The Girl From Summer Hill Read online

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

  Copyright © 2016 by Deveraux, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  BALLANTINE and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Names: Deveraux, Jude, author.

  Title: The girl from Summer Hill : a Summer Hill novel /

  Jude Deveraux.

  Description: New York : Ballantine Books, [2016] |

  Series: Summer Hill ; 1

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016001417 (print) |

  LCCN 2016005991 (ebook) |

  ISBN 9781101883266 (hardcover : acid-free paper) |

  ISBN 9781101883273 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Man-woman relationships—Fiction. |

  BISAC: FICTION / Romance / Contemporary. |

  FICTION / Contemporary Women. | FICTION /

  Action & Adventure. | GSAFD: Love stories.

  Classification: LCC PS3554.E9273 G57 2016 (print) |

  LCC PS3554.E9273 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/​2016001417

  eBook ISBN 9781101883273

  randomhousebooks.com

  Book design by Diane Hobbing, adapted for ebook

  Cover design: Lynn Andreozzi

  Cover photograph: Maja/Image Brief

  v4.1

  ep

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Act One, Scene One: Mr. Darcy Is Revealed

  Act One, Scene Two: Elizabeth Doesn’t Tempt Darcy

  Act One, Scene Three: Bingley Defends Darcy

  Act One, Scene Four: Bingley Meets Jane

  Act One, Scene Five: Lydia Shows Her True Nature

  Act One, Scene Six: Darcy’s Pride Suffers

  Act One, Scene Seven: Georgiana Persuades Her Brother

  Act One, Scene Eight: Darcy Runs Afowl of Lizzy

  Act One, Scene Nine: Lizzy’s Impression of Darcy Is Not Sweet

  Act One, Scene Ten: Darcy’s World Is Challenged

  Act One, Scene Eleven: Mrs. Bennet Reveals Herself

  Act One, Scene Twelve: Darcy Takes the Stage

  Act One, Scene Thirteen: Wickham Makes Himself Known

  Act One, Scene Fourteen: Lizzy and Darcy Dance

  Act One, Scene Fifteen: Lizzy and Bingley Differ in Perception and Knowledge

  Act One, Scene Sixteen: Darcy Defends Himself

  Act One, Scene Seventeen: Mrs. Bennet Is Concerned

  Act One, Scene Eighteen: Mrs. Bennet Understands Darcy

  Act One, Scene Nineteen: Darcy and Lizzy Dance Some More

  Act One, Scene Twenty: Lizzy Confides

  Act One, Scene Twenty-one: Mr. Bennet Is Disappointed

  Act One, Scene Twenty-two: Wickham Apologizes?

  Act One, Scene Twenty-three: Darcy and Lizzy Do a Long, Slow Dance

  Act One, Scene Twenty-four: Jane Bennet Is Exposed

  Act One, Scene Twenty-five: Darcy’s Dancing Gets Dirty

  Act Two, Scene One: Darcy Feels; Lizzy Sees

  Act Two, Scene Two: Wickham Sweetens the Pie

  Act Two, Scene Three: Wickham Tells All

  Act Two, Scene Four: Lizzy Follows Her Heart

  Act Two, Scene Five: Mrs. Bennet Tells of the Past

  Act Two, Scene Six: Lizzy Makes a Decision

  Act Two, Scene Seven: Darcy Doubts

  Act Two, Scene Eight: Lizzy Begins to Live with Her Decision

  Act Two, Scene Nine: Lizzy Keeps Secrets

  Act Two, Scene Ten: Darcy Expresses His Fears

  Act Two, Scene Eleven: Darcy and Wickham Hear a Secret

  Act Two, Scene Twelve: Darcy Makes a Proposition; Lizzy Misunderstands

  Act Two, Scene Thirteen: Bingley Begins to Doubt

  Act Two, Scene Fourteen: Lizzy Listens to Others

  Act Two, Scene Fifteen: Wickham Turns Up the Heat

  Act Two, Scene Sixteen: Lizzy Hears an Awful, Terrible Story

  Act Two, Scene Seventeen: Darcy Surrenders

  Act Two, Scene Eighteen: Darcy Bares More Than His Abs

  Act Two, Scene Nineteen: Georgiana Steps In

  Act Two, Scene Twenty: Everyone Suffers

  Act Two, Scene Twenty-one: Lizzy Hears a Different Truth

  Act Two, Scene Twenty-two: Lizzy Meets Georgiana

  Act Two, Scene Twenty-three: Lizzy Sees Through the Darkness

  Act Two, Scene Twenty-four: Lizzy Swallows Her Pride

  Act Three, Scene One: Darcy Conquers His Prejudice—and Shows Those Abs!

  Act Three, Scene Two: Lydia Is Revealed

  Act Three, Scene Three: Mr. Bennet Confesses His Error in Judgment

  Act Three, Scene Four: At Last, Wickham Is Wanted

  Act Three, Scene Five: Lydia Learns What She Shouldn’t Know

  Act Three, Scene Six: Darcy to the Rescue

  Act Three, Scene Seven: Wickham Can’t Resist

  Act Three, Scene Eight: Lydia Confesses

  Act Three, Scene Nine: Wickham Gets What He Deserves

  Act Three, Scene Ten: Darcy and Lizzy Reflect on Life

  Acknowledgments

  By Jude Deveraux

  About the Author

  There was a naked man on Casey’s back porch. She would have called the police or, at the very least, screamed if he hadn’t been so damned beautiful.

  Instead, without so much as a blink, she fumbled for the electric kettle and poured boiling water over the loose tea leaves in the silver strainer. Quite a bit of water missed the mug, went onto the granite countertop, and ran down to the tile floor, but she didn’t notice.

  It was so early that it wasn’t yet daylight, and she hadn’t bothered to turn on the kitchen lights. But then he’d turned on the porch lights, and in the misty morning, as she looked through the screen door, it was almost as though he were on a stage.

  He’d dropped his T-shirt and sweatpants on the stone path, then, totally nude and facing Casey, he walked up the three steps, his full male glory in view. He came straight toward her, as though he meant to enter the house.

  Casey had just woken up, and when she first saw him, she thought she was still asleep and having the best dream of her life. Not only was his body beautiful, but so was his face. Hair, eyes, beard stubble, truly luscious lips. His skin was a dark golden color all over, and he had long, sleek muscles. His hair was long, down his neck, and in the overhead light it was so black that it seemed to glisten almost blue.

  When he got to the porch, he didn’t open the screen door and come inside. Instead, he turned so she had a glorious view of his side.

  Lord! Pecs. Abs. The curve of his backside, thighs like an Olympic skater’s.

  Casey managed to blink a few times. Surely she was asleep. Surely he couldn’t be real.

  He seemed to be doing something to the wall, and seconds later it started raining. That made sense. The deity who controlled the heavens should look like this man.

  But, no, it was an outdoor shower that seemed to be attached to her little guesthouse. She hadn’t noticed that it was there—for the few months she’d been in town, it had been winter. But yesterday had been so warm that she’d opened every door and window to let out the heat of her cooking. When she at last went to bed, the kitchen had been so hot that she’d just hooked the screen door and left the room