A Game of Persuasion: Extended Prologue for the Art of Ruining a Rake (The Naughty Girls Book 3) (21 page)

TWO WEEKS LATER, Lucy opened the weathered wooden door of her new School for Accomplished Young Ladies and peered inside. Blue paint splintered along the door’s beveled squares, but it could be restored easily enough with a fresh coat. Similarly, the musty smell inside the receiving room needed only to be aired out, and the moldy mattresses on the cots in the dormitories could be replaced with new ticking. Her assessment of the building after she’d arrived yesterday had resulted in a long list of tasks, but she didn’t mind. Founding her own school wasn’t an idea she’d dreamed up because she wanted to sit still.

No, she would be busy from now until eternity. She’d have help, of course. The plans were laid to hire four teachers, a man of all work, three maids, and a cook, all before the end of the month. The requisitions had already been placed with the local agencies. But for now, she was content to simply enjoy the freedom to throw her arms out, spin in delighted circles around the room, and laugh.

Everything was just as it should be.

Nothing—
nothing
—could ever change that.

Especially not Roman.

Thank you for reading

A Game of Persuasion

I hope you enjoyed this story!

If you bought this as an e-book, you may be able to lend this book to a friend.

Reviews help other readers like you.

Positive
and
negative reviews help readers find books that are right for them. Please consider leaving a review. It helps readers connect with authors more than you might think!

Did you know there are more Naughty Girls books?

This novel is the third story in a tightly connected series. The story continues in the next book,
The Art of Ruining a Rake
. To receive updates on future book releases, please sign up for my mailing list at
http://emmalocke.com
.

In order, The Naughty Girls books are:

The Courtesans

The Trouble with Being Wicked (available now!)

The Problem with Seduction (available now!)

A Game of Persuasion (this novella!)

The Art of Ruining a Rake (full length continuation for this book, available now!)

The Innocents

The Cheer in Charming an Earl (available now!)

Miss Conley’s book (untitled, TBD)

Miss Abigail’s book (untitled, TBD)

The Hoydens

The Danger in Daring a Lady (coming next!)

The Importance of Being a Scoundrel (TBD)

The Hazards of Loving a Rogue (TBD)

Did you miss the novel that started it all?

He put her on a pedestal…

When Celeste Gray arrives in the sleepy village of Brixcombe-on-the-Bay, she thinks she’s one step closer to leaving her notorious past behind. She even suspects the deliciously handsome—if somewhat stuffy—viscount next door is developing a
tendre
for her. That is, until the day Ashlin Lancester learns she’s not the unassuming spinster she’s pretending to be.

Now she has farther to fall

After a decade of proving he is nothing like his profligate father, Ash is horrified to have given his heart to a Cyprian. He launches a campaign to prove his attraction is nothing more than a sordid reaction he can’t control. But he soon learns that unlike his father, he can’t find comfort in the arms of just any woman. He needs Celeste. When he takes her as his mistress, he’s still not satisfied, and the many late nights in her arms only make him want more…

Continue the series with

An outrageous proposition

Elizabeth Spencer needs a man. Preferably one who won’t be too picky about the morality of her proposition, or his reputation. Lord Constantine Alexander can’t afford another trip to debtors’ prison, which makes him the perfect candidate. She doesn’t expect him to have a heart of gold, or to hold up his end of the bargain—particularly when his high-in-the-instep family gets involved. Nor does she expect to find him irresistible, because while she needs a man, she doesn’t particularly want one.

A wicked bargain

When a beautiful courtesan offers to satisfy his creditors, Con leaps at the opportunity. Never mind his mother and brothers are suspicious of his newfound fortune—being with Elizabeth is intoxicating enough to wipe any thought of scruples away. He soon realizes it’s not just his future he’s been gambling, but his future family. How can he convince London’s premier courtesan he’s more than a callow rake?

Then make sure you read
The Art of Ruining a Rake!

He wants her…

Practiced rake Roman Alexander never meant to seduce his best friend's sister. He certainly never intends to do it again. The handsome scoundrel has never felt more compelled to be a better man. But the damage has been done, for his buttoned-up spinster refuses to marry a bounder like him—and maddeningly, she doesn't seem to
like
him. Nevertheless, he can't seem to forget her, or her passionate response to his kisses. How much danger could there be in one more try?

She wants revenge

Practical headmistress Lucy Lancester naively believes her charming rogue has moved on to his next conquest, leaving her free to cherish their one night together for the rest of her bluestocking days. Until the afternoon he arrives at her school intent on proving their one night together wasn't enough—and this time, the scandal can't be contained. Well, two can play at that. How hard can it be to ruin a rake?

Now you’re ready for

For love…

The second of five impoverished sisters, Miss Elinor Conley knows her dream of becoming a lady is farfetched. When an unmarried gentleman happens by her brother's smithy, it is up to her to act quickly—and rashly—to secure his interest. But Grantham Wendell, Earl Chelford, isn't in the market for anything more than a new horseshoe. What's a bachelor to do when an innocent miss turns up at his Christmas Eve bacchanalia? He ought to make her leave, but his Twelfth Night party just became more entertaining...

And impatient for the release of

A wager he can’t afford to lose

Devil-may-care rogue Lord Darius Alexander can’t resist a wager. When a game of cards is suggested at the remote inn where he’s stopped for the night, he antes up his family’s savings, certain his Town bronze will give him the advantage. He never expects to lose his fortune to the irritatingly confident, uncommonly beautiful hoyden daring to play with the men. …Nor does he expect to lose his heart.

A woman he doesn’t deserve to win

Caitlin Hart is known for her good sense. When a ridiculous reprobate tosses his savings onto the gaming table, she doesn’t hesitate to divest him of it. But Lord Dare won’t accept defeat like a gentleman. He suggests a compromise, and before long the handsome scoundrel is working back his losses on her small farm. But her neatly plowed fields might be too close for her heart’s content, for soon she finds herself wondering if she can dare him to stay forever when the last of his coin is tucked safely into his pocket.

Acknowledgments

I wouldn’t have thought to write this novella if Erica Monroe hadn’t badgered me about Lucy and Roman’s early relationship while she was critiquing
The Art of Ruining a Rake
. She was really, really adamant that I understand what their rapport had been like before Lucy and Roman…er,
you know
.

(And if you know Erica Monroe, then you know her adamancy is enough to drive anyone to write 50,000 words they hadn’t intended to write.)

But as I tried to answer her questions, I realized I didn’t have the slightest idea what had happened between them during Lucy’s Season, and arrrrgh, I hate it when Erica is right, but I did need to know in order to finish Rake. Add to that multiple reviews of
The Trouble with Being Wicked
where readers like you said you wished you had seen Lucy’s pursuit of Roman, and then multiply it by all the email I received asking when Lucy and Roman’s book would finally be out… It was pretty clear, we had an opportunity here. I hope you enjoyed this bonus content!

Erica Monroe wasn’t the only one who harped on me. My appreciation grows for Erica Ridley, Janice Goodfellow and Morgan Edens, who provided feedback and ideas—but, as usual, I’m even more grateful for their love and support than their red pens.

Special thanks to the always-vigilant Martha Trachtenberg, who cross-referenced this story with
The Trouble with Being Wicked
and
The Art of Ruining a Rake
for, literally, eighty hours. Despite being an engineer, I am evidently very bad at math, and had my years and ages all mixed up. She saved me.