The Legend of Lyon Redmond (30 page)

She smiled slightly. She knew precisely why he'd said that.

They allowed the word “tension” to simmer there in silence.

“Thank you,” she said finally.

When he smiled slightly a dimple winked briefly at the corner of his mouth. That dimple was more perfect than anything Postlethwaite's had ever stocked.

“My old school chum, Geoff Hawthorne, owns the Pig & Thistle, just a bit up the road,” he said. “They have a splendid antique Rowlandson print of Lyon Redmond simmering in a pot presided over by two cannibals. If you're hungry.”

She laughed, and then he laughed at himself when he realized how that had sounded.

“Sounds wonderful,” she told him.

“Don't worry. I'm fairly certain there aren't any cannibals in your bloodline. Though Miles Redmond was nearly eaten by one.”

He nudged up the kickstand of his motorcycle with the toe of a well-worn boot. He walked the bike gently, as though it were a beloved pet. She approved.

She fell into silent stride next to him.

“Speaking of rogues,” he said suddenly, “did you know your Great-Great-Great-Uncle Colin Eversea escaped from the gallows?”

“No!”

“Oh, yes. There's even a song about him,” Malcolm said. “And you wouldn't believe the number of verses it has now.”

THE END

USA Today
bestselling author
JULIE ANNE LONG
originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up (and she has the guitars and fringed clothing stuffed in the back of her closet to prove it), but writing was always her first love. Since hanging up her guitar for the computer keyboard, Julie has penned books that frequently top reader and critic polls and have been nominated for numerous awards, including the RITA®,
Romantic Times
Reviewer's Choice, and the Quill, and reviewers have been known to use words like “dazzling,” “brilliant,” and “impossible to put down” when describing them. Julie lives in Northern California.

Visit Julie at
www.julieannelong.com,www.facebook.com/AuthorJulieAnneLong

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

T
HE
L
EGEND OF
L
YON
R
EDMOND

I
T
S
TARTED WITH A
S
CANDAL

B
ETWEEN THE
D
EVIL AND
I
AN
E
VERSEA

I
T
H
APPENED
O
NE
M
IDNIGHT

A N
OTORIOUS
C
OUNTESS
C
ONFESSES

H
OW THE
M
ARQUESS
W
AS
W
ON

W
HAT I
D
ID FOR A
D
UKE

I K
ISSED AN
E
ARL

S
INCE THE
S
URRENDER

L
IKE
N
O
O
THER
L
OVER

T
HE
P
ERILS OF
P
LEASURE

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE LEGEND OF LYON REDMOND
. Copyright © 2015 by Julie Anne Long. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition OCTOBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062334879

Printed Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-233485-5

FIRST EDITION

10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1