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There was no answer. But at least the baron’s wife stopped weeping. Abruptly. And took the pen from her husband’s hand to add her own name to the paper he’d just signed.

I
t was a small wedding reception held at a huge house. The Viscount Wycoff and his bride danced in the ballroom, then out the long doors onto the terrace in the twilight, and then on to the scythed lawns that rolled to the river’s edge, and on into the coming night. The other guests did, too. Lanterns were hung in the trees, twinkling in the boughs like trapped stars. Torches flamed on the lawns, the house itself was aglow with light this long midsummer’s evening.

The bride wore a gown of blushing pink, the groom dressed elegantly as for a court reception. The guests were the cream of society and the best of friends and relatives, all garbed in their finest. But the bride and groom had eyes only for each other.

“Clever to have the wedding party here,” Rafe commented to his friend Lord Drummond as they
watched the happy couple. “Lucky he has an estate on the Thames, so close to London we can all be here, too.”

“Luckier still that Gilly gave him an excuse not to travel north to have the reception at his father—and mother’s—house,” Drum said quietly, eyeing the viscount’s mama, the only one of the family not dancing. She sat upright in a chair, watching the merriment with a glacial stare. Her husband led his aged sister in a minuet; they made a game of it. It must have been a relief for him, as he’d just done dancing with Lady Jersey, who never stopped chattering. Mr. and Mrs. Ames, proud beyond words to be invited, happier still that their trip had been paid for, danced past, their smiles dazzling in the lantern glow. Perkins took Sukey’s hand when they promenaded in the servants’ dance to the side of the lawn, as a symbol of the two households coming together.

“Well, I said I couldn’t travel far in my condition, and his mama had to accept it,” Gilly laughed. “Wycoff blessed me for it, but I’m happy to be an excuse.”

“So don’t dance so much, baggage,” Drum said, “or she’ll guess.”

“Ho!” she said. “As if that would stop me. How much longer shall I be able to dance this close in his arms? Soon there’ll be something coming between us,” she said, running a hand over her still flat abdomen. “I know, I know,” she added, with a bright look at her husband, “that’s not something a lady would say.”

Her husband grinned. “I know. Lucky me. Now they’ve struck up a waltz. So come, let’s dance as close as we can while we may.”

“That’s a lucky fellow, indeed,” Drum said, watching the pair waltz off together.

“And there’s another,” Rafe said, watching Wycoff and Lucy glide by.

“Who would have guessed that Wycoff, of all people—
Wycoff
,” Rafe said, shaking his head, “would be so tamed by love.”

“Anyone, actually,” Drum answered.

Rafe fell still. Both men stood in silence on the terrace, as the music played on.

The other guests were busily talking about the newly wedded couple, too.

“She’s lovely,” the hazel-eyed young girl told her brother as they watched the Viscount Wycoff and his new bride. “Honest and charming and good-hearted, with no airs at all. She loves him for all the good things we know he is. She’s so friendly and warm, young enough to be pretty, but old enough to care for me like a mother. And she really seems to care for me, too.”

“Yes. A wonderful woman, but with terrible judgment about other females,” commented her brother, with laughter in his voice.

She ignored his jest. “I
so
worried he’d attach some flighty young thing, or a wicked stepmother,” she sighed. “But she’s perfect. I can scarcely believe it’s so.”

“It’s so,” Crispin told his sister, proudly.

“Wonderful,” she laughed. “Now I can live at home, and be comfortable again. Everything is splendid—except I have yet another brother!” she said with a ferocious scowl at Jamie.

Jamie grinned at her. He knew her brand of teasing by now, he’d learned it in the weeks since they’d met.

“But Jamie is the best of boys,” Harmony Ames protested.

“Now that he’s not home with us anymore,” her sister Bess giggled.

“Who would have thought such good could have come from such a bad misunderstanding?” their sister Jenny asked in wonder.

“What misunderstanding?” Crispin asked.

The girls grew pink, and tittered.

“You don’t know?” Jamie asked in delight. “It’s a famous story! You see…” He lowered his voice.

In a moment all the young people were laughing. Everyone at this wedding reception was, when they weren’t chatting together.

Except for the bride and groom. They said little. They waltzed in ever slower circles and looked into each other’s eyes—one mind, one heart.

“Mine, at last,” Wycoff said into his bride’s ear, holding her close.

“No,
mine
, at last,” she whispered back, moving closer.

They didn’t need to say more.

About the Author

A native New Yorker,
E
DITH
L
AYTON
began writing at the age of ten. After graduating with a degree in theater and writing, she did publicity, PR, advertising, and promotion for various TV, radio, and movie companies. She’s the mother of three grown children and lives in Long Island.

Visit Edith Layton on the World Wide Web at www.edithlayton.com

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

P
RAISE
FOR
E
DITH
L
AYTON’S
PREVIOUS NOVELS

THE CHOICE

“I SIMPLY LOVE THIS BOOK.”

—Joan Wolf

“A WONDERFULLY ROMANTIC AND SPARKLING STORY. The colorful backdrop is perfectly portrayed and the emotional depth will move readers to laugh and perhaps shed a tear or two.”

—Romantic Times
, four stars

“TOP-NOTCH…told with flair and fraught with sexual tension.”

—Publishers Weekly

“DELIGHTFUL…. As in all of Ms. Layton’s books, the reader is transported, heart, mind, and soul, into the past…. The characters are MARVELOUS and wonderfully drawn. The story is well-plotted, well-paced, and THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING. Damon and Gilly will touch your heart—and sexual tension will raise your temperature. On your next trip to the bookstore, make THE right CHOICE!”

—Romance Fiction Forum

“Another wonderful book by Edith Layton…. The story keeps the reader enthralled, loving every word…. YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE…. MORE KUDOS TO MS. LAYTON.”

—Under the Covers

THE CAD

“The very best romance novels are almost like an adrenaline rush: there’s the excitement of realizing that you are hooked, the intense focus that comes with being totally engrossed and the sweet, oh-so-satisfied letdown when the last page is turned.
The Cad
gave me all of this and more…. THIS ONE GOES STRAIGHT TO THE KEEPER SHELF…. WONDERFUL.”

—Romance Reader

“A REAL TREASURE.”

—Romantic Times

“TITILLATING, DANGEROUS AND IRRESISTIBLE…full of passion and plot twists that I could never have imagined. BRAVA, MS. LAYTON!”

—Under the Covers

B
OOKS BY
E
DITH
L
AYTON

The Cad

The Choice

The Challenge

Published by HarperPaperbacks

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.

THE CHALLENGE
. Copyright © 2000 by Edith Felber. 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.

Adobe Digital Edition April 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-191329-7

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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