Page 1 of Raked Away in September

Chapter One

London – September 2, 1822

The September air held a chill, a reminder that the Season was over and summer was ending. Beneath the brilliant glow of ten thousand colored lamps, Vauxhall Gardens was a kaleidoscope of music and laughter. Still, Miss Tamsin Fairchild paid no attention to the tightrope walkers or the soaring notes of the soprano in the orchestra stand.

She bit her lip as the pale lilac hem of her best friend Lady Rose Sinclair’s gown vanished into the entrance of the Dark Walks.

Oh, Rose. What are you doing?

Her chaperone was distracted, and her brother and sister-in-law were talking to a group of friends. Though many of the ton had escaped to their country estates, quite a few members of high society remained in the city.

Tamsin adjusted her midnight-blue cloak, pulling the hood forward to obscure her face as she stole out of her family’s private box. She had to stop Rose from doing something foolish. Hopefully, no one would even notice she was gone.

She knew exactly why Rose was stealing away. For weeks, her friend had been obsessed with Lord Cedric Vane. The man’s charm was as legendary as his empty pockets and his lack of a moral compass. He was a younger son, with the face of an angel and the reputation of a predator. He would ruin a girl like Rose just to see if he could.

When Tamsin had spoken to Rose earlier that evening, she’d been glowing, vibrating with a sort of energy Tamsin had never seen from her. Rose had gone on and on about Lord Cedric, about how he’d been sending her love notes and asking her to meet him. When Tamsin had voiced her opinion of the man in question, Rose had grown silent and gotten that bullheaded look upon her face that Tamsin knew all too well.

She’d feared Rose hadn’t listened to her, and she’d been right.

Tamsin stepped off the gravel path, her thin silk slippers pressing into the damp, mossy earth of the Dark Walks. The music faded, replaced by the creak of tree branches and the distant, muffled whispers of trysting couples.

She shivered, bowing her head, hoping her cloak hid her features entirely. If she were caught here, she’d be utterly ruined, no matter how good her intentions. But Rose was in even more danger, and so she pressed on.

Tamsin found Rose a few minutes later. Lord Cedric had trapped Rose against a gnarled old oak tree, her wrists held above her head, his lips pressing kisses along the column of her throat. Rose’s eyes were wide and glassy, and soft sounds of pleasure escaped her lips. For a moment, Tamsin just stood there, hesitating to break up what was obviously a passionate encounter. But someone else could happen along at any time, and she couldn’t let Rose be found in such a compromising situation.

“Rose,” Tamsin said, her voice slicing through the darkness.

The pair sprang apart. Lord Cedric’s handsome face contorted with anger, while Rose looked as though she might faint.

“Tamsin! I—we were only⁠—”

“You were only destroying your life,” Tamsin interrupted, stepping forward and grabbing Rose’s arm. “Lord Cedric was just leaving. Weren’t you, my lord? Unless you’d like me to find your brother and explain why you are accosting an earl’s daughter in this manner?”

Cedric hissed an oath, but he knew the dangers of what he was doing. No matter how much he might enjoy sneaking off into the darkness with Rose, he certainly didn’t want to end up marrying her. With a final, lingering look at Rose that made Tamsin’s skin crawl, he vanished into the fog.

“You’re a mess,” Tamsin whispered, stepping forward and doing her best to fix Rose’s blonde hair, which had become completely undone from its pins. “Oh, Rose! If I wouldn’t have followed you, who knows what liberties he might have taken!”

Rose’s lips trembled, and she refused to meet Tamsin’s eyes. “Kissing him was magical, Tam. Why couldn’t you just let me have this?”

“Because I love you,” Tamsin told her, letting go of her hair and gripping her shoulders, trying to make Rose see the truth of who Lord Cedric truly was. “That man doesn’t care about you. His conquests are legendary. He gets some sort of sick thrill from ruining good girls. I’m glad you had a few moments of pleasure, but I don’t want to see you pay for it for the rest of your life!”

Rose shook her head, still refusing to listen. “He said he loved me, and I believe him. If you hadn’t come along⁠—”

“You’d have been ruined,” Tamsin interrupted. “And he’d have walked away and never looked back.”

“You don’t know anything about him,” Rose cried angrily. “How can I ever forgive you for this?”

Tamsin swallowed hard, suddenly doubting herself. She’d wanted to protect Rose, not lose her friendship. “If he really cares about you, then he won’t let this stand in his way. But you must insist that he court you properly. You can’t sneak off with him to the Dark Walks and expect anything good to come of it.”

“I thought you were my friend, not my mother! I’m going to return to the supper boxes. Please don’t follow me!” Rose replied angrily and fled back toward the lights.

Tamsin leaned against the gnarled tree, her heart hammering against her ribs. Had she been wrong to follow Rose? Should she have just let her friend follow her heart? She certainly didn’t want to lose Rose’s friendship, but she hadn’t been able to stand back and do nothing.

Taking a deep breath, she waited until Rose was out of sight before she turned back toward the main walk. She took a shortcut through a dense thicket of yew, intending to emerge near the Rotunda.

But the path was blocked.

She stopped dead. Ten feet away, in a pocket of darkness illuminated only by the distant, flickering red glow of a Chinese lantern, stood Rowan Blackwood, the dark-haired Earl of Haversham. He’d been a schoolmate of her older brother, and she’d always found him ridiculously attractive. Not that he’d ever given her a second glance.