The Secret Love of a Gentleman
Pure, unadulterated romance. Best Chick Lit.comThe next book in Jane Lark's Kindle best-selling Regency romance series!
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HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2015
Copyright © Jane Lark 2015
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Cover design by Zoe Jackson
Jane Lark asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
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hereinafter invented, without the express
written permission of HarperCollins.
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
Ebook Edition © August 2015 ISBN: 9780008135362
Version 2015-09-11
'Jane Lark has an incredible talent to draw the reader in from the first page onwards'
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'Jane Lark writes soulful romance'
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'Every single book in this series is wonderful'
Literati Literature Lovers
'The book swings from truly swoon-worthy, tense and heart wrenching, highly erotic and everything else in between'
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'Beautifully descriptive, emotional and can I say, just plain delicious reading?'
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'Any description that I give you would not only spoil the story but could not give this book a tenth of the justice that it deserves. Wonderful!'
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Contents
Life is cruel.
A piercing pain struck Caroline’s jaw as the sharp edge of Albert’s signet ring cut her skin. Her head snapped back and her gaze left the blue of her husband’s eyes. He was a villain, this man she loved.
Her hand lifted to protect her face from another blow while she grasped the back of a chair to stop herself from falling. “Please. No. I did nothing wrong.”
“Nothing…” He growled at her through teeth gritted in bitter anger.
His hand lifted again.
She covered her face with both hands, to avoid the next strike. It hit her across the side of her head, a hard slap. Tears flooded her eyes as she fell.
“What have I done?” Caro cried, her hands gripping her head and her body curling on the wooden floor into a position that sought to protect, and yet it was childlike. She longed for comfort, for kindness
“Lived, while my son died!” The accusation rang about her bedchamber. A curse. She was cursed. She could not carry a child, could not give him the heir he needed. He leaned over her, every muscle in his body taut with accusation.
She loved him, regardless.
He hated her.
“Your doctor spoke to me today. He believes you may never bear a child. He believes your womb is damaged.”
Caro swallowed back the tears catching in her throat. She knew. She had been told. Yet did it justify such brutality and bitter hatred? He hates me, and I have always loved him…
There was nothing to say in her defence. She had lost another child, his child, and she might never be able to carry an infant full-term. Tears flooded her eyes. How many times? How many children? How long could she endure this?
“I need a son! Give me a son, Caro! That is all I ask. You are capable of conceiving, you must be capable of giving birth!”
She lifted a hand so she could look at him. His gaze softened.
His eyes were like azure stones, an entrancing blue. Even in his vicious moods, when he was cold and callous, she still saw the man she’d married, the man who’d given her months of happiness and hope.
But each time he behaved like this, a little more of her hope died.
He turned away and walked across the room.
How could she love and hate the same man? How could she love a man who terrified her?
She struggled to her feet. “I am trying to give you a son.” Yet she no longer believed she could. She had lost five children.
