The Wager. Sally Cheney

      Table of Contents

       Cover

       Excerpt

       Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About The Author

       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

       Copyright

      “I have given you my soul.

      “Will you not give me anything in return?” Desmond murmured.

      

      “I will play you a game of cards for it,” Marianne replied. “If you win, you may have me. I will come to your bed, willingly, wearing nothing but a smile of invitation. There will be no damnable tears.”

      

      “And if you win?” he asked. “I get Kingsbrook.”

      

      There was a stunned silence. One could almost see the workings in Desmond’s head as he tried to collect his faculties.

      

      “You would get Kingsbrook?” he finally asked, very slowly and carefully.

      

      “Or you would get me,” Marianne said. Desmond narrowed his eyelids and appeared to be considering very seriously. “You value yourself very highly, Miss Trenton, to put your worth equivalent to this grand estate.”

      

      “Rather, Mr. Desmond,” the girl said coolly, “it is a question of how highly you value me…!”

      Dear Reader,

      

      This month, author Sally Cheney returns with her fifth historical for Harlequin, The Wager. Known for her ability to capture the flavor of 19th-century England, the author’s new title tells the story of a young woman who sets out to destroy the man who won her in a card game, only to fall in love with him in the process. We hope you enjoy it.

      Beloved Outcast by Pat Tracy is a dramatic Western about an Eastern spinster who is hired by a man with a notorious reputation to tutor his adopted daughter. Affaire de Coeur recently labeled Pat as “one author definitely worth watching,” and we hope you agree. This talented author just keeps getting better and better.

      Whether writing atmospheric Medievals or sexy Regencies, Deborah Simmons continues to delight readers. In this month’s Maiden Bride, the sequel to The Devil’s Lady, Nicholas de Laci transfers his blood lust to his enemy’s niece, Gillian, his future wife by royal decree. And fans of Romantic Times Career Achievement Award winner Veronica Sattler will be thrilled to see this month’s reissue of her Worldwide Library release, Jesse’s Lady. We hope you’ll enjoy this exciting story of a young heiress and her handsome guardian.

      We hope you’ll keep a lookout for all four titles wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold.

      

      Sincerely,

      

      Tracy Farrell

      Senior Editor

      Please address questions and book requests to:

      Harlequin Reader Service

      U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

      Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

      The Wager

      Sally Cheney

      

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

       SALLY CHENEY

      was a bookstore owner before coming to her first love—writing. She has traveled extensively in the United States, but is happiest with the peaceful rural life in her home state of Idaho. When she is not writing, she is active in community affairs and enjoys cooking and gardening.

      To Ursula, in appreciation for her invaluable input

       Prologue