Authors: Once a Gentleman

Candice Hern (25 page)

“Because we love each other.”

“Yes.”

He held her tight once again, then released her. “But there is one more thing. Something I did with
my
money before I made it
our
money.” He took her hand, removed the kid glove, and slipped off
her finger the ribbon-wrapped signet ring she had continued to wear, even after she’d left him. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a new ring. A beautiful sapphire set in gold.

“Our marriage had a rather inauspicious beginning,” he said, “but I am hoping we can make a fresh start. And this ring will be the symbol of a new love and life together.”

He slid the ring onto her finger and lifted her hand to his lips. “A real ring this time. And a real love match, too. I love you, Mrs. Parrish.”

“And I love you, Mr. Parrish.”

Pedestrians clucked and tsked, or smiled indulgently as they were forced to walk around the shameless young couple making such a spectacle of themselves on a public street in broad daylight.

About the Author

CANDICE HERN has always enjoyed escaping into the history and literature of Regency England. After years of re-reading the novels of Jane Austen and other women of the period, she by chance discovered the great Georgette Heyer—and all her contemporary stepchildren—and was instantly hooked.

Candice lives in San Francisco in a house cluttered with African violets, orchids, Regency-period antiques, and mountains of reference books. She loves to hear from readers, and may be contacted via email at
[email protected],
or the old-fashioned way at PO Box 31499, San Francisco, CA 94131. Visit her website at
www.candicehern.com.

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Copyright

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.

ONCE A GENTLEMAN
. Copyright © 2004 by Candice Hern. 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.

ePub edition June 2007 ISBN 9780061751158

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