A Love Most Daring – Joanna Barker

Whatever the reason, it gave me the opportunity to inspect him from beneath lowered lashes. I hadn’t seen him in such formal clothing since the dinner party at the Traverses’, and I hadn’t properly appreciated it then. The man certainly filled out a dinner jacket. He caught me looking and raised one brow. I refused to be embarrassed and simply broadened my smile. “Thank you for showing me the water garden today, Mr. Rawlings,” I said, perhaps louder than I needed to, but I wanted to ensure Mrs. Rawlings took notice.

“Briarstone has some very pretty land about.” Mr. Rawlings narrowed his eyes slightly, as if knowing precisely what I was doing. Which would have been interesting since I wasn’t even fully sure. I simply wanted to remind Mrs. Rawlings that she was not the only one with a claim on her son’s time. “Of course,” he said. “I would hate to have you wander off and get lost.” Stroud entered the drawing room, regretfully cutting off my pert response.

“Dinner is served.” Mrs. Rawlings made to stand, but Stroud stepped forward. “If I may have a moment of your time, ma’am?” Mrs. Rawlings paused. “Yes, what is it, Stroud?” He turned to Mr. Rawlings as well. “I should like to address you both, actually. I just had word that my sister in Bath is ill. She begs that I come and see her back to full health.” Heavens, what a prospect. Disapproving, contrary Stroud acting as a nursemaid?

I could think of nothing worse for someone suffering with a serious illness. “I wondered if you might allow me to go to her,” he said, bowing his head deferentially. “No more than a week. The under butler should be able to manage in my place, though I realize this is quite the imposition.” “No, no.” Mrs. Rawlings waved him off. “You must go to her. Family comes before all, does it not?” She cast Mr. Rawlings a meaningful glance, which he pretended not to notice.

“Sir?” Stroud turned to Mr. Rawlings. He nodded. “By all means. Just be sure your duties will be attended to in your absence.” We stood to go into the dining room, and as I passed Stroud, I cast him a sidelong glance. He was already watching me, his expression cool and unreadable. A chill ran over my skin, a strange premonition. As if Stroud’s leaving had something to do with me. I hurried after Mrs. Rawlings. That was preposterous, I told myself. Stroud disliked me, but that did not mean everything he did related to me in some way.

We seated ourselves at the table, and dinner proceeded in a most awkward manner.

Praise for Joanna Barker “I loved this blend of intrigue, wit, and romance. Enemies to lovers doesn’t get better than this!” —Julianne Donaldson, best-selling, award-winning author of Edenbrooke and Blackmoore “Historical romance readers, prepare to be riveted! Joanna Barker penned an immersive plot with an intriguing mystery and a slow-burn romance that entrances.

The sparkling prose will steal your breath, while the evocative plot twists keep you turning the pages. A Love Most Daring is simply stunning.” —Rachel Scott McDaniel, award-winning author of The Dreams We Knew “I’m a complete weakling for a broody hero with a tender heart, and Joanna Barker created a winner in her newest book, A Love Most Daring. This romantic Regency delight sprinkles suspense into the world of “exiled” Beatrice Lacey and Bow Street officer Alexander Rawlings.

The story is filled with fun dialogue and mystery, but the reluctant romantic Alexander Rawlings steals the scenes and proves that not only is his stubborn heart worth winning, but this Regency romance is also worth reading.” —Pepper Basham, award-winning author of Sense & Suitability “Unique characters and a fast-paced mystery add flavor to this sweet romance.” —Publishers Weekly, for A Heart Worth Stealing “Beguiling. Pairs an unusual independent young woman with a compelling investigator to captivating effect.”

—Foreword Reviews, for A Heart Worth Stealing “Verity is a unique and admirable heroine, and readers will fall for Nathaniel’s tender side.” —Library Journal, for So True a Love “The sparring of Verity and Mr. Denning is crisp with underlying respect and growing attraction. . . . For those who relish Regency romances of the respectable sort, Joanna Barker delivers again.” —Historical Novel Society, for So True a Love 1kitap1.com/en Other Books by Joanna Barker A Heart Worth Stealing So True a Love Otherwise Engaged Secrets and Suitors Miss Adeline’s Match The Truth About Miss Ashbourne All Hearts Come Home for Christmas 1kitap1.com/en Cover art: © Lee Avison / Trevillion Images Book design: © Shadow Mountain Art direction: Garth Bruner Design: Heather G.

Ward © 2026 Joanna Barker All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing®, at [email protected]. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain Publishing.

This is a work of fiction. Characters and events in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are represented fictitiously. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. Visit us at shadowmountain.com Proper Romance is a registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Barker, Joanna L., 1990– author Title: A love most daring / Joanna Barker.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 1f9752d1ca02e6b5
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,431,390 bytes (3.272 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781639934713, 9781649335425
• Pages: 299
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 476.5 minutes
• Total Words: 95,301
• Total Characters: 521,772
• Average Words per Page: 318.73
• Average Characters per Page: 1745.06

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