title: A Seduction in Scarlet
author:  Sara Bennett 
description: Bennett's latest skirt-lifter featuring Courtesan Aphrodite, a Victorian London madam, stars Portia, Lady Ellerslie, who's weary of living her life to honor her deceased husband, a war hero and favorite of the queen. Courtesan Aphrodite grants Portia's wish to spend one night at Aphrodite's establishment with the man of her choice. While in disguise at Aphrodite's Club, Portia encounters Marcus Worthorne, a man she admired as a young girl before her marriage to elderly Lord Ellerslie. The two engage in a heated tryst, which leaves Marcus obsessed with uncovering the mystery woman's identity. The complexity of the novel increases dramatically when Portia must reconcile her desire for personal happiness with her duty to her country as she and Marcus continue their sizzling clandestine affair. An intriguing subplot involving vicious attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria adds depth and substance to this pleasing historical romance. <I>(Jan.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  **SHE NEEDED A HUSBAND**
  
  
  When the Earl of Bridgeton, England’s most notorious rake, strides into the
  ballroom, Lady Sara Carrington immediately plans to lure him onto the terrace.
  The willful beauty’s brothers want to marry her off to some stodgy old man to
  curb her wildness, so she’s determined to find her own husband— one who won’t
  care what she does. Nick is not only indecently handsome and irresistibly
  charming; he’ll also be absolutely perfect.
  
  
  **HE WANTED A MISTRESS**
  
  
  Never has Nick received a more tantalizing proposal— but because of his past,
  he’s sworn never to marry. Instead, he agrees to give the innocent chit
  instruction in the art of seduction to help her plan succeed. But when
  “demonstration” kisses become burningly real, and Sara turns the tables by
  applying her lessons to _him,_ the infamous rake is in danger of falling in
  love… with the miss he’d only meant to bed!
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  # THE SEDUCTION OF SARA
  
  
  ## KAREN HAWKlNS
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  _An Avon R