My Lady's Trust. Julia Justiss

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      “I owe you a debt I can never repay.”

      “Were it in my power, I’d go to the ends of the earth to grant you your heart’s desire.” He smiled, his face lightening. “Now what, I wonder, would such a calm and quiet lady desire most in the world?”

      Freedom from fear. The thought flashed into her head on a stab of longing. “M-my needs are few, my lord. I’m quite content.”

      The earl chuckled. “A lady with no demands? What an extraordinary creature!”

      “Not at all. Alas, I’m entirely ordinary.”

      The wryness of her rejoinder faded, replaced by a curious mingling of alarm and anticipation as the earl stepped closer. She stood motionless, breath suspended. She could not make herself look away.

      “No, my lady,” he said after a long moment. “Though you may be many things, ‘ordinary’ is certainly not one of them…!”

      Praise for Julia Justiss’s previous works

      The Proper Wife

      “Justiss is a promising new talent and readers will devour her tantalizing tale with gusto.”

      —Publishers Weekly

      The Wedding Gamble

      “A scintillating, thoroughly engaging, love story!”

      —Romantic Times Magazine

      “This is a fast-paced story that will leave you wanting more…you won’t want to put it down!”

      —Newandusedbooks.com

      A Scandalous Proposal

      “Ms. Justiss’s writing style makes it impossible to put this delightful tale down.”

      —Rendezvous

      “Ms. Justiss captures the essence of the Regency period….A compelling, satisfying read.”

      —Romantic Times Magazine

      #592 CALL OF THE WHITE WOLF

      Carol Finch

      #593 DRAGON’S DOWER

      Catherine Archer

      #594 GOLD RUSH BRIDE

      Debra Lee Brown

      My Lady’s Trust

      Julia Justiss

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      Available from Harlequin Historicals and

      JULIA JUSTISS

      The Wedding Gamble #464

      A Scandalous Proposal #532

      The Proper Wife #567

      My Lady’s Trust #591

      In memory of fellow writer

      Nancy Richards-Akers

      shot to death by her estranged husband

      June 1999

      and to all women caught in domestic abuse.

      Get help. Get out.

      Your children need you.

      Contents

       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

      Prologue

      Soundlessly Laura crept through the dark hall. Having rehearsed—and used—the route before, she knew every carpet, chair and cupboard in the passageway, each twist of the twenty-nine steps down the servants’ stair to the back door. Even were their old butler Hobbins and his wife not snoring in their room just off the corridor, the winter storm howling through the chimneys and rattling the shutters would cover the slight rustle of her movements.

      Just once she halted in her stealthy passage, outside the silent nursery. Leaning toward the door, she could almost catch a whiff of baby skin, feel the softness of flannel bunting, see the bright eyes and small waving hands. A bitter bleakness pierced her heart, beside whose chill the icy needles being hurled against the windows were mild as summer rain, and her step staggered.

      She