Join favorite author
Louise Allen
as she explores the tangled love lives of
THOSE SCANDALOUS RAVENHURSTS
First, travel across war-torn Europe with
The Dangerous Mr. Ryder
Coming
August 2008
The Outrageous Lady Felsham
September 2008
The Shocking Lord Standon
2009
The Disgraceful Mr. Ravenhurst
The Notorious Mr. Hurst
The Piratical Miss Ravenhurst
Author Note
Jack Ryder first appeared—of his own volition—in No Place for a Lady, and took on a life of his own. I found myself wondering about him, what his background was, where he had come from, and I realized I needed to tell his story.
Then I discovered that Jack is not alone—he has siblings, he has cousins, and some of them have a story to tell as well. So this is Jack Ryder’s tale, but it is also the first of the stories of THOSE SCANDALOUS RAVENHURSTS, and of how they, like Jack, find the loves of their lives.
It is the start of a journey for me, and I hope you will come along and discover with me what befalls the Ravenhurst cousins.
Louise Allen
THEDANGEROUS MR.RYDER
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
MILLS & BOON
Before you start reading, why not sign up?
Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!
Or simply visit
Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.
Available from Harlequin®Historical and LOUISE ALLEN
The Earl’s Intended Wife #793
The Society Catch #809
Moonlight and Mistletoe #830
A Most Unconventional Courtship #849
Virgin Slave, Barbarian King #877
No Place for a Lady #892
*The Dangerous Mr. Ryder #903
Other works include
Harlequin Books
Hot Desert Nights
“Desert Rake”
DON’T MISS THESE OTHER
NOVELS AVAILABLE NOW:
#904 THE GUNSLINGER’S UNTAMED BRIDE—Stacey Kayne
Juniper Barns has sought a secluded life as a lumber-camp sheriff to escape the ghosts of his past. He doesn’t need a woman sneaking into camp and causing turmoil….
Watch sparks fly as Juniper seeks to protect this vengeful beauty.
#905 A MOST UNCONVENTIONAL MATCH—Julia Justiss
Hal Waterman’s calling on the newly widowed Elizabeth Lowery is the caring act of a gentleman. He finds himself enchanted by the beautiful Elizabeth and her little son—although he knows he can never be part of this family….
Follow Hal’s emotional quest to win over Elizabeth’s heart in this long-awaited sequel to Julia Justiss’s The Wedding Gamble.
#906 THE KING’S CHAMPION—Catherine March
Troye de Valois, one of the king’s own elite guard, has long lived in Eleanor’s heart and dreams. Dreams that are shattered when he reveals his anger at their forced marriage, and the emotions she is reawakening in him….
Drama and passion build in this stirring Medieval tale.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter One
The evening of 7 June 1815
No one had told him that she was beautiful. Jack Ryder crouched precariously in a stone window embrasure two hundred feet above the ravine river bed and stared into the candlelit room. Inside, the woman he had been sent to find paced to and fro like an angry cat.
He kept his eyes fixed on the image beyond the glass as he wedged himself more securely into his slippery niche. Below, the void beneath the castle was shrouded in merciful darkness, the faint sound of the river floating upwards. Although his whole body was aware of it, he ignored the cold fingers of fear playing up and down his spine, knowing full well that if he let his imagination have full rein he would never be able to move at all. His studded boots ground on the stone, and he froze for a moment, but the sound did not seem to reach her.
Jack gave himself a mental shake and began to work on the knot that secured the end of the long coil of rope around his waist. As it came free he gave it a jerk, flicking it outwards, and the whole length detached itself from the battlement high above and fell out of sight into the void.
Now his only way down was through that window. Despite his perilous position, Jack had no intention of going through it until he had a chance to size up the woman inside. The woman he had been sent to bring back to England by whatever means he found necessary, including force.
It was for her own good, as well as in the interests of both