The exciting first chapter in a new series from USA Today bestselling historical romance author Gayle Callen, about a soldier with a debt to pay and a lady on a quest to unravel her family's secrets.

The secret is out! Now the lady must surrender her heart . . . or submit to scandal.

Could she be the brazen lady who posed for the scandalous portrait?

Lady Elizabeth Cabot is no longer the reckless girl she once was. Now the darling of the ton, she is determined to put her past behind her. But who would have imagined that one immodest act could throw her entire world into chaos . . . and force her toward a loveless marriage? In desperation, she approaches her childhood friend, Peter Derby, with a daring plan.

Peter still remembers the wild and spirited girl who had stolen his heart. But could the rumors be true: is she the model for the scandalous painting hanging in London's most exclusive gentlemen's club? If Peter agrees to pose as her fiancÉ, Elizabeth has promised to reveal the whole truth.

But Peter has his own ideas about this sham "engagement" to the exquisite beauty who's always been just out of his reach—and he's willing to incite yet another scandal to make her heart truly his.

This is the first in a delicious new series from "USA Today" bestselling author Gayle Callen, about a wager among three gentlemen to find and seduce a scandalous woman.

"Scandal's Sons" is my new trilogy set in the 1840s about three scandalous male cousins. I hope to do the next trilogy, "Scandal's Daughters," to encompass their three female cousins. I wanted to explore what it would be like to come from scandalous parents and grandparents, and either live up to that history or try to change their lives for the better. I thought of how three very different men would respond to notoriety. One becomes a scoundrel to outdo his parents (Never Trust a Scoundrel, April 2008), the next cousin becomes the perfect duke after overcoming tragedy, (Never Dare a Duke, January 2009) and the third cousin enters the army to escape it all. In the first two books, everyone thinks this cousin is dead, but he's going to return with a vengeance.

A pact with the devil . . . Miss Grace Banbury was in shock. Her mother put her up as a prize in a high stakes card game, and now the gentleman who won is ready to claim her! But Grace has other plans. She just needs the dastardly rogue to go along with it . . . A notorious rake from a scandalous family, Daniel Throckmorten has no use for blushing virgins. Yet there's no denying the attraction for the beauty standing before him, proposing an enticing wager: He will use all his charm and wit to seduce her into his bed . . . and she only has to resist. If she succeeds, she wins enough funds to secure her own future. If he wins . . . she'll be his. Daniel has never been so tempted—and he has no intention of losing . . .