Julia Quinn - When He Was Wicked With 2nd Epilogue (Bridgertons)

Perhaps . . .

A potential bride?

LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 12 JULY 1815

Romancing Mister Bridgerton

April is nearly upon us, and with it a new social season here in London. Ambitious Mamas can be found at dress-shops all across town with their Darling Debutantes, eager to purchase that one magical evening gown that they simply know will mean the difference between marriage and spinsterhood.

As for their prey—the Determined Bachelors—Mr. Colin Bridgerton once again tops the list of desirable husbands, even though he is not yet back from his recent trip abroad. He has no title, that is true, but he is in abundant possession of looks, fortune, and, as anyone who has ever spent even a minute in London knows, charm.

But Mr. Bridgerton has reached the somewhat advanced age of three-and-thirty without ever showing an interest in any particular young lady, and there is little reason to anticipate that 1824 will be any different from 1823 in this respect.

Perhaps the Darling Debutantes—and perhaps more importantly their Ambitious Mamas—would do well to look elsewhere. If Mr. Bridgerton is looking for a wife, he hides that desire well.

On the other hand, is that not just the sort of challenge a debutante likes best?

LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS

To Sir Phillip, With Love

. . . I know you say I shall someday like boys, but I say never! NEVER!!! With three exclamation points!!!

—from Eloise Bridgerton to her mother,

shoved under Violet Bridgerton’s door

during Eloise’s eighth year

. . . I never dreamed that a season could be so exciting! The men are so handsome and charming. I know I shall fall in love straightaway. How could I not?

—from Eloise Bridgerton to her brother Colin,

upon the occasion of her London debut

. . . I am quite certain I shall never marry. If there was someone out there for me, don’t you think I should have found him by now?

—from Eloise Bridgerton to her

dear friend Penelope Featherington,

during her sixth season as a debutante

. . . this is my last chance. I am grabbing destiny with both my hands and throwing caution to the wind. Sir Phillip, please, please, be all that I have imagined you to be. Because if you are the man your letters portray you to be, I think I could love you. And if you felt the same . . .

—from Eloise Bridgerton, jotted on a scrap of paper

on her way to meet Sir Phillip Crane

for the very first time

When He Was Wicked

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WICKED?

F or Michael Stirling, it was a hidden love, an insatiable longing for the one woman who could never be his.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE WANTON?

F or Francesca Bridgerton, it started with a single kiss, placed on her lips by the one man she never thought she’d desire.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE ARE NO MORE SECRETS?

F ind out in Julia Quinn’s most breathtaking and passionate romance yet . . .

It’s In His Kiss

Our Cast of Characters

H yacinth B ridgerton:The youngest of the famed Bridgerton siblings, she’s a little too smart, a little too outspoken, and certainly not your average romance heroine. She’s also, much to her dismay, falling in love with . . .

G areth S t. C lair:There are some men in London with wicked reputations, and there are others who are handsome as sin. But Gareth is the only one who manages to combine the two with such devilish success. He’d be a complete rogue, if not for . . .

L ady D anbury:Grandmother to Gareth, mentor to Hyacinth, she has an opinion on everything, especially love and marriage. And she’d like nothing better than to see Gareth and Hyacinth joined in holy matrimony. Luckily, she’s to have help from . . .

O ne meddling mother, one overprotective brother, one very bad string quartet, one (thankfully fictional) mad baron, and of course, let us not forget the shepherdess, the unicorn, and Henry the Eighth.

J oin them all in the most memorable love story of the year . . .

On the Way to the Wedding

In which:

Firstly , Gregory Bridgerton falls in love with the wrong woman, and

Secondly , she falls in love with someone else, but

Thirdly , Lucy Abernathy decides to meddle; however,

Fourthly , she falls in love with Gregory, which is highly inconvenient because

Fifthly , she is practically engaged to Lord Haselby, but

Sixthly , Gregory falls in love with Lucy.

Which leaves everyone in a bit of a pickle.

Watch them all find their happy endings in:

The stunning conclusion

to the Bridgerton series

Available now

About the Author

JULIA QUINNstarted writing her first book one month after finishing college and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen novels for Avon Books, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and is one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

www.juliaquinn.com

www.avonromance.com

www.facebook.com/avonromance

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

By Julia Quinn

BECAUSE OF MISS BRIDGERTON

The Bridgerton Series

THE DUKE AND I

THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME

AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN

ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON

TO SIR PHILLIP, WITH LOVE

WHEN HE WAS WICKED

IT’S IN HIS KISS

ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING

THE BRIDGERTONS: HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The Smythe-Smith Quartet

JUST LIKE HEAVEN

A NIGHT LIKE THIS

THE SUM OF ALL KISSES

THE SECRETS OF SIR RICHARD KENWORTHY

The Bevelstoke Series

THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER

WHAT HAPPENS IN LONDON

TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU

The Two Dukes of Wyndham

THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM

MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME

Agents of the Crown

TO CATCH AN HEIRESS

HOW TO MARRY A MARQUIS

The Lyndon Sisters

EVERYTHING AND THE MOON

BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN

The Splendid Trilogy

SPLENDID

DANCING AT MIDNIGHT

MINX

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

“When He Was Wicked: The 2nd Epilogue” was originally published as an e-book

“When He Was Wicked: The 2nd Epilogue” copyright © 2007 by Julie Cotler Pottinger

Meet the Bridgerton family teaser excerpts copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 by Julie Cotler Pottinger

WHEN HE WAS WICKED. Copyright © 2004 by Julie Cotler Pottinger. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.