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Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Epilogue
Lady Shalan Kiley lifted the hem of her dress and with trepidation born of futility tiptoed into the great hall. Bearing on her mind for days, she had finally found the courage to face her father with her proposal, but there was little hope that he would pay heed to her request. There was a small chance that her papa would allow this one good turn that she so desperately desired, but not much of one. She asked her father for very little, but this matter was especially important to her.
Shalan stepped quietly into the library so as not to disturb her father if he were terribly busy. Staring at her papa reading one of a few missives he had evidently just received, she politely coughed to let him know she had entered the room. Looking up with his customary smile when he laid eyes upon his daughter, the missive he had been perusing was put aside.
.....
A knock at her door had her scurrying to open it. A downstairs maid, Mazie, stood waiting and then curtseyed, handing her a folded note. She thanked the girl, and wondered where her own Addie was, and why she was not preparing her attire for the trip she was to undertake on the morrow.
Opening the single sheet of paper, she walked closer to the window, as it was a cloudy day, and very little light shone into the room. A quick perusal had her smiling and nearly jumping for joy. Oh, thank the good Lord! The note was from her father and the despicable trip had been postponed. It seemed Lord Haloran had been called away quite suddenly, but when he returned there was to be a social gathering at Haloran Hall, and he would meet all of his neighbors at that time. Meaning, of course, those with marriageable age daughters, Shalan figured.
.....