When their hearts had calmed, when Joseph leaned away to blow out the single remaining candle, Chrystabel sighed. “I’ll miss you.”
“Where are you going?” The words vibrated against her throat where he’d settled back into her arms.
“I’m thinking to take Rose to court at Windsor. With your permission, of course,” she rushed to add, knowing he would never deny her.
“Court? Do you expect that’s wise? The men there—”
“I’ll watch her like a hawk. And rest assured, there’s not a man at court I want for Rose. She belongs with Kit Martyn. He’s at Windsor as we sleep, checking on a project—”
“Kit Martyn? Chrysanthemum my love, I know you fancy yourself a matchmaker, but Rose has shown no interest—”
“Which is exactly why he’s the perfect man for her.”
Joseph lifted his head and searched her eyes in the dim, flickering light from the fire. “Come again?”
“You know how she is. As soon as she sets her sights on a man, the act begins. The flirting. The flattering. Don’t you see? She has a much better chance of winning a man she thinks she doesn’t want. With Kit she’ll be herself. Charming, intelligent, sharp-witted….why, he cannot fail but fall in love with her.”
“I suspect he’s taken with her already,” Joseph said dryly. “But what good will that do if she doesn’t fall for him? We’ve promised her she can choose her own husband.”
“Making her fall,” Chrystabel said, “will be Kit’s problem, and I’ve no doubt he’s up to the task. I need only provide the opportunity.”
“You cannot push, Chrysanthemum.”
Her laugh tinkled through the darkness. “I would never. I know full well our daughters pledged to avoid me arranging their marriages. Yet I managed to match both Violet and Lily without either being the wiser, didn’t I? Have no fear, darling—Rose’s romance will follow suit. And she’ll have no idea I was behind it.”
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I decided to become a writer at the age of eight, after winning a “Why My Mother is the Greatest” essay contest and having my entry published in a major newspaper. Seeing my words in print was a thrill! But everyone told me it's too hard for novelists to get published, so after college I spent fourteen years as the CEO of my own jewelry store chain before writing my first book. A mistake? Maybe…but my first heroine, Amethyst, was a jeweler, so at least I took advantage of that wise old saying, “Write what you know.” And I learned a good lesson: Don't let other people tell you what you can or can't do!
I write humorous historical romance mostly set in England and Scotland in the 17th and 19th centuries (Restoration and Regency periods). I've been oh-so-lucky to see my books hit bestseller lists all over the world, including the New York Times and USA Today lists, making this second career a real dream come true. I live in Southern California with my family and our constantly shedding cat, and I still think my mother is the greatest!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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LILY by Lauren Royal - Author’s Cut Edition
Published by Novelty Books, a division of Novelty Publishers, LLC
205 Avenida Del Mar #275, San Clemente, CA 92674
Originally published in paperback by Penguin Putnam Inc.
COPYRIGHT © Lauren Royal 2003, 2012
ISBN 978-1-938907-06-7
12th Edition, January 2018
Cover by Kimberly Killion
Book Design by Typesetter For Mac
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever, electronically, in print, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of both Lauren Royal and Novelty Books, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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