PRAISE FOR ANNE GRACIE AND HER NOVELS
“The always terrific Anne Gracie outdoes herself with Bride by Mistake . . . Gracie created two great characters, a high-tension relationship and a wonderfully satisfying ending. Not to be missed!”
—New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney
“A fascinating twist on the girl-in-disguise plot . . . With its wildly romantic last chapter, this novel is a great antidote to the end of the summer.”
—New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James
“With her signature superbly nuanced characters, subtle sense of wit and richly emotional writing, Gracie puts her distinctive stamp on a classic Regency plot.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Anne Gracie’s writing dances that thin line between always familiar and always fresh . . . The Accidental Wedding is warm and sweet, tempered with bursts of piquancy and a dash or three of spice.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Threaded with charm and humor . . . [An] action-rich, emotionally compelling story . . . It is sure to entice readers.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Another [of] Ms. Gracie’s character-rich, fiery tales filled with emotion and passion leavened by charm and wit.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“The main characters are vibrant and complex . . . The author’s skill as a storyteller makes this well worth reading.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Titles by Anne Gracie
Merridew Sisters
THE PERFECT RAKE
THE PERFECT WALTZ
THE PERFECT STRANGER
THE PERFECT KISS
Devil Riders
THE STOLEN PRINCESS
HIS CAPTIVE LADY
TO CATCH A BRIDE
THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING
BRIDE BY MISTAKE
Chance Sisters
THE AUTUMN BRIDE
THE WINTER BRIDE
THE SPRING BRIDE
THE SUMMER BRIDE
Marriage of Convenience
MARRY IN HASTE
MARRY IN SCANDAL
A JOVE BOOK
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2018 by Anne Gracie
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
A JOVE BOOK and BERKLEY are registered trademarks and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Ebook ISBN: 9780698411647
First Edition: April 2018
Cover design © Sarah Oberrender
Cover art © Judy York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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To all those doing battle with reading disabilities, including the many I’ve taught over the years in adult literacy classes. Bet you never thought you’d have a book dedicated to you, did you?
Contents
Praise for Anne Gracie and Her Novels
Titles by Anne Gracie
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Epilogue
About the Author
Prologue
“I can never be important to any one.”
“What is to prevent you?”
“Everything—my situation—my foolishness and awkwardness.”
—JANE AUSTEN, MANSFIELD PARK
Ashendon Court, Oxfordshire, 1811
“What do you mean, the child is unteachable?” Lily Rutherford’s father, Lord Ashendon, narrowed his cold gray eyes at the governess standing stiffly before him. He spoke quietly, but that silky tone was the prelude to a temper his children had learned to fear.
Lily stood by her father’s desk, her back straight, her head high, biting down hard on her quivering lower lip. Showing fear in front of Papa was fatal. Rutherfords feared nothing.
Her sister, Rose, was the fearless kind of Rutherford—she waited just beyond the door, listening illicitly. Rose was supposed to be upstairs in the schoolroom, doing her lessons, but she’d whispered, “Don’t worry, Lily, I’ll protect you,” when the summons came.
Miss Glass, the governess, stood quite calmly before Papa. She’d given her notice after just two weeks, weeks that for Lily had been almost worse than those when Mama was dying. A week of tests and tears and punishment. Then more tests. And more punishments. And more tears.
“I will not waste my time on a child who cannot even read. I have standards. And I won’t take responsibility for this child’s failure to learn.”
Papa snorted. “Of course she can read. She’s what, ten, isn’t she?”
Eleven, nearly twelve, Lily thought, but she wasn’t about to contradict him. Nobody contradicted Papa, especially when his temper was roused. Her hands were shaking. She hid them in the folds of her black dress. Black for mourning, black for Mama.
“My late wife taught both the girls. She never mentioned any problem with Lily.”
Miss Glass gave a slight shrug. “I cannot help that. Lady Rose is well enough, skilled in all the ladylike arts, though she has a tendency to be careless with her embroidery and—”
Thump! Papa slammed a fist on his desk. “I don’t care about embroidery, and we’re not discussing Rose! It’s Lily we’re talking about.”
“Lady Lily is illiterate.” Miss Glass enunciated every syllable, almost with relish. Il-lit-er-ate. She’d made Lily copy it out a hundred times. Along with words like ig-nor-ant, un-ed-u-cat-ed and un-lett-ered.
Lily’s insides shriveled.
All this time, Mama and Lily and Rose had kept her shameful inability a secret, hidden from Papa. But Mama was dead, and this tall, terrifying governess had come to take her place, this woman with her lists and tests, and her pale goatish eyes and the whippy little cane that she used on slow pupils—on Lily—the better to learn her lessons.
And now this, in front of Papa. A different kind of flaying, exposing Lily to her father, like a scientific specimen Lily had seen in a display once. Exposed, defenseless, mortified.
“Are you saying she is lazy?”
“She is obedient enough and strives to please, but she is unteachable. She cannot read, she cannot do simple sums, and she consistently mixes up her left from her right. As I said, Lady Lily is illiterate and nothing I have tried has made any difference.”
“Illiterate? Nonsense! Come here, Lily!” Papa pulled Lily to him. He seized a book from his desk and opened it at random. “Read that.” He waited.
Lily stared hard at the page, a lump lodged thick in her throat, searching for even one word she recognized. But as always, the letters seemed to slide under
