She fingered the two pearls nestled between her breasts, the one he had given her when they first wed and the second he had given her on the birth of their son.
“No, Wife. You will not choose.”
Before she could speak, Anthony drew her down onto the bed. The pearls rolled toward her where the mattress dipped, and scattered across her lap, against the deep russet of her gown.
“They are all yours, if you will have them.”
Caroline blinked her tears away and pressed herself against him, the pearls forgotten. “I do not need jewels, Anthony. I love you for yourself.”
“I know. That’s why I give them to you.”
They made love, slipping and sliding over the wealth of pearls. They were late for dinner, and they missed tea altogether. For months after that, Tabby found pearls everywhere, along the floor, tucked next to the headboard, and under the mattress. Whatever Tabby found after the first month, Caroline let her keep.
Acknowledgments
It takes more than one woman at her computer to make a book come to life. There are many people to thank, but I have to begin with the amazing staff at Sourcebooks. From the editing to the marketing team to the cover art, they have done a stellar job. Without my fabulous editor, Leah Hultenschmidt, her patience, her sense of humor, and her eagle eye, I would be nowhere. Thank you also to Aubrey Poole, whose kind early notes helped me begin to bring this novel to the place it needed to be.
As always, my family has supported me throughout the process of writing this novel and throughout my life. Thank you to Karen and Carl English for their constant support and overwhelming love. Thank you to my brother, Barry English, who has always stayed squarely in my corner.
I must thank the many friends and early readers who have lived with my writing since day one. Thank you LaDonna Lindgren and Laura Creasy for reading this novel in early drafts. Thank you Amy and Troy Pierce for giving me a quiet place to write more times than I can count, and moral support always. Thank you Trilby Shier, Marianne and Chris Nubel, Vena and Ron Miller, for your constant love and support. And thank you to my fantastic agent, Margaret O’Connor, who is as much a friend as she is an agent.
And I thank each one of you who has picked up this book. I hope Caroline and her Anthony thrill you half as much as they have thrilled me.
About the Author
After years of acting in Shakespeare’s plays, Christy English is excited to bring the Bard to Regency England. When she isn’t acting, roller skating, or chasing the Muse, Christy writes historical novels (The Queen’s Pawn and To Be Queen) from her home in North Carolina. Please visit her at www.ChristyEnglish.com.
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