by Cheryl Holt
“They’re waiting for you,” Martha said.
“So they are.” She motioned to Mary. “You’re oldest, so you go first.”
“We’ll take turns, just like when Mr. Hubbard carried us onto the ship in Africa.”
“Yes, just like that.”
At the fond memory, the girls grinned, then Mary stepped to Faith and hugged her as tightly as Rowena had. Then Martha and Millie latched on too, and suddenly they were all crying.
“Go now,” Faith told them, “before I become so maudlin that I can’t walk down the aisle.”
Rowena pulled the girls away and gently shoved them one after the other toward the altar. They were so fetching, so arresting in their crisp white dresses, the blue sashes around their waists, their starched petticoats swishing with each stride.
“Oh, Gad, they’re so pretty, aren’t they?” Rowena said.
“Yes, and I’m so glad to have them here with us. Thank you for rescuing them. Thank you for bringing them to me.”
“As if I’d have let that witch, Sister Ruth, give them away. She acted as if they were abandoned puppies!”
“I wish I could have seen her face when she realized you’d vanished with them.”
“She was so set on herself. It probably hasn’t occurred to her that we’re not there.”
There had been no contact with the convent, no demand that the girls be sent back. Faith didn’t know if Sister Ruth was too miserly to pay for an investigation to discover their whereabouts or if—after the girls fled—she’d decided they weren’t worth the bother.
Faith suspected it was the latter, and she was already moving to adopt them. To anyone who would listen, she stated the facts: Their parents were deceased, no relatives could be found, and Faith wanted them.
The girls had reached the front and slid into their pew. Chase and Ralston were winking and whispering, making them giggle and shift in their seats.
“Your turn,” Faith said to Rowena.
“Don’t you dare slip out and run away once I’m not looking.”
“I’m not going to run away. I’m going to give Chase Hubbard exactly what he deserves.”
“A bride and a wife?”
“Yes. His bachelor days are over, and it will serve him right to be a married man.”
“He chased you until he caught you.”
“He certainly did, and I’m so relieved that he kept after me. What if he hadn’t? Where would I be?”
Rowena chuckled and started off, and Faith watched until she reached the front too. Then she took a deep breath, and her own procession began.
Guests smiled as she went by, and it was odd to have people staring so intently. For many years, she’d shunned attention, had tried to be pious and invisible, but that wasn’t the person she was destined to be.
She was meant to be a wife and mother. Chase had told her that. He’d seen it immediately, had set her on the correct path and would march down it with her.
He seemed very far away, and the journey seemed to last forever. She felt as if she was in a strange dream where she struggled forward but never arrived at her destination.
Briefly she let herself be sad for what she didn’t have. Her mother was deceased, her father too. She had no kin among the assembled company, no brother or cousin to give her to her husband. With it being such a fateful event, she’d have been glad to have anyone in the crowd to whom she was even loosely connected, even Alice and Lambert—if she could have convinced them to come.
Despite their bitter parting, she’d actually invited them. She didn’t want to fight with them, didn’t want to quarrel or cut ties. But they’d sent a snotty reply, and Lambert especially had been horrid. He blamed Faith for his fiscal troubles, though how she’d caused his penury she couldn’t quite grasp.
She’d written again, politely telling them they were welcome to visit in the future, but had received no response. She was concerned about her young half-sisters though, and she’d written a final letter, offering to assume the burden of raising them, to have them live at Oakhurst.
She hadn’t heard back to that suggestion either, but she often gazed down the winding drive, expecting someday a carriage would appear and Alice climb out. She’d drop her daughters in Faith’s lap, then hurry on to London and the thrilling life she could lead there without two little children weighing her down.
Chase had no family or friends in attendance, except for Ralston. Preparations had been put together so rapidly, and acquaintances scattered hither and yon, so no one had been able to make the journey. She’d begged him to reschedule, but he’d refused.
He’d laughed and claimed—if they delayed—she’d have an opportunity to reflect on her decision and might change her mind. He wasn’t willing to risk it.
In a few weeks, they were having an autumn house party. His sister, Amelia, was coming with her husband, Lucas. His friend, Bryce Blair, was traveling from Scotland with his wife, Katarina, and her siblings who—apparently—were a royal prince and princess.
It would be a gathering of people who loved Chase, and she was excited to meet all of them. The house wasn’t in the best shape to host guests, but she didn’t care. She wanted Chase to be surrounded by those closest to him for they understood how richly he deserved the enormous fortune that had suddenly rained down.
Finally she reached him. He stepped to her, clasped her hands, and kissed her cheek. Then he guided her over to the vicar.
“That was the longest walk in history,” he said. “I was starting to doubt you’d ever arrive.”
Rowena leaned in and said, “I warned her not to slip out the door and run off while we weren’t watching.”
“I was worried about it too,” Ralston admitted.
Chase shrugged. “I had my eye on her the whole time. She couldn’t have escaped.”
Faith smiled. “I have no desire to escape.”
“Good. I’m making progress.”
“Who could ever have guessed you’d turn out to be precisely what I need?”
“I told you I was. You should have listened to me.”
“I always listen,” she said. “I have to. You never stop talking.”
“It’s because I have so much to say to you. I’ve been waiting for you my entire life. I have to get a few things off my chest.”
“My beloved scoundrel,” she said.
“Yes, I’m a scoundrel, and now I’m all yours. What do you think of that, Mrs. Hubbard?”
“I think I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
“And I’m the luckiest man.”
THE END
CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who spent the past summer celebrating the release of her fortieth novel.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be a master of the romance genre, and for many years, she was hailed as, “The Queen of Erotic Romance.” She is also renowned as, “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author
CHERYL HOLT
“Best storyteller of the year…”
Romantic Times Magazine
“A master writer…”
Fallen Angel Reviews
“The Queen of Erotic Romance…”
Book Cover Reviews
“Cheryl Holt is ma
gnificent…”
Reader to Reader Reviews
“From cover to cover, I was spellbound. Truly outstanding…”
Romance Junkies
“A classic love story with hot, fiery passion dripping from every page. There’s nothing better than curling up with a great book and this one totally qualifies.”
Fresh Fiction
“This is a masterpiece of storytelling. A sensual delight scattered with rose petals that are divinely arousing. Oh my, yes indeedy!”
Reader to Reader Reviews
Praise for Cheryl Holt’s “Lord Trent” trilogy
“A true guilty pleasure!”
Novels Alive TV
“LOVE’S PROMISE can’t take the number one spot as my favorite by Ms. Holt—that belongs to her book NICHOLAS—but it’s currently running a close second.”
Manic Readers
“The book was brilliant…can’t wait for Book #2.”
Harlie’s Book Reviews
“I guarantee you won’t want to put this one down. Holt’s fast-paced dialogue, paired with the emotional turmoil, will keep you turning the pages all the way to the end.”
Susana’s Parlour
“…A great love story populated with many flawed characters. Highly recommend it.”
Bookworm 2 Bookworm Reviews
BOOKS BY CHERYL HOLT
SCOUNDREL
HEART’S DEMAND
HEART’S DESIRE
HEART’S DELIGHT
WONDERFUL
WANTON
WICKED
SEDUCING THE GROOM
LOVE’S PERIL
LOVE’S PRICE
LOVE’S PROMISE
SWEET SURRENDER
THE WEDDING
MUD CREEK
MARRY ME
LOVE ME
KISS ME
SEDUCE ME
KNIGHT OF SEDUCTION
NICHOLAS
DREAMS OF DESIRE
TASTE OF TEMPTATION
PROMISE OF PLEASURE
SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL
DOUBLE FANTASY
FORBIDDEN FANTASY
SECRET FANTASY
TOO WICKED TO WED
TOO TEMPTING TO TOUCH
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
FURTHER THAN PASSION
DEEPER THAN DESIRE
MORE THAN SEDUCTION
COMPLETE ABANDON
ABSOLUTE PLEASURE
TOTAL SURRENDER
LOVE LESSONS
MOUNTAIN DREAMS
MY TRUE LOVE
MY ONLY LOVE
MEG’S SECRET ADMIRER
THE WAY OF THE HEART
ISBN: 9781483559858 (E-version)
ISBN: 9781517521912 (Print version)
Copyright 2015 by Cheryl Holt
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferrable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, 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 invented in the future, without the express written permission or the copyright holder.
Please Note
The reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
Thank you.
Cover Design Angela Waters
Interior e-format by Book Baby
