Crista was deaf to her mother’s pleas, wheedles, and entreaties and had the satisfaction of seeing her leave the Park without getting her way. She couldn’t recall the last time that had happened.
“Now you look better,” Amos said, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. “The shadow has left your eyes, and you seem completely at your ease, radiant as any bride ought to look.”
“You knew it was Mama who gave me away?”
“I suspected as much as soon as I met her and saw for myself just how single-minded she can be. There is nothing she will not do for her own advancement, and Amelia’s. I also knew you needed to solve the mystery of who exposed your talent, which is why I proposed to you before your meeting with your mother. I needed you to face her from a position of strength.”
“It had been worrying me, how the people behind Reece discovered I made jewellery as well as Papa.”
“I realised you would not have settled easily without knowing.”
“Quite. Almost no one knew, you see, and the most obvious candidate was Mama. I just wasn’t ready to think that badly of her.” She shook her head against his broad shoulder. “Now I know better.”
“And feel better, I hope.”
“Yes, my love.” She twined her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “Now I am ready to be your wife.”
The End
About the Author
Wendy Soliman is a British author, brought up on the Isle of Wight, who now divides her time between Andorra and the west coast of Florida. She shares her life with her long-suffering husband and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree, named Jake Bentley after the hero in one of her books. Both Jakes are handsome mongrels with independent spirits and wild streaks.
Wendy has over forty published books to her credit, ranging from Regency romance, (her first love), to contemporary women’s fiction and marine crime mysteries. She also writes erotica for SirenBookStrand under a pen name.
When not writing, Wendy enjoys walking miles with her dog, reading other people’s tomes…oh, and she’s on a one woman mission to save the wine trade from the world recession. She figures someone has to do it!
Check out all of Wendy’s books, and learn more about her from her website: http://www.wendysoliman.com
Twitter: @wendyswriter Also available from Bookbaby To Defy a Duke
A Duke by Default
The Duke’s Legacy
Saving Grace
Mrs. Darcy Entertain Series Miss Bingley’s Revenge Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Dilemma
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
About the Author
Ducal Encounters 01 - At the Duke's Discretion Page 25