The Earl's Bargain (Historical Regency Romance) (29 page)

"Oh, Edward, I am so very happy to hear you
say that. Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask you to procure
a special license so we could be wed quickly? I find myself wanting
to be with you every minute of the day."

He rose up and joined her on the settee. "I
will have it today."

Then he took her in his arms and kissed her
soundly.

* * *

The following week, they married one morning
at St. George's Hanover Square. Louisa and Harry stood up with
them. It was the first time Louisa and Harry had seen one another
since the day she returned to London.

After the ceremony, he said, "I beg that you
will allow me to escort you back to the house."

To protest would only be to make things
difficult for everyone.

She allowed him to hand her up to his
carriage. They rode in silence for the first block. "You might be
interested to know," he began, "That I alerted the House of Lords
about Tremaine's murder attempt."

"Had the magistrate confronted the vile
man?"

"We did together, just as soon as I saw you
off with Edward."

Her hand flew to her heart, and she directed
a frightened gaze at him.

"You'll be pleased to know Tremaine is now
being incarcerated. I don't know if I'll ever regain Wycliff House,
but doing so is no longer as important as it once was to me."

Her pulse quickened. What, then, was
important to him? "What of your mother's portrait?"

He smiled. "I have it."

"Lord Tremaine gave it to you?" she asked
incredulously.

His eyes danced with mischief. "Let's just
say I convinced the magistrate it was my property, and I actually
filed a theft complaint against Tremaine."

"But, Harry, the man will find a way to kill
you!"

He lifted a brow. "You care?"

She sat up ramrod straight. "Not at
all."

"Then don't worry your pretty head. Tremaine
is terminally ill. The doctors don't give him another month."

Her eyes narrowed. "Good!"

They grew silent again. Then Harry said,
"Your anger toward me for my lack of sincerity in your causes was
well placed. It made me start thinking, trying to analyze what my
own positions were on the causes you promulgate."

"And?"

"And I realized that you really had won me
over despite my initial reluctance. I admit that I had no
intentions of taking my seat in the House of Lords, and I
especially had no intentions of embracing your radical
politics.

"But the more I thought on it, the more I
realized how right you have been all along. I came to know that I
was obligated to work toward all those reforms you and I had
discussed. The extension of the franchise. Restrictions on child
labor. Penal reform. Compulsory education. All the things I had
initially laughed at behind your back."

"You are not lying to me
to
get beneath my skirts
," she asked, looking up to him with smiling eyes.

He stopped. Right there in the middle of
Piccadilly Road. "I will never lie to you again."

"Would that I could believe you," she
uttered.

Traffic grew snarled behind them, and harsh
voices shouted at him.

All of which he seemed oblivious to.

"I have taken my seat in Parliament," he
announced. "That I am a Whig, I thought, would make you happy."

Her heart was bursting with joy and love. "I
can think of no better wedding present," she said. When he did not
respond for moment, she began to tremble. Had she horridly
embarrassed herself with her forwardness?

She watched as Harry set down his riding
crop, turned to her, took her into his arms and kissed her slowly
and passionately.

Neither of them minded -- nor even seemed to
hear -- the angry shouts from behind them on Piccadilly Road.
"Perhaps Miss Grimm has been right all along," he said. "I do aim
to get beneath your skirts -- after you're Lady Wycliff, that
is."

THE END

Other Cheryl Bolen
ebooks:

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Series #1)

Cheryl Bolen's writing draws
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Romantic Times

Cheryl Bolen returns to the
Regency England she knows so well. . .If you love a steamy Regency
with a fast pace, be sure to pick up The Bride Wore Blue. –
Happily Ever After

* * *

For six long years Thomas Moreland has
dreamed of the beautiful young noblewoman who rescued him from
death. While amassing his fortune in India, not a day passed he did
not recall Felicity's fair loveliness, did not recall the silken
tones of her sweet voice, did not desire to possess her.

Now a widow, Felicity Harrison does not
recognize the handsome nabob as the young man left for dead by
highwayman years earlier. Though she wants nothing more than to
snub the arrogant man who promises to rescue her family from
financial ruin in exchange for presenting his sister to Society,
she cannot snub him. She must force herself to bear his company.
But the longer she is with him, the more she has to force herself
to remain true to her dead husband's memory. Why is it the humbly
born Thomas Moreland possesses more nobility that any man of her
class? And why is it she finds it harder and harder to mourn a dead
man when Thomas's virility awakens her deepest desires?

With His Ring (The Brides of Bath Series
#2)

Texas Gold's Runner-up for Best Historical
Romance 2002

Highly recommended. –
Under the Covers

Cheryl Bolen does it again!
There is laughter, and the interaction of the characters pulls you
right into the book. I look forward to the next in this series. 4
Stars –
Romantic Times

With His Ring
is a good book. Once you start reading you will
not want to put it down. . .The secondary characters are a blast.
They will have you laughing right along with Glee's stunts.
–
The Romance Readers Connection

If you liked Cheryl Bolen's
first installment in her Brides of Bath series set in Regency
England, you'll like this one.
With His
Ring
has plenty of sensuality. –
Happily Ever After

* * *

Glee Pembroke has turned down countless
offers of marriage because she has secretly been in love with her
brother's best friend, Gregory Blankenship, all her life. When she
learns Gregory will lose his considerable fortune if he's not wed
by his twenty-fifth birthday, she persuades him to enter into a
sham marriage with her. What he doesn't know is that she plans to
win his heart. She will do everything in her power to make him
happy – including mimicking the ways of a "fast" woman since he's
noted for alliances with women of that sort.

Why did he ever allow himself to marry the
maddening Glee? He'd thought they would have great fun, but at
every turn, she exasperates him. Why does she persist in wearing
the bodice of her dresses so blasted low? Why do other men persist
in flirting with her, his wife? And why in the blazes has his
heretofore complacent life been turned upside down by this sham
marriage? He finds himself longing for a real marriage, but for
reasons he cannot divulge, that can never happen.

A Fallen Woman (The Brides of Bath Series
#3)

You'll fall for
A Fallen Woman
, the latest
Regency romance by Cheryl Bolen. .this emotional story of a woman's
journey from despair to triumph has what we all want from a love
story.
– In Print

A story of healing,
forgiveness and change that will make readers cheer. –
Romantic Times

I would recommend
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to anyone."
–
Escape to Romance

* * *

Since his commanding officer in the Peninsula
took a bullet meant for him, James Moore, now the Earl of Rutledge,
feels responsible for the dead man's young son and the boy's
exquisite mother, Carlotta Ennis – so responsible that he offers to
marry the lavender-eyed beauty. Though their marriage was not to be
a love match, Carlotta's torturing presence has James yearning to
make her his true wife.

Though she did not love his lordship, her
desperate situation forced her to accept his proposal. Little did
she know she would come to crave being with him, would hunger for
his every touch. If only she could be worthy of the fine man she's
married, if only she can keep him from learning her dark secret . .
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To Take This Lord (The Brides of Bath Series
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(
previously titled
An Improper
Proposal)

"Wonderfully Crafted...
Highly recommended... 5 stars."
–
Huntress Book Reviews

"Bolen's writing... creates
the perfect atmosphere for her enchanting romances."
–

Romantic Times

"Bolen does a wonderful job
building simmering sexual tension."
–
Booklist

* * *

1Even though it's been two years since his
cherished wife died on childbed, George Pembroke, the Viscount
Sedgewick, continues to rely on liquor to blunt his grief.

Worried about him and his
children, George's sisters urge him to ask spinster Sally
Spenser--a longtime family friend--to help care for his daughter
and son. Sally's the perfect person. She's of high birth (but has
no money) and she adores Lord Sedgewick's children. It's her deep
love of the motherless children and fear that their father might
marry an unfeeling stepmother that prompt Sally to consider
George's proposal. Even though it will be unbearable living under
the roof of the man she loves and knowing she can never have
him
.

A Lady by Chance

Cheryl Bolen has done it
again with another sparkling Regency romance. . .I highly recommend
it. –
Happily Ever After

Anna de Mouchet has the
stuff of which Regency heroines are made – the right stuff, that
is! –
In Print

* * *

The Marquess of Haverstock is incensed when
he learns the money he needed to buy crucial war information for
the Foreign Office has been lost at cards to the illegitimate
daughter of an English duke and French noblewoman. When the
bewitchingly beautiful woman informs him the only way to reclaim
the funds is to wed her, he has little choice but to agree.

Shunned by the ton, Anna de Mouchet agrees to
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Unaware of the tales of Lord Stacks'
wickedness, Freddie Lambeth comes to live with her guardian, and
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Lady Sophia's
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1As Lady Sophia passes through the gates of
her new bridegroom’s country estate and he begins to whisper in her
ear the delights that await her in his bed, Lady Sophia realizes
she has made a most dreadful mistake. There’s only one thing to do.
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The bride-on-the-run is rescued by the
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named Isadore, and though he’s the richest man in England, she
mistakes him for a common (but well-to-do) criminal. Since she’d
rather be dead than wed to her wretched bridegroom, Sophia pretends
to be Isadore and take her chances with the provocative Mr.
Birmingham. But how could she have known that her ruse would bring
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married? And how could she have known her enigmatic rescuer would
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The
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The impossibly young, stunningly beautiful
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no-good husband. What's a man-hating bluestocking to do?

Enter the Earl of Wycliff, who offers her
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It is definitely one for the keeper
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