Beth’s eyes twinkled at him. “You shall have me, my love.”

  Tristan returned to the settee where Prudence sat, and settled beside her, capturing her hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers. “Christian, I am happy to report that the House for Retired Sailors has grown.” He looked at Beth. “Your husband is something of a philanthropist.”

  “Yes, he is,” Prudence said, smiling sweetly. “There are over seventy men housed there now.”

  “It would not be possible without you, Christian,” Tristan said.

  Christian shrugged. “All I do is send a bank draft every quarter. You and Prudence do all of the work.”

  Beth slipped an arm about Christian’s waist, leaning against him. “I had no idea you were a philanthropist, my love.”

  “Lord Westerville.” Everyone turned to find Reeves standing in the doorway, a coat in his hand. “You forgot a part of your raiment.”

  “Oh no,” Beth said. “You have wounded Reeves’s sensibilities.”

  “Yes, my lady. My sensibilities are indeed wounded.” Reeves came forward and assisted Christian into the coat. He gave the coat a final smoothing across one shoulder, stood back, then nodded. “Excellent. I feel better already. My lady, you have had a very positive influence over Lord Westerville. He has left the morbid world of Only Black behind and now embraces other colors of the spectrum.”

  Beth peeped up at Christian, a flash of a dimple tempting him to drop a kiss on her forehead. “I hope he is ready for my influence for many more years,” she murmured.

  Christian held her closer. “You influence my every breath, my love. And always will.”

  “Enough of that!” Tristan draped an arm around his wife. “Reeves, you have performed magic.”

  Reeves smiled at both couples. “The old earl would have been pleased.”

  Christian tilted Beth’s face to his. Ever so gently, he placed a kiss on her soft lips. Magic was what it was; the best kind of magic—true love.

  About the Author

  KAREN HAWKINS was raised in Tennessee, a member of a huge extended family that included her brother and sister, an adopted sister, numerous foster siblings and various exchange students. In order to escape the chaos (and whilst hiding when it was her turn to do the dishes), she would huddle under the comforter on her bed with a flashlight and a book, a habit she still embraces to this day. For more information about Karen, or pictures of her chasing a box of donuts while training for a road race, visit her at www.karenhawkins.com or write to her at Karen Hawkins, P.O. Box 5292, Kingsport, TN 37663-5292.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  By Karen Hawkins

  HER OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN

  HER MASTER AND COMMANDER

  LADY IN RED

  AND THE BRIDE WORE PLAID

  HOW TO TREAT A LADY

  CONFESSIONS OF A SCOUNDREL

  AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

  THE SEDUCTION OF SARA

  A BELATED BRIDE

  THE ABDUCTION OF JULIA

  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.

  HER OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN. Copyright © 2006 by Karen Hawkins. 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 February 2007 ISBN 9780061746673

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)

  Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900

  Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  10 East 53rd Street

  New York, NY 10022

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  By Karen Hawkins

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

 


 

  Karen Hawkins, Her Officer and Gentleman

 


 

 
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net

Share this book with friends