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Lauren’s next book is…
THE ART OF TEMPTATION
Book Three of the
Regency Chase Family Series
Sean Delaney has no shortage of female admirers, but all he wants is a divorce—for his sister, that is. Too bad her rotter of a husband, reclusive oil painter John Hamilton, won't consent unless Sean agrees to help him pull off a major deception. With his sister's happiness on the line, Sean has no choice. But he won't be able to do it alone…
Though Lady Corinna Chase is more interested in pursuing her art than finding a husband, she can't help but take notice of the handsome Irishman who's moved in next door. When it soon becomes evident that her new neighbor isn't who he says he is, rather than expose him, she finds herself drawn into the hoax. As collaboration grows into admiration, and temptation breeds desire, Corinna faces a difficult choice: Will she abandon her artistic ambitions, or give up the man she's come to love?
Meanwhile, Corinna's brother Griffin is helping their alluring cousin Rachael find her father. Thank goodness they're cousins, because Rachael has made it clear she won't ever marry one. Except…they discover she isn't really his cousin. Good God, he's really in trouble now…
Read an excerpt…
The British Museum, London
April 1817
"WE WANT TO see the Rosetta Stone," two feminine voices chorused.
For the third time in the last quarter hour.
"Just a few more minutes," Lady Corinna Chase promised her sisters, her gaze focused on her sketchbook.
"A few is three," Alexandra, the oldest, pointed out. "Or maybe five. But certainly not thirty. You said 'a few more minutes' half an hour ago."
"And half an hour before that," Juliana, the middle sister, added.
The squeak of wheels threatened Corinna's concentration. Alexandra was rolling a perambulator back and forth in hopes of soothing Harold, her infant son. It was all but unheard-of for ladies to cart their babies around town—most aristocratic mothers happily left their children in the care of wet nurses and nannies. But Alexandra had insisted on buying one of the newfangled contraptions, because she rarely let little Harry out of her sight.
Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. "How can you gaze at statues for so long?"
"I'm not gazing. I'm drawing." Corinna sketched another line, following the curve of a muscled male thigh. "And in case you haven't noticed, the Elgin Marbles aren't all statues. This particular panel is part of a frieze from the illustrious Parthenon in Greece. Even more important, the figures are anatomically correct."
Which was why she was here, of course. Why she'd been willing to drag herself out of bed at an ungodly hour to sketch. Corinna wanted nothing more than to study human anatomy. Unfortunately, the anatomy classes at the Royal Academy of Arts were entirely forbidden to women.
Entirely.
Forbidden.
It was infuriating. Corinna's fondest wish was to be elected to the Royal Academy, an honor no woman had attained since 1768. Though she harbored no dreams of accomplishing this goal at her current age of twenty-two—for one thing, Academicians had to be at least twenty-four years old—getting nominated and eventually elected was a long, involved process, and she hoped to take her first step within a matter of weeks, by getting one of her paintings accepted for the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition.
That was something women did accomplish on a regular basis, although not usually with portraits. Traditionally, ladies painted only landscapes and still lifes—painting people was considered fast and unseemly. Regardless, Corinna's heart lay in painting portraits. She was drawn to the human form, compelled to render personalities in oil on canvas.
But how was a female supposed to accurately paint people if she wasn't allowed to attend anatomy classes?
"We cannot stay much longer," Juliana said. "I need to make sure everything's in place for Cornelia's wedding." Cornelia, Juliana's mother-in-law, was marrying Lord Cavanaugh at her home later that evening. "And I want to see the Rosetta Stone," she added for the fourth time.
"So go see it."
"And I want to see the gems and minerals," Alexandra said. "And the jeweled—"
"Go see it all. Go see everything in the museum." Corinna flipped a page, refocusing on the nude form of the gorgeous Greek god before her. "I'll be right here."
"That would take an hour or more." Squeak. Squeak. "We cannot leave you here in the Elgin Gallery alone."
"I'm not alone. There are people everywhere." Too many people, constantly jostling her and blocking her view.
"The Rosetta Stone is in the main building."
"It's perfectly proper for two married ladies to cross the museum grounds together." Unlike Corinna, who was known as a bit of a rebel, her sisters were always concerned with being proper. "I knew I should have brought Aunt Frances along instead. She's more patient than either of you."
"She's also nine months gone with child." Alexandra sighed. "We'll be back in an hour."
"Make that two or three," Corinna muttered as they left. Hearing the pram squeak-squeak toward the door, she smiled and licked her lips. She and the Greek god were alone at last.
Holy Hannah, he was magnificent.
If only she could find a real man who looked like this…
Not that she was planning to wed anytime soon, much to her brother Griffin's chagrin. He wanted nothing more than to marry her off, to have her—his last unwed sister—out of his house and off of his hands. To make her someone else's responsibility.
To that end, he'd insisted on shoving her toward eligible men at all the balls this year. He'd also been dragging her to Almack's and every other social event on the calendar. The season had been underway but a few weeks, yet she felt as though she'd
