It's Raining Rogues

Prepare to be swept away by a collection of Regency tales where love ignites amidst tempestuous storms, roaring thunder, and the seclusion of cozy hideaways. Eight captivating romances unfold as circumstances drive these gentlemen and ladies into the arms of unexpected passion.

In this enchanting anthology, storms rage, rain pours, and thunder rolls—bringing together souls destined to find one another and prove that while storms may force us into seclusion, they also bring hearts together when least expected.

Perfect for readers that love cozy firesides, whispered confessions, and love that blossoms in the shadows of a storm. Let the storms rage on—for within them lies the promise of unforgettable romance.

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Including Rogue to the Rescue

They fell in love under the guise of anonymity, but when the masks were removed and the truth revealed, their hearts were shattered.

Now Lady Victoria Westbrook is in danger and the only person who can protect her is the very man she had given her heart to not long ago, Mr. Benedick Valentine.

While a storm brews outside, will the flames of desire rekindle their hearts or will all be lost if Benedick fails to save her from the danger that stalks?

Chapter One

London, March 4, 1818

“No!” Her decision was final and brooked no argument.

“I told you she hated me,” Mr. Benedick Valentine reminded Dr. Xavier Sinclair.

“Lady Victoria is independent, which can cause some to make foolish decisions,” Sinclair, husband of her twin sister, observed.

Anger and indignation flared and Lady Victoria glared at her brother-in-law. “Do not try to evaluate the status of my mind. I am not your patient.” Sinclair was a man of medicine and his area of study had been the diagnosis and treatment of troubled minds and melancholy states. “I do not need a man to protect or even rescue me.”

She then scowled at Benedick. “It is not hate.” She whipped around and stomped to the sideboard where she poured herself a brandy and kept her back to Benedick and Sinclair.

At one time Victoria thought herself to be in love with Benedick, and assumed he returned the emotion, but when he saw her face, the horror in his silver eyes was not something that she would ever forget.

She should never have accepted the invitation to Lady Grisham’s house party last summer. She had only gone out of curiosity because everyone knew that they were held, but no one ever discussed what occurred. Not even the slightest bit of gossip or rumor was whispered behind fans, which of course had everyone intrigued.

She should have allowed herself to remain curious.

Her first warning that the holiday would not be normal was when the invitation instructed that she was not allowed to bring along a guest, nor were any servants to accompany her while being assured that a maid would be available during her stay. Further, she was to arrive at a coaching inn where an unmarked carriage would take her the rest of the way to Lady Grisham’s estate. It was all rather mysterious, especially after she entered the dark carriage to find a selection of purple masks on the seat with a note that stated, “When not alone, a mask must be worn. You must don it before your carriage arrives at my home. You are prohibited from revealing your identity to my guests, nor will they reveal theirs to you. Everyone will reveal themselves at the stroke of midnight during the ball held at the end of the sennight. Until then, you will only be known as Valerie.”

“Are you in agreement, Lady Victoria?” the footman had asked and it was only then that she realized the carriage had not yet left the coaching yard.

“Unless you promise to acquiesce to the stipulations, we cannot deliver you to Grisham Hall.”

A nervousness had engulfed Victoria, but she had also been intrigued and reminded herself that it had been some time since she had enjoyed any adventure and therefore, she promised to abide by the rules.

Had she not already known Lady Grisham, and about the house party that was held one week each summer, Victoria may have declined and returned home, but her curiosity would not allow it.

That had been her final mistake.

Had she not attended, her heart would not have been broken.

Several times Victoria had wondered if Benedick had shown her attention and affection because she had been a willing participant in near seduction and he had been nothing but a rogue. Matters did not go so far as to actually ruin her, but there had been heated moments. Her heart also became involved. As for Benedick, he behaved no differently from any other rake invited to a house party.

Maybe he had cared. Well, until her mask was removed.

And now, the very man who had stared at her in horror when her mask had been removed had been asked to protect her.

“Your presence is not necessary. I need no protection.” At least not from Benedick who probably did not want to be here any more than she had wanted to see him again.

“It appears that you do,” Benedick offered.

At his reminder, Victoria rubbed a hand over her bruised arm. It had come from a man who wanted his property back—a woman who had taken up residence at Westbrook House to escape her unpleasant situation.

Victoria and her sister had established Westbrook House a few years earlier when they began taking in orphans and thought to run a foundling home. But desperate women in need of shelter also started to arrive and they had grown since, a haven for those who had nowhere to go.

As for the man who accosted her, he had gotten away because he hadn’t attacked her where there were guards but on the street in front of her home. Had he not been chased off by others, she shuddered to think what else he might have done.

“It was one incident and will not happen again,” she assured both Benedick and Sinclair as she turned to face them again.

Why did Benedick have to be so blasted handsome with his thick brown hair and sharp silver eyes, sculpted jaw and cheek bones and firm lips.

Oh, she did miss his talented mouth.

Her face heated and she turned her attention to Sinclair and tried to ignore the man who had introduced her to passion and pleasure without taking her innocence.

“He knows where you live,” Sinclair insisted.

“That does not mean that he will return.”

“Did he tell you so?” Benedick demanded.

Quite the opposite, actually. Not that she would tell the two men standing in the parlor that the awful man had promised that he would come for her when she least expected it unless she returned his property—a fallen dove by the name of Ruby who had been forced to work for him.

The bruises on Victoria’s arms were barely a mark compared to the blackened eye and cut lip Ruby had arrived with, and Victoria would never return Ruby to that miscreant no matter the danger to herself.

“Post guards at my home if it will make you feel better,” she returned. “But Mr. Valentine will not be guarding me within my house.”

She couldn’t believe Sinclair had even made the suggestion. Just because she was a spinster of a certain age and old enough to have collected dust because she’d been on the shelf for so long did not mean she wanted to risk her good reputation by having a man remain in her home overnight until the person who had confronted her was caught.

Perhaps if it was someone else, she might reconsider, but Benedick Valentine, the rogue who had shattered her heart, did not want to be near her any more than she wanted him there.

***

When Sinclair sent word for Benedick to meet him at Westbrook House over his concerns, he had not known that it involved Lady Victoria Westbrook.

Even though he had cause to be at Westbrook House in the past, he had not met Lady Victoria because she’d never been present. Therefore, it was understandable that he would have not realized that the woman he met last summer, who went by the name of Valerie, was Lady Victoria until her mask was removed and he learned her true name.  

He should never have attended such a ridiculous house party and still could not fathom why he had received an invitation. He was not a lord, but a member of the Thames River Police. Further, his father had been a stable hand, not that many were aware, because Benedick had been raised by a vicar of modest means. He had no right to attend a house party given by Viscountess Grisham.

Benedick had even voiced his concern to the hostess when he arrived, wearing one of the foolish blue masks that he had been given when he stepped into the carriage and agreed to her terms. Each person had been assigned a color. His had been blue and Lady Victoria’s was purple.

Lady Grisham had assured him that despite her title and wealth, her guests came from all over England and from different stations—lords, ladies and commoners. She had then announced to the gathering once everyone had arrived her reasoning, “People rarely meet those outside of their circle, profession, church or family. With such limited social circles, one cannot help but have a narrow view and be judgmental of those who come from circumstances different from their own. When masked, everyone is the same, which makes it impossible for prejudices and judgments to guide a person’s behavior toward another. Many people have left my house parties having become friends with people they would have never otherwise met, everyone had their world widened and perhaps opinions altered. Some have even found love.”

“This is not a party set to matchmake, is it?” he had demanded.

“Of course not,” Lady Grisham had promised. “But if love finds you, where is the harm?” She had laughed then wandered off, leaving the guests to become acquainted.

He almost left then, but the very idea of anonymity had intrigued him. Further, he well understood how prejudices could limit and sometimes destroy another person’s life. It had been the case with his mother, who had fallen in love with a stable hand. Her father, a marquess, did not approve so the two ran off to Gretna Green to wed and then returned. It was then that his mother was disowned by her father at the urging of his brother-in-law, a duke. The two were forced to London where they lived in Cheapside while Benedick’s father worked in the mews until he died and left Benedick’s mother a widow.

Even though Benedick was not a lord and had never been acknowledged by his grandfather the marquess, who was now dead, he knew he was guilty of judging those in Society because of what his grandfather and uncle had done to his mother.

He had remained at the house party because he thought that it would be a benefit and help him be less judgmental of those he did not know simply based on rank.

That was when he had come to know Lady Victoria, who had gone by the name of Valerie while at Lady Grisham’s home. He had been Benjamin.

Her blue eyes so often twinkled with mischief and humor as a smile pulled at her coral lips, the only part of her face that he could see. Blonde hair, golden in the sunlight, cascaded, curls brushing her shoulder, and gowns, while modest, displayed her assets in the most delicious manner.

He should never have gone because then he would not have fallen in love for the first and only time in his life, then been rejected as soon as the truth was revealed.

And now, he was being asked to protect the very woman who had fled the moment his mask was removed and his name announced, never to see or speak to him again—until now.

“Certainly, there is someone you can hire,” she argued.

Even now she could not wait for him to be out of her presence, as if they had not spent delightful days and glorious nights together just seven months ago.

There had been nearly instant passion and desire between them and even now he was surprised at how quickly they succumbed to both and never had he experienced such pleasure with a woman without being completely intimate with her.

“There are others who could guard you,” he answered. “But the ones that I trust the most are not available. As for the others, I do not know them well enough and therefore, would not trust them to keep you safe,” he answered.

“Would you hire them for someone else?” she asked.

“Not if a life was in danger.” It was her life he cared most about and Benedick wanted to find the man who had harmed her and inflict his own damage. Once he was finished, the reprobate would be incapacitated for a good long while. Long enough to realize that his life could come to an end if he ever harmed a woman again.

“I can stay with my sister and her husband,” she announced with a smile to Sinclair. “Thus, there is no need for guards.”

“Olivia and I are leaving for the country very early in the morning,” Sinclair reminded her. “Besides, you would be no safer there than you are in your own home.”

“Do you really want to take the risk that he might sneak into your home late at night?” Benedick did not voice what could happen to her but assumed Lady Victoria imagined enough on her own since she gave a shiver and took a deep drink of brandy.

“I have servants aplenty,” she reminded them.

“How many are experienced in fisticuffs or know how to disarm someone with a knife or pistol?” Benedick asked.

“I do not know,” she answered with hesitation. “I am certain some of them do since three of my footmen were raised in Seven Dials before they came to Westbrook House.”

“How old were they when you took them in?” Benedick asked

Lady Victoria frowned. “Nearly fourteen, I suppose, so they experienced a good deal of fighting before they found a safe haven.”

He was glad to know that there were some men within the household that could probably hold their own against an assailant. One did not survive Seven Dials without learning how to fight dirty and win.

“They will do quite well in protecting my home. I can assure you of that. In fact, it was one of them who ran from the house and went after the man who grabbed me.”

“Yet, he did not catch him, did he?” Benedick reminded her.

“I do not need your protection, Mr. Valentine,” she declared stubbornly as anger flashed in her blue eyes.

Lady Victoria would rather risk her life than have him in her home. Unfortunately, she did not have a choice. Despite how she may feel about him, Benedick still cared very deeply for her, or the woman he had come to know when she wore a mask.