The Princess and the Peer
Read The Princess and the Peer Online
Authors: Tracy Anne Warren
Raves for the Novels
of Tracy Anne Warren
“An exceptionally entertaining Regency historical [that] offers readers a delectable combination of lushly elegant writing and lusciously sensual romance.”
—
Chicago Tribune
“Warren’s emotionally wrought protagonists are beautifully portrayed.”
—
Library Journal
“I loved this story! LOVED IT! Warren delivers exactly what I’m looking for in historical romance! Sexy and wildly emotional… should be on the top of all historical romance lovers’ to-be-read list.”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Warren is masterful at her craft, creating a story full of a rich story line, peopled with interesting, intriguing characters, [and] weaved with decadent seduction.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“Another top-notch read from Ms. Warren.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Warren crafts an unforgettable Regency in this compelling blend of bliss and angst.… True emotional ambrosia. Fabulous.”
—Reader to Reader Reviews
“Trumps most of the paranormal and contemporary romances that I’ve read—ever.… Engrossing… I didn’t put it down once.”
—The Eclectic Book Lover
“Another fabulous story…
Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed
is definitely remaining on my keeper shelf and is most assuredly one of my picks for a Selected Read.”
—Romance at Heart Magazine
“
Seduced by His Touch
is one book that I would never part with; it goes on my bookshelf with my other keeper novels, to be brought out and read while waiting for the next masterpiece from this author. Brilliant!”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“A terrific Regency romance.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“A rich book full of elegance, desire, and romance.… Tracy Anne Warren sketches a magnificent tale that grasps hold of the reader.… This is one impressive read that I will always remember.”
—Coffee Time Romance
“Readers are gifted with the awe-inspiring genius of Ms. Warren’s talents.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
“Warren’s wickedly wonderful and witty romances enchant readers and have made her a shining star.”
—
Romantic Times
(4½ stars, top pick)
RACY
A
NNE
W
ARREN
A SIGNET BOOK
SIGNET
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-101-58020-2
First Printing, April 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Tracy Anne Warren, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
Printed in the United States of America
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
For all those who dare to dream
Her Highness and the Highlander
The Scottish Highlands
September 1815
H
er Royal Highness Princess Emma of Rosewald stared at the letter held within her eighteen-year-old grasp, her fingers grown icy against the elegant cream-colored vellum. It was a lucky happenstance, she realized, that she’d seated herself in one of the school chairs in her small tower bedchamber before she’d broken open the thick red wax seal that bore her brother’s royal crest. Otherwise, she feared her knees would have given way and she’d presently be sprawled in an ignominious heap on the castle’s unforgiving stone floor.
“Well? What does it say?” her friend Mercedes asked from where she sat opposite, the words coming to Emma’s ears as if from a great distance.
“Obviously nothing good,” her friend Ariadne declared. “Can you not see she’s gone pale as a ghost?” Reaching across from where she too sat among their cozy group of three, Ariadne began chaffing Emma’s hands. The letter crinkled slightly beneath their joint touch. “Fetch the smelling salts, Mercedes. It won’t do to have her faint.”
Mercedes stood, the skirts of her pink silk day dress falling
into neat folds around her trim ankles. Emma had always secretly envied Mercedes’s pleasingly curvaceous figure, as Emma’s own frame was on the willowy side of slender. Mercedes’s rich sable hair was beautiful as well, a deep shade that provided a stark contrast to Ariadne’s reddish blond locks and Emma’s own shining golden tresses.
But Emma reached out to stop Mercedes. “No, stay where you are,” she said. “I am not an old woman. And I have no need of a restorative.”
Ariadne’s strawberry blond brows drew tight in obvious disagreement, her green eyes fierce behind the rectangular lenses of her spectacles. “No need? You look nearly ready to expire on the floor. Get the salts, Mercedes!”
“No!” Emma stated in a voice that rang with the authority of four centuries of royal command. “Do
not
fetch the salts.”
“But—” Mercedes sputtered.
“You know how I detest that foul-smelling brew,” Emma said, wrinkling her pert nose at the idea. “Truly, it is unnecessary. I was overset for a moment, I admit, but I have recovered now.”
She lifted her chin and met the concerned gazes of the two young women who were her closest friends at Countess Hortensia’s Academy for Elegant Young Ladies of Royal and Noble Birth. As princesses themselves living in a country far from their homelands, Mercedes and Ariadne had always understood her better than anyone else.
Emma gave them what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“So,” Mercedes pressed in a quiet tone, her chocolate brown eyes wide with worry, “what
does
the letter say?”
Emma opened her mouth to respond, but there were no words. Instead, she thrust the missive toward them.
Their two heads, one light and one dark, bent close to read.
“Oh, he cannot have done!” Mercedes exclaimed.
“It would appear that he has,” Ariadne stated condemningly, her bow-shaped lips pursed as she looked up once more. “Try as I might, Emma, I have never much cared for
your brother. This”—she shook the letter between two fingers as though it reeked of the refuse bin—“has in no way improved my opinion. Of all the cold, arrogant—”
“You know Rupert is under a great deal of strain these days,” Emma defended loyally, “what with the Congress of Vienna redrawing half the territorial boundaries of Europe. The countries with the most power are busy carving up weaker ones for their own benefit and eliminating scores of others. I am sure he has agreed to this only as a way of preserving the sovereignty of Rosewald.”