Lusty Letters
Mistress in the Making, Part Two
Larissa Lyons
Lusty Letters
Lusty Letters. For a man who hesitates over words isn’t about to stumble over sentences, not when he has seduction on his mind.
Hampered by a pesky, persistent stammer, Lord Tremayne takes to writing letters when he decides to woo his new mistress, little realizing how their fun, flirty exchanges will quickly become the light of his day. Or how wretched he’ll feel when the charming Thea suggests they banter in person, possibly pen poetry—together. Blazing ballocks! Is she insane?
Her fascinating new protector has secrets—several. And though Thea fears losing her common sense—but never her heart—to the powerfully built Marquis, she stifles her longing to know everything about him, hesitant to destroy her newfound circumstances should she press for more. But then his naughty notes start to appear, full of humor and wit, and she realizes ’tis likely too late—for her heart may already be his…
Lusty Letters is a fun, lighthearted read that begins directly after Book 1, Seductive Silence. For maximum enjoyment, reading the series in order is recommended.
Contents
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Lusty Letters
1. Whereupon Things Progress Nicely – and Naughtily
2. Expectations Mount, Only to Be Dealt a Crushing Blow
3. Ode To Machines
4. Oh, To Be an Ass
5. Squinting Quint’s Quality Quizzing Glass
6. Counterfeit Charms Charm the Truth
Excerpt from DARING DECLARATIONS
More Goodies
About Larissa
More Fun & Sexy Historical Regencies
Complete Booklist
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Your free copy of The Pirate’s Pleasure is available here: http://bit.ly/the-pirates-pleasure
Lusty Letters is dedicated to Christina. Thank you for the hours of laughs (and bawdy conversations I’ve not had with anyone outside my characters’ heads ☺︎). You lift my heart; so delighted, am I, to have found a similar risqué sense of humor and such a wondrous friend. Now, girl, just when are we going to get matching tattoos? >^..^<
Lusty Letters
Lusty Letters begins directly after Book 1, Seductive Silence. If you missed it, here’s a quick summary:
Seductive Silence, Book 1
Pestered by a persistent stammer, a Regency lord takes a new mistress, a refined widow who’s as unsure of her seductive allure as she is tired of living in the slums of London. The enigmatic Lord Tremayne enchants her interest even as his perpetual silence befuddles her brain. After a single night together, he’s left her in possession of a gaudy townhouse, a pair of chatty servants, and a burgeoning curiosity about her body—and her new benefactor. Oh, and his sister fancies herself something of a witch.
A note...speaking peace and tenderness in every line.
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
1
Whereupon Things Progress Nicely – and Naughtily
Get posts and letters, and make friends with speed.
William Shakespeare, King Henry IV
The first attempt (the strip of paper it was on cut away, now balled up and swept to the floor):
Mrs. Hurwell–
What a horrid beginning. Did he want to instill more distance between them?
Second attempt:
Thea,
Please accept my most humble thanks—
“Humble thanks?” What am I? Her deuced hat maker?
Fourth attempt (currently being batted about by Cyclops, along with the other three):
Thea,
I count the hours until next we meet—
“Ballocks!” He wasn’t ready to pen poetical-sounding odes to her either.
“Woof!” Cyclops agreed as yet another piece of crumpled paper was relegated to the empty grate.
Seventh (and final) attempt:
Thea,
Thank you for an enjoyable evening. I recalled someone mentioning you have a particular fondness for Byron. In all honesty, I cannot tolerate poetry (his or any others’) so please accept this volume with my sincere wish that it brings you pleasure.
Until tonight, Tremayne
Thea lifted her gaze from the missive to the servant who’d delivered it. Along with the note and a book of poems, he’d also handed her a bow-adorned box.
The spry young man had introduced himself as, “Buttons, miss, since I was caught eatin’ one, with loads of others found missing. My papa told me once that our ma despaired but I don’t remember, on account of being jus’ months old at the time.”
“What is etiquette in this regard?” she asked, smiling at the informative Buttons and gesturing toward the gifts and letter she now held. Thea hoped he knew—for she surely didn’t. “Is Lord Tremayne expecting a reply?”
Not quite twenty, the youth was broad as a barn and twice as sturdy. His blunt-featured face was turned charming by the decisive cowlick that flipped up a good portion of his sandy-brown hair on the left side of his forehead. He’d told her, when he swiped the offending cowlick for the third time, that he had a twin, one whose hair misbehaved on the opposite side. “Expectin’? A reply?” He pondered a moment. “That I cannot say certain-like, but I do be thinkin’ he might be hopin’ fer one.”
“Oh?”
“Aye.” The young man dressed in formal livery stepped forward from his perch on the small landing just outside her townhouse. He tilted his head toward her ear, as though about to impart a confidence he didn’t want her hovering new butler to overhear. “I was told to take my time in returnin’.”
Assuming the ornate desk in the sumptuous drawing room was as well supplied as the rest of the residence, Thea was confident her eager fingers would have no trouble locating paper and ink. “Would you mind waiting in the kitchen while I compose one?”
She’d met the married couple hired to serve as caretakers and knew Mrs. Samuels was downstairs baking this very moment.
With a glance at Mr. Samuels, who had summoned Thea to the door once informed Lord Tremayne had requested his servant place the missive directly into her keeping, the spiffy footman stepped back a pace and diffidently crossed his arms behind his back, giving her a casual shake of his head. “I’ll jus’ wait here, ma’am. Take what time you need.”
“Outside?” When intermittent rains thundered down for the second day in a row, making the uncovered porch damp and dreary? “Poppycock!”
A quick look at
