1 An extract from the widely proclaimed memoir: The Earl of Hellgate, or Night Scenes Amongst the Ton Dear Reader,As I would loathe to shock and dismay you, I must beg all ladies of a delicate disposition to put down this volume on the moment. I have lived a life of Immoderate Passion, and have been persuaded to share the particulars in the hopes of keeping any susceptible gentlepersons from following in my steps… Oh Reader, Beware! May 24, 1818 15 Grosvenor Square London residence of the Duke of Holbrook T here was no way to introduce the subject with delicacy, at least none that Josie could imagine. “None of the novels I’ve read elaborate on the wedding night,” she told her sisters. “I should hope not!” her eldest sister Tess said, not even looking at her.“So if we’re going to discuss Imogen’s wedding night, I’m not leaving.” “It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to join us,” Tess said, with the rather wearied air of someone who has said the same on two former occasions. After all, of the four Essex sisters, Tess, Annabel, Imogen, and Josie, there was only one left unmarried: Josie. “We’ll give you all the details you need on the eve of your marriage,” Imogen