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‘As well a girl with spirit as one with only milk and water in her veins,’ Jack murmured softly.
‘I shall be honest with you, Charlotte. Left to myself, I would not bother with marriage at all, for I have no great opinion of it, but my grandfather needs me to provide him with an heir. I am very fond of him and minded to oblige him. You need a fortune to clear your father’s debts and give your brother a good start in life—why not mine as well as any other’s?’
Charlotte digested this in silence for a moment, then looked at him hard. He had brought the curricle to a halt and was looking at her expectantly. He knew the truth, for she had hidden nothing, yet she still felt that he could not have considered fully.
Honesty made her speak out. ‘But surely … there must be a girl more suited to the honour of being your wife and the future Marchioness. Why me?’
‘Since I am being honest, I have no idea—but I think it is because you amuse me.’
This is an adventurous story of a brave girl and an out-wardly cool and aloof hero. Jack Delsey can be charming, but can any woman really touch his heart or is it too thickly encased in ice? Charlotte is reckless, but brave, and determined to save her brother from shame. Her escapade leads her straight into the arms of a man whom she knows to be a rake. No sensible girl would give her heart to such a man, but Jack is looking for a lady to be the mother of his heirs, and Charlotte is in danger of being exposed to scandal and ruin …
My readers will know that I like to combine adventure with passionate love stories, and this book has one or two other characters begging for books of their own. I hope to oblige them and my readers by giving them exciting stories. I very much enjoy writing these tales of a bygone time when ladies ought to be fragile creatures but never are, and gentlemen are both heroes and rascals. My hope is that my readers will find these stories well worth reading.
You may contact me at: www.lindasole.co.uk
Rescued
by the Viscount
Anne Herries
I dedicate this book to my husband, without whose love and understanding none of my books could ever have been written.
ANNE HERRIES lives in Cambridgeshire, where she is fond of watching wildlife and spoils the birds and squirrels that are frequent visitors to her garden. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature, and sometimes puts a little into her books, although they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment, and to give pleasure to her readers. Anne is a winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romance Prize. She invites readers to contact her on her website: www.lindasole.co.uk
Contents
‘No, Mama,’ Charlotte Stevens cried in dismay. ‘Please do not expect such a thing of me—to marry without love for the sake of a fortune...’ She stared at her mother, tears welling, but too proud to let them fall. Charlotte was a pretty girl, diminutive, being no more than five feet and three inches, but her large expressive eyes and her unquenchable spirit made up for her lack of height. ‘How could you ask it of me?’
‘Because there is little choice left to me,’ Lady Stevens said. ‘Your father is close to ruin and if you do not oblige us by making a splendid marriage, we shall lose everything.’
‘Yes, I see...’ Charlotte banished her desire to scream and shout, because she loved Papa dearly and could not bear to think he was in so much trouble. ‘Who have you selected for me to marry?’ She lifted her head, determined to be brave and face whatever terrible fate awaited her.
‘It is not that desperate just yet,’ Mama told her with a determined smile. ‘Fortunately, I have some money put by for you to have a Season in town. You are very lovely, Charlotte. I am convinced that more than one gentleman will be prompted to offer for you—and you may choose for yourself, provided that your choice is in a