A Proper Scoundrel

Esther Hatch

Contents (32)

Cover image: Handsome Aristocratic Man Holding Hat While Standing in Suit © LightField Studios / Shutterstock.com

Interior image: Lily Flowers Hand-drawn Illustration © Nataleana / iStock.com

Published by Covenant Communications, Inc.

American Fork, Utah

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format or in any medium without the written permission of the publisher, Covenant Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 416, American Fork, UT 84003. The views expressed within this work are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Covenant Communications, Inc., or any other entity.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are either products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real, or are used fictitiously.

First Printing: May 2021

ISBN: 978-1-52441-700-0

For Greg

Thanks for making me laugh for the first few years of marriage. I’ve heard all your jokes now, so please stop telling them.

(Also, thanks for writing that for me when I couldn’t think of the proper way to immortalize our love. You still make me laugh, and I’m still sorry I gave you mono.)

Acknowledgments

This book didn’t come easily, but it did come with a lot of help along the way. Thank you to all of my friends and family who read portions of this book as well as those who read all of it at various points of completion: Paula Anderson, Alice Patron, Laura Rupper, Audrey Mangum, Kasey Stockton, Mindy Strunk, Anneka Walker, Julie Donaldson, Deborah Hathaway, Mandy Biesinger, Joanna Barker, Megan Walker, Sally Britton, Heidi Maxfield, Karin Smith, McCall Shoff, Lisa Kendrick, April Young, Kim Dubois, Clarissa Kae, Greg Hatch, and Loretta Porter.

Also, a big thanks to the Facebook group Writing Sprints; so often I relied on you to get me working when I needed to. Clarissa Kae and Melanie Jacobson have been motivating sprint partners as well, rising to the call of Zoom sprints when everything was shutting down because of the pandemic (Remember Covid-19? Is it over yet? I hope so.) and I still needed some author interaction.

So many of you gave me great ideas; some I used, and some I wished I could have used. I loved hearing them all the same. Thank you for making this story better, and for believing in it even when I had my doubts.

Thank you to my immediate as well as extended family members; my writing has now become a part of our lives, and it isn’t always easy, but I’m grateful for the love and support I get from all of you. I could not continue without it.

Thank you to my amazing team at Covenant. No one needs an editor more than I do, and Ashley Gebert does a fantastic job making my stories shine. Kim Miller and my previous design teams—thanks for amazing covers. I know for a fact the quality of those designs have sold many books. I’ll try to keep writing books that are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. And to my publicist, Amy Parker, thank you for sharing my books with the world as well as answering my weird panic questions during releases.