The Games the Earl Plays Read online

  The Games The Earl Plays

  Heirs of High Society

  Eleanor Meyers

  A Regency Romance Book

  Contents

  Copyright

  For You Personally

  Also By Eleanor Meyers

  Part 1.1

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  1

  Chapter One

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  2

  Chapter Two

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  3

  Chapter Three

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  4

  Chapter Four

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  5

  Chapter Five

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  6

  Chapter Six

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  7

  Chapter Seven

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  8

  Chapter Eight

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  Chapter Nine

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  Chapter Ten

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  11

  Chapter Eleven

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  12

  Chapter Twelve

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  13

  Chapter Thirteen

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  14

  Chapter Fourteen

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  15

  Chapter Fifteen

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  16

  Chapter Sixteen

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  17

  Chapter Seventeen

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  18

  Chapter Eighteen

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  19

  Chapter Nineteen

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  20

  Chapter Twenty

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  21

  Chapter Twenty-one

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  22

  Chapter Twenty-two

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  23

  Chapter Twenty-three

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  24

  Chapter Twenty-four

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  25

  Chapter Twenty-five

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  26

  Chapter Twenty-six

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  27

  Chapter Twenty-seven

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  28

  Chapter Twenty-eight

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  29

  Chapter Twenty-nine

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  30

  Chapter Thirty

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  31

  Chapter Thirty-one

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  32

  Chapter Thirty-two

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  33

  Chapter Thirty-three

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  34

  Chapter Thirty-four

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  35

  Chapter Thirty-five

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  Epilogue

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  Part 1.2

  Prologue

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  1

  Chapter One

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  2

  Chapter Two

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  3

  Chapter Three

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  4

  Chapter Four

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  5

  Chapter Five

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  6

  Chapter Six

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  7

  Chapter Seven

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  8

  Chapter Eight

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  9

  Chapter Nine

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  10

  Chapter Ten

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  11

  Chapter Eleven

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  12

  Chapter Twelve

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  13

  Chapter Thirteen

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  14

  Chapter Fourteen

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  15

  Chapter Fifteen

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  16

  Chapter Sixteen

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  17

  Chapter Seventeen

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  Epilogue

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  Preview of Next Book

  ORDER OF BOOKS . Also By

  For You Personally

  Publishers Notes

  Copyright © 2018 by

  Eleanor Meyers

  All Rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  * * * * *

  * * *

  DEDICATION

  * * *

  This book is specially dedicated to YOU- the reader!

  Authors wouldn't be anywhere without readers like you, so your support REALLY means a lot to me!

  As a Regency Romance writer, my desire is to touch my readers through my stories by intertwining love and emotions in its most humane way.

  Sign up for Eleanor Meyers’s New Releases mailing list and you will be automatically get notified as soon as her future series is available.

  Click the Find Out More link below to get started:

  LINK: Find Out More

  * * *

  ALSO BY ELEANOR MEYERS

  * * *

  - WARDINGTON PARK SERIES -

  Series Part 01 : Raptures of Royalty

  Book 1 - To Love A Lord of London

  Book 2 - The Regards of A Rogue

  Series Part 02 : Madness in Mayfair

  Book 3 - Gaining The Gentleman

  Book 4 - The Skills of A Scoundrel

  Book 5 - A Gentleman’s Game

  Series Part 03 : The Elkins Brothers

  Book 6 - The Gentleman’s Game of Love

  Book 7 - The Gentleman’s Law on Love

  Series Part 04 : Tots of The Ton

  Book 8 - How To Make A Marquess

  Book 9 - How To Design A Duke

  Book 10 - How To Keep A Knight

  Series Part 05 : The Abbey Brothers

  Book 11 - Lady Lures The Earl

  Book 12 - Lady Lands The Lord

  Book 13 - Lady Likes The Lord

  Series Part 06 (Finale) : Order of the Second Sons

  Book 14 - The Son Of A Marquess

  Book 15 - The Son Of A Soldier

  Book 16 - The Son Of An Earl

  (finale book in the series) Book 17 - The New Marquess

  Find out more of my other historical romance series

  Click the link below to get started

  *** Amazon US ***

  * * *

  Got something to share?

  I would want to hear from you!

  So please do get in touch with me:

  https://www.facebook.com/eleanormeyersbooks

  [email protected]

  - HEIRS OF HIGH SOCIETY SERIES -

  Part Series 1 :

  The Beau Monde Brood

  The Games The Earl Plays

  * * *

  PROLOGUE

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  London, England

  Well, it has been a year, and Rose is thriving far better than I thought she would. I can admit now that I didn’t believe she would make it. Indeed, even my sister Mary Frances and young Christmas seemed to have more faith in the babe than I did. Rose was such a tiny and sickly babe, and I thought that even if she survived, she’d be much like her father, Lord Stonewhire, who often said he suffered from one bout of illness after another— as though that ever stopped him from charming women.

  His heir died a month ago, as did the other.

  But Rose’s fate is not to be so bleak.

  Rose is plump with cheeks that nearly match the rosy-hued lips she’s be
en gifted her name after. Her wealth of color and her smile remind me of her mother, Jessamine Bryce, whom I befriended at a party to raise money for the home and who called me to her home late one evening to forewarn me that the child she carried would be given into my hands.

  It was a night I will not forget and one that still weighs heavy on my heart for the things I didn’t say and the questions I never asked.

  I never judged the circumstances that brought Rose into life, a girl who was obviously loved long before she was born by the two people who’d brought her into existence.

  But for such a small child, she already shows a great strength, and I can only wonder what sort of woman she will become.

  Truly, I can only wonder...

  - From the Diary of Mary Elizabeth Best

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  1

  CHAPTER

  ONE

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  London, England

  August 1816

  It’s official. My favorite color is the color of Gerard de Gray’s eyes.

  Their hue was a shade darker than gold at the moment. A bronze just as hard as his strong jawline and noble nose. All anyone had to do was look at him and they'd know he was the son of someone great and powerful. A duke.

  Rose was currently watching Gerard from the corner of her eye. His gaze rested on Lady Sylvia, who was currently singing her own rendition of “The Ash Grove.” One could say that he was captivated by her voice, but that would only be part of the story.

  They both stiffened as Lady Sylvia tried to hit a note that was not quite within her reach. His eyes slipped over to Rose, and he smiled.

  She bit her lip and watched as he touched the side of his nose. Her heart raced, and she nodded before turning back as Lady Sylvia finally brought the song to a close.

  The room applauded her in good fashion and Rose counted to ten, forcing herself to do so slowly before she fled Lady Sylvia’s music room.

  She glanced around the foyer and caught sight of Gerard down the hall, standing by the open doors that led to the gardens. He touched his nose again and then slipped into the night.

  Following the signal, Rose waited another ten seconds before she joined him.

  The moment she was outside, he took her hand and pulled her further into the moonlight. Her heart raced as the night air cooled her skin. The sounds of the pianoforte in the music room took up another song in the distance, but all Rose could hear was the sound of her own rushed breathing.

  It was the last party of the Season, and Rose had accompanied her sister, Alexandra Padmore, Lady Chantenny, only to see Gerard.

  Their acquaintance began a little over a year ago when Alex married Gerard's best friend, Justin Padmore. At first, Rose and Gerard had only been cordial to one another. He was an earl who would one day take his father's place as a duke, while Rose didn't even know who her father was... Or her mother, for that matter.

  Given away at birth, Rose had grown up in an orphanage in East London while Gerard had been raised with the luxuries of the wealthy. They had little common ground and yet their friendship had bloomed in those first months like two souls who'd finally found what they'd always searched for.

  "Remind me again why we come to these things?" He was staring at the moon as he spoke, but Rose knew he was speaking to her.

  The urge to move closer to him was so great that she moved to the stone bench to stop herself from doing just that.

  She looked down at the tulips at her feet and said, "I believe the real question is why I allow you to drag me to these events."

  He turned to her with his back to the stars, and the light from the glass windows spilled upon him, emphasizing his height, the width of his shoulders, slim waist, and shiny boots. His dark hair faded into the night. He smiled. "I didn't drag you. You wanted to come."

  Oh, it was true. She had wanted to come, but she would never let him know that. She always did well to hide her affections for this man, who was just as out of reach as Lady Sylvia's notes.

  Gerard was an easy charmer. He was handsome, and Rose knew of many ladies who hoped to become his countess and eventual duchess.

  But Rose, who knew never to dare wish for such a future with him, had decided in the beginning that instead of revealing just how much she melted in her slippers at his mere smile, she would tease him and make light of his charms.

  And he adored her for it.

  But if only he knew the truth.

  It seemed the old saying of playing hard to catch was true, but Rose still knew that Gerard would only ever offer friendship, and that would have to be enough.

  "I did want to come," Rose confessed. "I had to see you... And see that look on your face when it was Lady Sylvia's turn to sing."

  Gerard laughed, and Rose caught her breath at the sound. She forced herself not to stiffen as he moved to sit beside her.

  To her heart, it was a needed torture to be with him. She craved his attention, and he gave it to her without her ever asking for it.

  He frowned. "I can't believe this is the last evening we'll be together until the baby's birth." He reached out and touched her cheek. "However will you get on without me?"

  Rose giggled to hide the pleasure of his touch. "Oh, much in the same fashion as I did before we met.” She sighed dramatically. “Such lovely days they were.”

  He laughed again. She was always glad she could make him laugh like that.

  “Tell me your plans,” he asked honestly. “I can’t imagine anything bringing you the same amount of joy as my company.”

  Neither could she, but she played along nonetheless. She tapped her lips lightly. “Let's see. Perhaps I'll finally have time to read Emma, since you never let me finish it." Whenever she got a break at the library, she would try to get through a chapter, but then Gerard would show up and any thoughts of reading would flee.

  He arched a brow. "Rose, if you've not finished the book by now then it can't be that good."

  "But that's not true," she countered. Emma was a very good book, and the anonymous author was one of her favorite writers. It was simply that nothing held as much appeal to her as Gerard did.

  And he was right to ask what she would do for an entire autumn without him. She’d grown used to him always being there, and Alexandra wasn't due until January. "I enjoy her… or him or… whoever writes these books.” That her favorite author chose never to reveal their name always drove Rose mad. She’d fallen in love with Sense and Sensibility, and when Pride and Prejudice had come out the author of the next book had simply been listed as ‘The author of Sense and Sensibility. Every other book by the author had done the same, listing her previous work, but never her name. “She has a way with stories and words."

  He winked. "I have a way with words."

  She scoffed. "Oh, I would beg to differ."

  "You doubt me?" he asked in mock offense.

  Rose straightened. "Prove me wrong if you must. I'll choose one word for you to have your way with."

  Gerard brightened at the prospect of a game. "Choose."

  "Collywobbles." She had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing.

  He stared and then glared. "Rose, there is nothing remotely sensual about a bellyache."

  She shrugged and stood. It was time to head back inside before anyone realized they'd both slipped away. "Very well."

  He stood and grabbed her arm before turning her to face him. His other hand came to rest on her stomach, adding a light pressure. He lowered his mouth to her ear, and the dark scent of his cologne filled her lungs.