Mary Reed McCall

by Secret Vows

  More perversely, both Church and secular law in the Middle Ages permitted the “correction” of women on a regular basis, to be legally dispensed by the male guardian, be he father, husband, brother, or any other variation thereof. The severity of this abuse differed from man to man, with some men, like Gray, completely abstaining from the practice, though there are many cases written of women who were beaten, starved, imprisoned, or poisoned, sometimes unto death, by the men “in charge” of them. Versions of this continued, unfortunately, mostly sanctioned by law, until the end of the Victorian Era and the advent of the Women’s Rights movement. So giving Catherine both her own voice and a champion who would assist her in reaching her full potential as a valued person—as a valued woman—became of the utmost importance to me as I wrote her story.

  I hope that you have enjoyed the tale of Catherine and Gray’s love as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for coming along on the journey.

  MRM

  Acknowledgments

  My sincere gratitude:

  To the members of Central New York Romance Writers, for always listening, lending support, offering critique, and just being great friends—particularly Kathleen Simmons and Theresa Kovian, whose help in brainstorming during one long car ride back home resulted in the ending to this book.

  To Lyssa Keusch, who took a chance on an unknown writer’s work and helped to turn a dream into reality.

  And to the exquisite Ruth Kagle, my agent, whose expertise and guidance have been invaluable. Thanks for believing in me.

  About the Author

  MARY REED McCALL once studied at the University of Leningrad and considered a career in national security. However, she soon realized her calling lay elsewhere and turned to her love of books for inspiration, eventually becoming a high school English teacher and a romance writer. She began work on her first novel one week after completing her M.A. in English literature.

  The award-winning author of six novels for Avon Books, Mary lives in upstate New York with her family, sharing an often crazy but always wonderful life. Please visit her on the web at www.maryreedmccall.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

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  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.

  SECRET VOWS. Copyright © 2001 by Mary Reed McCall. 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 April 2007 ISBN 9780061753787

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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