Page 1 of Lord of Mischief
Chapter One
LONDON 1817
Eve Saunders wrapped her black woolen cloak about her shoulders and softly closed her bedroom door.
“Are you ready?”she whispered into the darkness.
Her brother Francis stepped out from behind a nearby pillar, a finger held to his lips.“Ssh, Papa is still awake and working in his study.If he hears us there will be the devil to pay.”He pointed toward the main staircase, motioning for Eve to follow.
She lifted her skirts and hurried after him.
When she reached the bottom of the wide marble staircase, Francis pulled her into an alcove.
“I have checked the rest of the house and no one else is about the floors.Papa suddenly decided he needed to work on some papers for a shipment of tobacco which is arriving from Brazil on the morning tide,” he said.
Eve grinned.Her father could stay up until dawn for all she cared, just as long as he didn’t catch her and Francis sneaking out the house.
They had been stealing into the night for as long as she could remember.Occasionally they could entice their sister Caroline to tag along, but she was no night owl, preferring the joy of going to bed early and sleeping late.The nights when it was just Francis and Eve were always the best.
London late at night was a different place.The soul of the city stirred from its daytime order and dared all who ventured out into the dimly lit streets to become someone else.Being out among the crowds at night stirred the heat in Eve’s blood.
“Come on, we don’t want to be late,” urged Francis.
They headed into the garden of their family home and slipped out into the rear laneway through a small gap in the fence, which was hidden behind a bush.Every time the head gardener made noises about repairing the hole, a coin or two found its way into his hand and he managed to find some other more pressing task to take up his time.
Five minutes later Eve and Francis were running down Dover Street, laughing.The hood of Eve’s cloak fluttered behind her in the cold night air.
“Papa would skin us alive if he ever caught us!”she laughed.
They crossed over to Hyde Park Corner and found themselves in the middle of a crowd, which was growing by the minute.The crush of bodies all jostling for the best vantage point was thrilling.
“I take it the race is still on,” said Eve.
Rumors of a secret bareback horse race along Oxford Street and down to Hyde Park Corner had been circulating throughout their various groups of friends for almost a week.Excitement had now built to fever pitch.
Eve couldn’t wait to see who was reckless enough to ride in a horserace through the middle of London in the dead of night.The threat of arrest would deter all but the very wild at the pursuit, and if there was one thing that set Eve’s pulse racing, it was wild men.
She smiled to herself.There were not enough wild men in London society; she craved a man who could sate her wickedness.
“This will be the best vantage point to see them as they come through from Park Lane,” said Francis.
Eve pulled the collar of her cloak up around her ears.It was only September, but already the nights were chilly.There had barely been a summer to speak of, and now autumn was showing all the signs of a long horrid winter to follow.
She stretched up on her toes, straining to get a better look as the crowd began to cluster tightly around the corner of Hyde Park.She managed to find a gap through which to see Park Lane.Along either side of the street, people held flaming torches to guide the riders.
A ripple of cheers and applause ran through the crowd as the riders finally came into view at the top of Park Lane.
“Here they come!”she cried.
As the horses neared the end of Oxford Street, a sickening feeling of panic began to rise in Freddie Rosemount’s mind.He was going to have to do something quickly if he was going to win.
From the moment he’d leapt onto the back of his horse he’d regretted his decision to bareback horse race through the wet, slippery streets of London.
He had been all of ten years old when he last sat on the back of a horse without a saddle.It had been a quiet ride around the mounting yard outside the stables at his family home in Peterborough—a race in the dark against a skillful opponent was something else entirely.
“Blast!”he muttered as his opponent’s horse drew ahead.If he didn’t do something now, the race would surely slip from his grasp.
He settled down lower over the reins and dug his heels into the side of his mount.He was not done by a long shot.He was not going to lose the first of the Bachelor Board challenges.
