Now probably wasn’t the right time to tell him that her father had never actually been a pirate.
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips and drew back to look into her eyes. “Are you always going to be this difficult?”
His warm breath caressed her skin. He pressed soft, quick kisses around the edge of her lips, on her chin, down her neck. A frisson ran through her and she slid her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth to hers.
A few moments later, he asked, “Is that a yes?”
She grinned. “It is two yesses. Yes, I am always going to be difficult, and yes, I will marry you.”
He groaned as she pulled him down on top of her. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Sprinkling a kiss between each word, she said, “A lifetime of love, happiness, and adventure.”
“It’s the adventure part that worries me.”
Epilogue
Derbyshire, England, 1826
The rain beat a steady tempo against the glass panes of the window as Catherine rushed up the cold, damp staircase to Edward’s bedchamber. She pulled her shawl more tightly about her shoulders and increased her pace. She was running late. As usual.
“I’m sorry I’m late, darling.”
“I don’t mind, Mama. It means I get to stay awake longer. And I’m used to you being late.”
She squeezed onto the bed next to him and kissed his forehead. “Which story would you like me to tell tonight?”
He pretended to think about it, then blurted out, “The one about the tiara.”
Of course. He requested that story every night, regardless of whether it was her or Nick putting him to bed.
Leaning close, she whispered, “Hidden somewhere in this house is a diamond tiara once owned by Empress Elizabeth of Russia.”
He bounced up and down on the bed. “You forgot to say ‘Empress of all the Russias.’”
She tweaked his nose. “My apologies for leaving off that very important detail.” His eyelids drooped. She pulled him tight against her side and leaned back against the pillows.
“Now where was I? Oh yes, the tiara is located somewhere in this house, but because an evil cousin sold all of the furniture and didn’t take good care of Walsley Manor, we weren’t able to locate it.”
“And it has never been found.”
She nodded. “That is correct. The tiara is still here in this house, waiting for someone to find it.”
He waved both hands. “Me!”
“When you are older we will give you the journal so you can solve the clues.”
He nodded. “And find the tiara.”
She touched the tip of her finger to his nose. “Perhaps, but first you will need to investigate to discover where it is.”
“I will use Great-Grandmother’s journal to find it.”
“Right now the journal is safe in your father’s library, but when you are grown, we will let you read the journal and find the clues to the location of the tiara.”
“I will find the tiara.” She smiled at his confidence as he snuggled down under the covers and closed his eyes.
She kissed him and pulled up the coverlet. “Pleasant dreams, darling.” As she moved into the corridor, she spotted a star outside the window and wished for Edward to have happy dreams about discovering lost family treasures.
Did you love this Scandalous novel from Entangled? Check out more of our historical titles here!
Acknowledgements
To my editor, Robin Haseltine, for believing in this story from the beginning and helping to make it so much better than I ever could have made it on my own.
To my family, who pretend not to notice how many days I’ve been wearing the same pair of yoga pants or my questionable bathing habits when I’m on deadline.
To everyone who has helped me along the path to publication by reading, critiquing, supporting, and encouraging me.
To Nancy Mayer, the Regency Researcher, for always answering my questions and for being a bottomless source of knowledge. Any historical inaccuracies are my fault because I didn’t ask her.
And if you are reading this, thank you. It’s an honor to have you read my books.
About the Author
Ally has worked as a horse trainer, director of marketing and development, freelance proofreader, and a children’s librarian, among other things. None of them were as awesome as writing romance novels (though the librarian gig came closest). She lives in Texas and is convinced her house is shrinking, possibly because she shares it with three kids, four dogs, a cat, a rabbit, and assorted reptiles. Oh, and her husband.
Ally likes to curse in Russian because very few people know what she’s saying, and spends most of what would be her spare time letting dogs in and out of the house and shuttling kids around. She has many stories in her head looking for an opportunity to escape onto paper. She writes historical romance set in Regency England and Imperial Russia.
You can find Ally on her website, Facebook, and Twitter, though she makes no claims of using any of them properly. For information about contests and new releases, join her mailing list.
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