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    To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance)
    To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance)
    To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance)
    Ebook112 pages1 hour

    To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance)

    By Anne Marie Novark

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    About this ebook

    A Regency Novella

    As children, Arabella Trent and Gilbert St. John were best of friends. Wherever he led, she happily followed. Their friendship held fast until Gilbert went off to fight Napoleon and Bella stayed home. Years passed and their youthful camaraderie faded to pleasant memory.

    Now Gilbert is home from the wars and Bella needs his help. From the moment she climbs in his bedroom window, he knows he's in trouble. Can this beautiful desirable young lady be the same hoydenish friend from his childhood? Can Gilbert rescue Bella from her desperate circumstances even if it means . . . marriage?

    Excerpt:

    With both hands on the broad shoulders, Arabella shook with all her might. "Gilbert St. John! Wake up this instant!"

    Strong arms clasped around her middle and pulled her down on top of the hard body under the sheet. "I'm awake, love. How about a kiss?"

    She tried to push away. "Let go of me, you big oaf! You don't want to kiss me. I'm not one of your bits of muslin." She wiggled and pushed, and wiggled again.

    Gilbert grabbed hold of her wrists, and rolled over, reversing their positions. "Just one kiss. One kiss, love. That's all I want."
    Before she could protest, Arabella found herself being passionately kissed like she'd never been kissed in her whole life. Of course, she'd never actually been kissed at all. It was a sad reflection, really. She was twenty-two years old and practically on the shelf.
    She surrendered to the onslaught of Gilbert's kiss. Just a few seconds more, then she would call a halt. Maybe another second . . . the sensation was pleasurable. No, that didn't describe what she was feeling. She shouldn't be feeling anything, because this was Gilbert for goodness sakes. The pressure of his mouth on hers was making her melt inside. And a warmth in her stomach began to flame into something bigger, stronger . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnne Marie Novark
    Release dateMar 17, 2011
    ISBN9781458083937
    To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance)
    Author

    Anne Marie Novark

    Anne Marie is a Texas girl, born and raised. Romance is her passion. She loves to read and write about men and women falling in love, overcoming life’s obstacles, and living happily ever after. She writes spicy contemporary novels, usually involving a cowboy or two, as well as Regency historicals. Married to her high school sweetheart, Anne Marie and her husband spend their leisure time working (actually playing) in the yard and renovating their 1956 custom-built house on a one-acre lot in the middle of the city. They have two grown children, three white rabbits, two mischievous cats, and one sweet puppy dog.

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      Book preview

      To His Lady's Rescue (Historical Regency Romance) - Anne Marie Novark

      TO HIS LADY'S RESCUE

      A Damsels in Breeches Regency Novella

      by

      Anne Marie Novark

      ***

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      ***

      Anne Marie's Website

      Anne Marie's Facebook Page

      Sign up for Anne Marie's New Releases

      ***

      As children, Arabella Trent and Gilbert St. John were best of friends. Wherever he led, she happily followed. Their friendship held fast until Gilbert went off to fight Napoleon and Bella stayed home. Years passed and their youthful camaraderie faded to pleasant memory.

      Now Gilbert is home from the wars and Bella needs his help. From the moment she climbs in his bedroom window, he knows he's in trouble. Can this beautiful desirable young lady be the same hoydenish friend from his childhood? Can Gilbert rescue Bella from her desperate circumstances even if it means . . . marriage?

      ***

      To His Lady's Rescue

      Copyright © 2011 by Anne Marie Novark

      All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ***

      This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

      ***

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ***

      Dedication

      To everyone who enjoys a fun Regency Romp.

      ***

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Epilogue

      ***

      CHAPTER ONE

      Hampshire 1816

      Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Miss Arabella Trent was one desperate young lady.

      Perched on a branch of an ancient oak tree that stood on the south side of Cheney Manor, she tried frantically to pry open the third floor window. Leaning forward to get better leverage, her foot slipped, she lost her balance and started to fall. Quickly grabbing the branch she'd been standing on, she clung for dear life, her booted feet dangling in the air twenty feet above the ground.

      Don't look down!

      Arabella squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the rough bark scraping her palms. Her hands were slipping, and she knew she must hoist herself up again or tumble to her death. Climbing this tree and crawling through the bedroom window had been much easier when she'd been a child. But she was a child no longer, and that was the crux of her troubles.

      She gritted her teeth and swung herself back into a sitting position, straddling the branch. Thank goodness her old pair of breeches still fit. Her aunt had wanted to burn them, but Arabella had saved them from the rubbish pile and kept them hidden in a locked wooden box beneath her bed. One never knew when they would come in handy. And since climbing trees in skirts and petticoats was next to impossible, the breeches had indeed come in handy tonight.

      She sat on the branch and waited until her heart stopped pounding in her chest. Luckily, she hadn't screamed with fright when she'd fallen. If she woke the servants, all would be lost. The only one she intended to awaken was the lone occupant in the bedchamber behind that blasted window.

      The night was dark, and the stars twinkled brightly in the black sky up above. The moon smiled down upon her, but Arabella didn't smile back. With a deeply inhaled breath, she stood and balanced again on the branch. Sending up a silent prayer, she pushed open the window and climbed through. Her foot caught on the windowsill, and she toppled to the floor, landing with a loud thump. She froze in a crouched position, her breath lodged in her throat. No sound came from the big bed standing across the room. Heavy curtains were drawn around the massive bedposts. Goodness, she'd made enough noise to wake the dead. Surely, Gilbert had heard. What if he wasn't in his bed? What if he'd moved into his father's bedchamber now that he was the new earl? What would she do then?

      Arabella picked herself up off the floor and tiptoed toward the bed. She parted the curtains and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the man sleeping so peacefully. He had changed a lot since she'd last seen him, though she shouldn't be surprised; it had been ten years after all. She had changed, too, in many, many ways.

      The moonlight cast its silvery light through the window. Arabella stared at Gilbert. The friend of her youth had grown and matured, leaving his boyhood behind, yet she would have known him anywhere. He had the same dark hair and those indecently long lashes she had always envied. His aquiline nose befitted his aristocratic heritage. His chin bore the same dimple, but his neck was thicker, stronger than when he'd been a boy. His bare shoulders were muscular, as was his chest. There was a lot of smooth bare skin exposed, making her insides toss about in a most disturbing manner.

      Well, she couldn't stand here all night gaping at him. A sleeping Gilbert was no use to her. No use, at all. Still, she hesitated before gingerly leaning a knee on the bed to shake one of those bare muscular shoulders.

      Gilbert! she whispered loudly, shaking him again and again, her fingers burning against his skin. Gilbert, do wake up! It's me, Bella!

      Gilbert didn't so much as open an eye, only groaned and shifted, turning over onto his side, taking most of the bed sheet with him. Arabella's breath hitched at the sight of long hairy legs. Goodness, was Gilbert actually naked under that sheet? She'd lived a sheltered life with her aunt and uncle. Who would have guessed some men slept without a nightshirt?

      All of this was beside the point. It had absolutely nothing to do with the horrendous circumstances that had made her flee the only home she'd ever known.

      Arabella frowned and shook Gilbert again. He turned onto his back and began to snore. This would never do. She climbed on the bed and knelt closer. Whiskey fumes wafted to her nose. Drat! You would be foxed this night of all nights, when I desperately need your help.

      Not foxed, love, Gilbert mumbled. Only a trifle disguised.

      With both hands on the broad shoulders, Arabella shook with all her might. Gilbert St. John! Wake up this instant!

      Strong arms clasped around her middle and pulled her down on top of the hard body under the sheet. I'm awake, love. How about a kiss?

      She tried to push away. Let go of me, you big oaf! You don't want to kiss me. I'm not one of your bits of muslin. She wiggled and pushed, and wiggled again.

      Gilbert grabbed hold of her wrists, and rolled over, reversing their positions. Now Arabella felt the heavy pressure of his male body pressing her into the mattress. She started struggling to free herself. "Gilbert, it's Bella. Wake up. Don't do this,

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