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The Dandy Lyon

BLURB:

In love, the odds may never be in your favor.

Ruthless, wealthy, social outsider Marcus Dandridge has fallen in love. Hard. So hard he’s already attempted to force marriage to Lady Joanna Longford by means of blackmail—and failed utterly, gaining the eternal enmity of her brother. Now desperate, Marcus consults his friend, Mrs. Dove-Lyon at The Lyon’s Den, whose recommendation is a wild gamble–one Marcus would never lay odds on at his gaming establishments. But he’s so desperate to have Joanna, he’s willing to roll the dice just once more.

Lady Joanna Longford, just out and already bored by the conventional gentlemen she’s met, is suddenly intrigued by the darkly handsome Mr. Dandridge. He’s different from the other Society men—which makes her even more susceptible to his unconventional pursuit of her.

Still, the odds are against them, until Fate—and her brother’s decree that they will never marry—triggers a defiance that may well spell disaster for both of them…

As the first chapter is setting up Marcus’s character, I’m going to start my snippet with the beginning of Chapter 2 where Marcus and Lady Joanna will meet officially for the first time. The setting is London, May 5, 1820. Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

While not a usual denizen of Mayfair townhouses, Mr. Marcus Dandridge felt strangely at home in Lady Hamilton’s elegant ballroom. Gazing about at the expensive appointments—the numerous gilt-edged mirrors, the myriad crystal chandeliers, the massive floral arrangement in the center of the dance floor—Marcus nodded, noting that the aristocratic home had décor very similar to his gaming club, The Dandy.

“Dandy! What the devil are you doing here?” Lord Somersby, the young heir to the Marquess of Thaxted and a steady customer at the club, grinned at him as he came up beside Marcus, stationed just inside the ballroom. “Not your sort of entertainment at all, is it?”

“Well met, my lord,” Marcus bowed to the young ne’er-do-well, “you are correct. This isn’t my normal venue, however, as Lord Hamilton was kind enough to secure an invitation for me, I didn’t think it polite to refuse.” Not exactly the way it had happened, but Somersby didn’t need to know that.

And a little bit more…

“Deadly dull after the excitement at The Dandy last night.” Somersby looked wistful. “Wish I’d have been there to see the altercation. Rumors have been running rampant.” He leaned toward Marcus and lowered his voice. “Did you take down Donalson? Some say it was you, some say it was your man, Johnson.”

“It was Johnson, my lord. I wasn’t there at the time.” Marcus wished to God he had been. He might have been able to persuade Lord Donalson not to take a swing at the dealer. Such notoriety was the last thing he wanted for his gentleman’s club while he was trying to look respectable, especially after that fiasco at The Copper Penny only weeks ago. “And I assure you, it wasn’t nearly as exciting as some have made it out to be.”

Somersby shook his head. “I still wish I’d been there. I would have been, but my allowance for the quarter is gone and father’s not been keen on advancing the blunt. Instead he’s been insisting I attend these ton entertainments instead. Your club is much more inviting than dancing attendance on women who bore one to tears.”

“I take your meaning, my lord.” Marcus had been watching the guests arrive and had just spotted the party he’d been expecting. “And I think I have a solution for you.”

“Indeed.” Somersby’s brows rose.

“I might be willing to forgive your current debts at The Dandy.” Marcus turned away from the doorway, and Somersby turned toward him, shielding him from the guests just entering.

“That would be most generous of you, Dandridge.” Somersby’s eyes lit up. “I’d be quite in your debt.”

“But not for long, my lord.” Marcus glanced over his shoulder at the three people just entering the ballroom. “That debt can be paid this evening if you would be so kind as to engage Lord Longford in the card room for the next half hour.”

“Longford?” Somersby frowned. “Why?”

The Dandy Lyon,part of Dragonblade Publishing’s Lyon’s Den shared world series, is now available for preorder on Amazon as an e-book for $.99. Grab your copy here!!

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