Authors: Olivia Parker

To Wed a Wicked Earl (32 page)

“And in the beyond,” Charlotte mouthed for Rothbury’s eyes only.

“And in the beyond,” Rothbury softly repeated, to the delight of the wedding guests assembled on the south lawn.

Standing before the ironwork arbor, now heavy with ivy and honeysuckle blooms, he held up the ring his grandmother purchased from the blacksmith along with the one he purchased himself in Town—a sparkling sapphire between diamonds.

“I give you this ring in God’s name, as a symbol of my promise, and all that we share,” he said, letting the power of the love he felt for his wife sparkle in his eyes just as brightly and as precious as the stones of the ring dazzling in the sunlight.

“In the presence of God and all these witnesses,
I
…”

In a chair off to the side of the couple sat a very smug-looking Louisette, who turned to her companion, Miss Drake, and muttered, in perfect English, “See. I told you I would get that boy to the altar eventually. All I had to do was pretend I was a loon.”

Acknowledgments

My love and gratitude to my entire family, including Diane next door, and to my friends of the NEORWA, and anyone else who listened with even half an ear to all my fears, doubts, and marathon babbling sessions.

About the Author

At eight years old,
OLIVIA PARKER
wrote her first romance with a fat red marker. It made one’s eyes hurt to read it, but it did have a tortured hero. Since then, she’s dedicated her efforts to improving her craft (now using pencils) and divides her time among her love of writing, reading, and relaxing with her family. She currently resides in northern Ohio with her husband, three children, a border collie, and a cockatiel, who eats a worrisome amount of popcorn. Olivia would love to hear from readers, who may contact her through her website at
www.oliviaparker.net
.

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Romances by
Olivia Parker

TO WED A WICKED EARL

AT THE BRIDE HUNT BALL

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.

TO WED A WICKED EARL. Copyright © 2009 by Tracy Ann Parker. 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.

Adobe Digital Edition July 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-190531-5

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