Stephanie Laurens: Four In Hand

No one had. When applied to, Millwade imparted the information that Lord Denbigh had called for

Miss Arabella just before two. They had departed in Lord Denbigh's carriage. Mr. Martin had dropped

by for Miss Lizzie at closer to three. They had left in a hack.

"A hack?" queried Max.

Millwade merely nodded. Dismissed, he withdrew.

Max was puzzled. "Where on earth could they have gone?"

As if in answer, voices were heard in the hall. But it was Arabella and Hugo who had returned. Arabella danced in, her curls bouncing, her big eyes alight with happiness. Hugo ambled in her wake, his grin suggesting that he suspected his good fortune was merely a dream and he would doubtless wake soon enough. Meanwhile, he was perfectly content with the way this particular dream was developing.

Arabella flew to embrace Caroline and Sarah, then turned to the company at large and announced,

"Guess what!"

A pregnant silence greeted her words, the Duke and his Duchess, the Lord and his Lady, all struck

dumb by a sneaking suspicion. Almost unwillingly, Max voiced it. "You're married already?"

Arabella's face fell a little. "How did you guess?" she demanded.

"No!" moaned Augusta. "Max, see what happens when you leave town? I won't have it!"

But her words fell on deaf ears. Too blissfully happy themselves to deny their friends the same

pleasures, the Duke and his Duchess were fully engaged in wishing the new Lady Denbigh and her

Lord all manner of felicitations. And then, of course, there was their own news to hear, and that of

the Hamiltons. The next ten minutes were filled with congratulations and good wishes.

Left much to herself, Lady Benborough sat in a corner of the chaise and watched the group with an indulgent eye. Truth to tell, she was not overly concerned with the absence of weddings. At her age,

they constituted a definite trial. She smiled at the thought of the stories she would tell of the rapidity

with which the three rakes before her had rushed their brides to the altar. Between them, they had

nearly forty years of experience in evading parson's mouse-trap, yet, when the right lady had loomed

on their horizon, they had found it expedient to wed her with all speed. She wondered whether that

fact owed more to their frustrations or their experience.

Having been assured by Arabella that Martin had indeed proposed and been accepted, the Duke and Duchess allowed themselves to be distracted by the question of the immediate housing arrangements. Eventually, it was decided that, in the circumstances, it was perfectly appropriate that Sarah should

move into Hamilton House immediately, and Arabella likewise to Denbigh House. Caroline, of course, would henceforth be found at Delmere House. Relieved to find their ex-guardian so accommodating, Sarah and Arabella were about to leave to attend to their necessary packing, when the door to the drawing-room opened.

Martin and Lizzie entered.

It was Max, his sharp eyes taking in the glow in Lizzie's face and the ridiculously proud look stamped across Martin's features, who correctly guessed then-secret.

"Don't tell me!" he said, in a voice of long suffering. "You've got married, too?"

Needless to say, the Twyford House ball four days later was hardly flat In fact, with four blushing

brides, sternly watched over by their four handsome husbands, it was, as Max had prophesied, one

of the highlights of the Season.

Romance set against the backdrop of Regency England were the first Stephanie Laurens ever read, and they continue to exert a special attraction. On escaping from the dry world of professional science to carve out a career as a writer, Stephanie published either Regency romances, then turned to longer, historical romances set in the Regency period. Her first – Captain Jack's Woman – was published by Avon Books in 1977. Subsequent books from Avon have told the tales of the Bar Cynster – a group of masterful, arrogant cousins of the ducal Cynster dynasty. Devils' Bride, A Rake's Vow, Scandal's Bride, A Rouge's Proposal and A Secret Love have documented handsome Cynsters. All About Love continues the series.

Residing in a leafy bayside suburb of Melbourne,Australia,Stephanie divides her free time between her husband,two teenaged daughters, and two cats, Shakespeare and Marlowe.

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Stephanie Laurens

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