Her Officer and Gentleman
Page 28
Beth’s eyes twinkled at him. “You shall have me, my love.”
Tristan returned to the settee where Prudence sat, and settled beside her, capturing her hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers. “Christian, I am happy to report that the House for Retired Sailors has grown.” He looked at Beth. “Your husband is something of a philanthropist.”
“Yes, he is,” Prudence said, smiling sweetly. “There are over seventy men housed there now.”
“It would not be possible without you, Christian,” Tristan said.
Christian shrugged. “All I do is send a bank draft every quarter. You and Prudence do all of the work.”
Beth slipped an arm about Christian’s waist, leaning against him. “I had no idea you were a philanthropist, my love.”
“Lord Westerville.” Everyone turned to find Reeves standing in the doorway, a coat in his hand. “You forgot a part of your raiment.”
“Oh no,” Beth said. “You have wounded Reeves’s sensibilities.”
“Yes, my lady. My sensibilities are indeed wounded.” Reeves came forward and assisted Christian into the coat. He gave the coat a final smoothing across one shoulder, stood back, then nodded. “Excellent. I feel better already. My lady, you have had a very positive influence over Lord Westerville. He has left the morbid world of Only Black behind and now embraces other colors of the spectrum.”
Beth peeped up at Christian, a flash of a dimple tempting him to drop a kiss on her forehead. “I hope he is ready for my influence for many more years,” she murmured.
Christian held her closer. “You influence my every breath, my love. And always will.”
“Enough of that!” Tristan draped an arm around his wife. “Reeves, you have performed magic.”
Reeves smiled at both couples. “The old earl would have been pleased.”
Christian tilted Beth’s face to his. Ever so gently, he placed a kiss on her soft lips. Magic was what it was; the best kind of magic—true love.
About the Author
KAREN HAWKINS was raised in Tennessee, a member of a huge extended family that included her brother and sister, an adopted sister, numerous foster siblings and various exchange students. In order to escape the chaos (and whilst hiding when it was her turn to do the dishes), she would huddle under the comforter on her bed with a flashlight and a book, a habit she still embraces to this day. For more information about Karen, or pictures of her chasing a box of donuts while training for a road race, visit her at www.karenhawkins.com or write to her at Karen Hawkins, P.O. Box 5292, Kingsport, TN 37663-5292.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
By Karen Hawkins
HER OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN
HER MASTER AND COMMANDER
LADY IN RED
AND THE BRIDE WORE PLAID
HOW TO TREAT A LADY
CONFESSIONS OF A SCOUNDREL
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
THE SEDUCTION OF SARA
A BELATED BRIDE
THE ABDUCTION OF JULIA
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HER OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN. Copyright © 2006 by Karen Hawkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition February 2007 ISBN 9780061746673
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
About the Author
By Karen Hawkins
Copyright
About the Publisher