A Bride by Moonlight (42 page)

Authors: Liz Carlyle

Tags: #Romance, #Historical Romance, #Historical, #Fiction

BOOK: A Bride by Moonlight

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“Do
hush
, my dear,” said his wife. “Napier is trying to make a point.”

Napier smiled. “I am, at that,” he said. “And my point is, Lazonby, that so far as I can make out, you were the only victim of a malicious prosecution. I have looked very carefully.”

“Ah.” The laughter left Lazonby’s eyes. “Just me, was it?”

Napier shook his head. “No, for I fear it likely a great many cases were
not
prosecuted that should have been. But there are no files for those sorts of cases—and no way I can make them right.”

“Ah, well,” said Lazonby. “I shouldn’t worry. The guilty rarely sin once. Most of them were likely caught again.”

“It is to be hoped,” said Napier.

And then Anisha was kissing them—both of them—and everyone was saying their good-byes.

In the drive, Napier helped Lisette back into their carriage, his dark, speculative gaze holding hers. But he said no more until they had drawn up before the house in Eaton Square and gone inside to the blessedly quiet front hall.

“Well, that’s done!” she said, pulling the pin from her hat. “I am inordinately relieved.”

At that, Napier pulled her a little roughly into his arms. “I’m glad someone is,” he said darkly. He lowered his mouth to Lisette’s, kissed her very thoroughly, then set her a little away, dipping his gaze to catch hers.

It was
that look.

Napier’s black glower of interrogation.

“
What
—
?
” she said.

“Out with it, my dear,” he said warningly. “Am I to worry? Or not?”

“Oh, Royden!” She managed to smile. “I don’t
know
. But I think . . . yes, I think perhaps you
should
worry.”

“Ha!” he said, picking her up by the waist to spin her around. “I knew it.”

“And your friend Anisha knew it,” said Lisette when he’d set her back down again. “How
does
she do that?”

“I’ve no idea.” Napier grinned hugely, then kissed her again. “Well, get packing, my love.”

“Really?” She blinked at him. “Where do we go?”

“Back to Burlingame,” he said. “The air is cleaner, the environs more restful, and once again you are about to make me—and perhaps even Duncaster—the happiest of men.”

About the Author

A lifelong Anglophile, LIZ CARLYLE cut her teeth reading gothic novels under the bedcovers by flashlight. She is the author of over twenty historical romances, including several
New York Times
bestsellers. Liz travels incessantly, ever in search of the perfect setting for her next book. Along with her genuine romance-hero husband and four very fine felines, she makes her home in North Carolina. You can contact her via her website at
www.lizcarlyle.com
.

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By Liz Carlyle

A Bride by Moonlight

The Bride Wore Pearls

The Bride Wore Scarlet

One Touch of Scandal

Coming Soon

In Love With a Wicked Man

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.

A BRIDE BY MOONLIGHT
. Copyright © 2013 by Susan Woodhouse. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 MARCH 2013 ISBN: 9780062097576

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062100283

FIRST EDITION

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About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

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Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

http://www.harpercollins.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Canada