Spotlight & Giveaway: The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Suzanne Allain’s new release: The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right

When a young woman trades places with her noble cousin, their innocent ruse leads to true love in this new Regency-era romantic comedy of manners from the author of Mr. Malcolm’s List.

 
When Arabella Grant’s wicked aunt dies suddenly, both Arabella and her cousin Lady Isabelle cannot help but feel relieved. She’d made their lives miserable, and now Lady Issie is free to read to her heart’s content, and Bella is free from taunts about her ignoble birth.

Their newfound freedom is threatened, however, when Issie’s great-aunt commands her to travel to London for a come-out Issie has never wanted. Issie, who is in poor health, is convinced she’ll drop dead like her mother did if she drops into a curtsy before the queen. So when her great-aunt turns out to be nearsighted and can’t tell the noble Lady Isabelle from her commoner cousin Arabella, Issie convinces Bella to take her place. Bella can attend all the exclusive entertainments that her lower birth would typically exclude her from, and Issie can stay in bed, her nose in a book.

Bella agrees to the scheme for her dear cousin’s sake, but matters turn complicated when she meets the irresistible Lord Brooke. He begins courting her while under the impression she’s the rich and aristocratic Lady Isabelle, who, unlike Bella, is a suitable bride for an eligible young earl. And Bella, who is convinced that she has met “Lord Right,” worries what will happen when she reveals that he’s actually fallen for …the wrong lady.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right 

The longer Bella had to wait for her presentation, the more nervous she became. She suddenly remembered that Aunt Lucretia had told her (during the lecture she’d scarcely listened to) that she was to back away from the queen after she curtsied, as it was not permissible to turn one’s back on royalty. Bella began to think she had to have some practice, as she had difficulties walking at all in her present costume, and couldn’t even imagine attempting to walk backward.
Bella was able to slip away from Aunt Lucretia’s side, first into a hall and finally into an antechamber that was empty. Or so she thought. But the annoying headdress with its feathers and dangling lappets must have interfered with her peripheral vision because, when turning to look behind her to make sure no one had seen her leave, she collided quite forcefully with a gentleman.
She found herself plastered to his chest with his arms around her, as he had instinctively clasped her to him in order to prevent her from falling. She was very grateful for this, as she had struck him so hard that she felt a little out of breath and unsteady on her feet.
But her dizziness only worsened when she finally raised her head and saw his face.
“I beg your pardon,” Bella said, blinking up at the gentleman. She had a dazed impression of warm brown eyes in a tanned face looking intently into her own, but her senses were overwhelmed by the feel of his firm chest pressed against hers and his hands on her bare arms above her gloves, so that she was unable to make a rational judgment about his appearance. Her irrational judgment was that he was devastatingly attractive, and she had no desire to step away from him in order to view him from a distance and form a more objective opinion.
Lord Brooke, who had been leaving St. James’s Palace when this woman appeared from nowhere and hurled herself into his arms, did the gentlemanly thing and claimed responsibility for the mishap.
“It was my fault entirely,” he said, even though he was still unsure how he’d come to be holding a frilly and fluffy, not to mention sweetly scented and rounded, young woman.
“Oh, I don’t know,” the lady replied with a smile. “I think these feathers must share some of the blame, don’t you?”
Lord Brooke returned her smile, even though the thought that he must now release her was starting to cause him a degree of regret. As he reluctantly stepped away, he was struck by a chilling draft. His chest, even though well covered by a waistcoat and jacket, felt bereft without her bosom pressed against it. Still smiling, however, he agreed with her that the feathers were gravely at fault.
“I’ve never even seen an actual ostrich, have you?” she asked him. “Yet there must be enough feathers in the queen’s drawing room to coat a dozen of them, as well as a few egrets. I had never before considered it, but it must hurt when they’re plucked, poor things.” Her eyes grew wide as an even more horrific thought occurred to her. “You don’t think they kill—”
He hurried to interrupt before he was forced to answer that particular question. “I assume you’re here to be presented to the queen?” She nodded in response, her feathers bobbing. “Then you should probably return to the drawing room, you know. It would cause a minor scandal if you weren’t there when your name was called.”
“Would it? I see,” the young lady said. “Then I suppose I have no choice but to return.”
She looked up at him with a wistful smile, and he wished he could tell her that she did not have to return after all, that she could run away immediately, with him, preferably.

Excerpted from The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain Copyright © 2024 by Suzanne Allain. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Excerpt. ©Suzanne Allain. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: 1 Finished copy of THE WRONG LADY MEETS LORD RIGHT (U.S. only, 18+)

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Meet the Author:

Suzanne Allain is a screenwriter who lived in New York and Beijing before returning to her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where she lives with her husband. Learn more online at www.suzanneallain.com.

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