Colin reached inside again and pulled out a small silk pouch. He opened it and a gold ring set with a sapphire surrounded by diamonds tumbled into his palm.
“My great-grandmother’s wedding ring.” He stared in awe. “My mother wore it as well.”
“Gold and jewels!” Damian jumped down and headed for the door. “Maybe there’s more out there. I’ll be back!”
Colin turned to Kate. “A Bible, a photograph, and a ring. So many things to choose from, so many things of value, and my mother buried these,” he said.
Kate slipped her arm around his waist, leaned into him, and looked at her sisters. She heard Damian out in the garden. She turned to Marie, reminded of Amelie. Then she looked up and saw the love in Colin’s eyes. In that moment Kate understood Marie Baudier Delany’s choices perfectly; they were symbols of her marriage, her faith, and her family. Marie Delany had buried the treasures of her heart.
The house was quiet. Kate was tucked in bed in her nightgown and on her lap was the heavy French Bible with the Baudier and Delany family history recorded inside. Though she struggled with the French, she could read the names back to the sixteen hundreds. She traced them with her fingertip and tried to picture the men and women who had come before them, especially those who first settled this land.
She heard Colin’s slow footfall on the gallery and smiled as he walked through the door.
“You’re still dressed,” she said.
“I have to return to the sugarhouse to visit the men working the night shift.”
“I forgot it was your turn. You look tired, Colin. Handsome but tired.”
“I am tired, but also invigorated. It’s been quite a day.”
“I’m exhausted but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. I hate to miss a minute with my sisters.”
He sat down on the side of the bed next to her hip.
“You might be too tired to sleep, but the babe needs rest. You’ll see your sisters again in the morning.”
She reached up and traced his cheek with her thumb. “Thank you for welcoming them.”
“They are part of our family too.” He gave her a long, slow kiss and then reached into his vest pocket. “I finally have something I’ve wanted to give you for a year now.”
“You’ve already given me everything my heart has desired and more.”
He took her hand in his and slipped his great-grandmother’s ring on her finger. “At last you have a wedding ring.”
She gazed at the sparkling sapphire and diamonds.
“It’s beautiful, but you know I was perfectly happy without it.”
“You shine brighter than any diamond, Kate. You’re my light and my love.”
“And you are mine.” Kate admired the ring again and smiled. “It fits perfectly.”
“Of course,” Colin said as he shrugged. “It’s been waiting for you.”
About the Author
JILL MARIE LANDIS is the bestselling author of over twenty-five novels. She has won numerous awards for her sweeping emotional romances, such as Summer Moon and Magnolia Creek. With her toes in the sand and head in the clouds, Jill now lives in Hawaii with her husband, Steve.
Visit Jill Marie at www.jillmarielandis.com.
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Irish Angel Series
Heart of Stone
A Novel
Jill Marie Landis
New York Times Bestselling Author
She had the darkest of pasts. And he had everything to lose by loving her.
Laura Foster, free from the bondage of an unspeakable childhood, has struggled to make a new life for herself. Now the owner of an elegant boardinghouse in Glory, Texas, she is known as a wealthy, respectable widow. But Laura never forgets that she is always just one step ahead of her past.
When Reverend Brand McCormick comes calling, Laura does all she can to discourage him as a suitor. She knows that if her past were discovered, Brand’s reputation would be ruined. But it’s not only Laura’s past that threatens to bring Brand down — it’s also his own.
When a stranger in town threatens to reveal too many secrets, Laura is faced with a heartbreaking choice: Should she leave Glory forever and save Brand’s future? Or is it worth risking his name — and her heart — by telling him the truth?
Available in stores and online!
Irish Angel Series
Heart of Lies
A Novel
Jill Marie Landis,
New York Times Bestselling Author
Raised in a tribe of street urchins, Maddie Grande was taught to be a thief and beggar on the streets of New Orleans. But Maddie doesn’t know her real name or where she came from.
Raised by Dexter Grande, Maddie and her twin “brothers” have recently left New Orleans and moved to the bayou. The twins are rarely there, but Maddie has come to love the swamp. She has learned to fish and trap and sell pelts at the local mercantile.
Maddie longs to change her life but knows that her brothers will never give up their lawless ways. When they kidnap the daughter of a wealthy carpetbagger, the twins force Maddie to hide the precocious eight-year-old while they return to New Orleans to wait for notice of a reward.
Pinkerton agent Tom Abbott is assigned to the kidnapping case, in which Maddie has become an accomplice. In a journey that takes them to Baton Rouge, a mutual attraction becomes evident, but Tom and Maddie cannot trust each other.
Will Maddie ever discover who she is? Will her real family ever find her? Will Maddie and Tom listen to their hearts? Or will they choose honor over love?
Available in stores and online!
Also by Jill Marie Landis
Heart of Stone
Heart of Lies
ZONDERVAN
Heart of Glass
Copyright © 2011 by Jill Marie Landis
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* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Landis, Jill Marie.
Heart of glass : a novel / Jill Marie Landis.
p. cm. — (Irish angel series; bk. 3)
1. Irish — United States — Fiction. 2. Plantations — Louisiana — History — 19th century — Fiction. I. Title.
PS3562.A4769H423 2012
813’.54 — dc22
2011049848
* * *
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Cover design: Curt Diepenhorst
Cover illustration: Aleta Rafton
Interior design: Michelle Espinoza
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