical romance’
—SingleTitles.com
‘Ethan Ryder (is) a bad boy to die for! A memorable story of intense emotions, scandals, trust, betrayal and all-encompassing love. A fresh and engrossing tale.’
—Romantic Times on One Wicked Sin
‘Historical romance at its very best is written by Nicola Cornick.’
—Mary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer
Acclaim for Nicola’s previous books
‘Witty banter, lively action and sizzling passion’
—Library Journal on Undoing of a Lady
‘RITA® Award-nominated Cornick deftly steeps her latest intriguingly complex Regency historical in a beguiling blend of danger and desire.’ —Booklist on Unmasked
Don’t miss the Scandalous Women of the Ton series, available now!
WHISPER OF SCANDAL
ONE WICKED SIN
MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT
NOTORIOUS
DESIRED
FORBIDDEN
Also available from Nicola Cornick
THE LADY AND THE LAIRD
DECEIVED
LORD OF SCANDAL
UNMASKED
THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS
THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT
THE UNDOING OF A LADY
DAUNTSEY PARK: THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON
Browse www.mirabooks.co.uk or www.nicolacornick.co.uk for Nicola’s full backlist
One Night with the Laird
Nicola Cornick
For Alison Lindsay. Thank you!
Contents
Pleasure’s a sin and sometimes sin’s a pleasure.
–Lord Byron
CHAPTER ONE
Edinburgh, Scotland, April 1815
IT TOOK TEN minutes to cross from Edinburgh New Town to Edinburgh Old Town in a carriage, and for all of those ten minutes Jack had an almost uncontrollable erection the like of which he had never experienced before in his life. He had learned over the previous ten years that anticipation was one of the greatest aphrodisiacs of all; the anticipation he felt tonight was acute and almost impossible to bear.
Opposite him sat the woman who was the cause of his discomfort. He could not see her clearly in the drifting lamplight, but his awareness of her was sharp. Jack could smell the jasmine perfume that lingered on her hair and on her skin. He could see the shadow of a smile that curved her lips beneath the mask and he could still taste her from the kiss he had snatched a few minutes earlier. She had pushed him away then, but playfully, in a way that promised more, much more.
He had a rake’s reputation, but it was a long time since he had bedded a woman. He wondered if that accounted for this reckless urge to throw caution to the wind and take this woman he had met a mere four hours before. Jack did not know her name. He had not seen her face. He knew only that his sexual awareness of her was so keen that