The Scent of Jasmine Read online

  “A master storyteller” (The Literary Times), Jude Deveraux creates a wonderful world of family ties and small-town secrets in these unforgettable New York Times bestsellers!

  Days of Gold

  “Deveraux has a sure hand evoking plucky heroines, dastardly villains, and irresistible heroes, as well as a well-rounded supporting cast. . . . The pace moves quickly and the romance sparks with enough voltage to keep readers turning pages.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Lavender Morning

  “Sweet and salty characters . . . entertaining . . . one of her most fun and pleasing tales.”

  —Booklist

  “A fabulous family drama filled with twists.”

  —The Best Reviews

  “Deveraux once again delivers. . . . Readers will find it hard to resist the charms of Edilean, the manor house, the town, the woman of many secrets, and, of course, the series to come.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Quick dialogue, interesting settings, and plot twists.”

  —Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, UT)

  The Scent of Jasmine is also available as an eBook

  “Deveraux’s touch is gold” (Publishers Weekly) in all of her “exquisite and enchanting” (BookPage) novels . . . read them again and again!

  Secrets

  “A sweet love story filled with twists and turns.”

  —Booklist

  “The deceptions will keep readers trying to guess the next plot twist.”

  —Romantic Times

  Someone to Love

  “Fabulous. . . . Fast-paced. . . . Delightful paranormal romantic suspense.”

  —Harriet Klausner

  Have you ever wanted to rewrite your past?

  Get swept away in the magic of

  The Summerhouse and

  Return to Summerhouse

  “Marvelously compelling. . . . Deeply satisfying.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  “Entertaining summer reading.”

  —The Port St. Lucie News (FL)

  First Impressions

  “An adventurous tale spiced with both humor and danger.”

  —Romantic Times Book Club

  Jude Deveraux “instinctively knows what every woman is searching for—her own knight in shining armor” (Romantic Times magazine)

  Savor her wonderful trilogy

  Forever . . . Forever and Always Always “Bewitching. . . . High-spirited. . . . Irresistibly eerie, yet decidedly a love story.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “An intriguing paranormal tale . . . a delightful otherworldly fantasy.”

  —Thebestreviews.com

  “Cannot be put down until the last word is read. . . . Truly amazing.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “[A] modern fairy tale. . . . This is Deveraux at her most pleasurable.”

  —Booklist

  Wild Orchids

  “[Deveraux] does a superb job of building up to her chilling conclusion.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  The Mulberry Tree

  “Mystery, romance, and good cooking converge. . . .”

  —People

  “Any novel by Jude Deveraux is just plain fun to read, and she keeps readers on the edge of their seats.”

  —The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

  BOOKS BY JUDE DEVERAUX

  The Velvet Promise

  Highland Velvet

  Velvet Song

  Velvet Angel

  Sweetbriar

  Counterfeit Lady

  Lost Lady

  River Lady

  Twin of Fire

  Twin of Ice

  The Temptress

  The Raider

  The Princess

  The Awakening

  The Maiden

  The Taming

  The Conquest

  A Knight in Shining Armor

  Holly

  Wishes

  The Mountain Laurel

  The Duchess

  Eternity

  Sweet Liar

  The Invitation

  Remembrance

  The Heiress

  Legend

  An Angel for Emily

  The Blessing

  High Tide

  Temptation

  The Summerhouse

  The Mulberry Tree

  Forever . . .

  Wild Orchids

  Forever and Always

  Always

  First Impressions

  Carolina Isle

  Someone to Love

  Secrets

  Return to Summerhouse

  Lavender Morning

  Days of Gold

  Scarlet Nights

  Pocket Books

  A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2011 by Deveraux, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  First Pocket Books paperback edition January 2011

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Cover illustration by Melody Cassen

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ISBN 978-0-7434-7902-8

  ISBN 978-1-4391-6896-7 (ebook)

  One

  Charleston, South Carolina, 1799

  “Think about the Highlands,” T.C. Connor said to his goddaughter, Cay. “Think about your father’s homeland, of the people there. He was the laird, so that means you’re the laird’s daughter, which means—”

  “Do you think my father would want me to do what you’re asking of me?” Cay asked, her thick-lashed eyes smiling at him.

  T.C. lay on his bed with a splint from his knee to his hip. He’d broken his leg just hours before and grimaced from pain at the slightest movement, but he gave Cay a weak smile. “If your father knew what I was asking of his precious daughter, he’d tie me to a wagon and drag me across a couple of mountains.”

  “I’ll go,” Hope said from the other side of the bed. “I’ll take a carriage and—”

  T.C. put his hand over hers and looked at her fondly. Hope was the only child of Bathsheba and Isaac Chapman. Her beautiful young mother had died years before, while her grumpy, unpleaseable old father lingered on. T.C. Connor claimed he was just “a friend of the family,” but Cay had heard whispers among the women that there had been more between Bathsheba and T.C. than just friendship. It was even whispered that T.C. could possibly be Hope’s father.

  “That’s very kind of you to offer, dear, but . . .” He trailed off, not wanting to state the obvious. Hope had been raised in a city and she’d never been on the back of a horse. She traveled only in carriages. And, also, she’d fallen down a staircase when she was three and her left leg had healed incorrectly. Under her long skirts she wore a shoe with a two-inch-thick