Unshed tears stung her eyes. The sunlight pouring through the east windows only served to underscore the genteel shabbiness of the drawing room. The petit-point roses embroidered on the settee cushions had long ago faded to a watery pink. An unsightly mildew stain marred the plaster frieze over the door, while a moldy stack of leather-bound books was being used to prop up one of the broken legs of the rosewood pianoforte. Arden Manor might be a humble country house that reflected only a shadow of its former glory, but to them it was home.
The only home any of them had known since they’d lost their parents over seven years ago.
Slowly becoming aware that her brother’s and sister’s dejected faces mirrored her own, Laura rose, forcing a smile. “There’s no need for such long faces. We’ve an entire month before this Lord Devil arrives.”
“But we’ve only a little over three weeks before your birthday,” George reminded her.
Laura nodded. “I realize the situation seems hopeless, but we must always remember what Papa taught us—through prayer and persistence, the good Lord will provide.”
“What should we tell Him to send us?” Lottie asked eagerly, bouncing to her knees.
Laura pondered her answer for a long moment, her pious demeanor at odds with the determined gleam in her eye. “A man.”
This edition contains the complete text
of the original hardcover edition.
NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED.
The Bride and the Beast
A Bantam Book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition published June 2000
Bantam mass market edition/April 2001
All rights reserved.
Cover art copyright © 2001 by Alan Ayers.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00–023707.
eISBN: 978-0-307-48251-8
v3.0
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Part I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Part II
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
About the Author
Copyright