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The Secret Pearl

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 2,338 ratings · 135 reviews

Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author’s finest–a tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotion…and of a love so powerful it will take your breath away….

He first spies her in the shadows outside a...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published November 29th 2005 by Dell (first published 1991)

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Jan 07, 2010 Rane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency-romance-napoleonic-era, keeper

On the run, accused of murder, Fleur is alone and scared on the streets of London, slowly starving, she only one thing left of value: her body. So when a man picks her up for sex, the experience leaves her changed, stripped of her virginity and sicken with herself. Thinking the life of a whore would never be for her, she tries one more time to see if she can find work. When a blessing comes from a Mr.Kent looking for a governess for his daughter. She finally thinks her life is on the mend, litt...more On the run, accused of murder, Fleur is alone and scared on the streets of London, slowly starving, she only one thing left of value: her body. So when a man picks her up for sex, the experience leaves her changed, stripped of her virginity and sicken with herself. Thinking the life of a whore would never be for her, she tries one more time to see if she can find work. When a blessing comes from a Mr.Kent looking for a governess for his daughter. She finally thinks her life is on the mend, little does she know the Mr.Kent is the Adam Kent, Duke of Ridgeway and the man who took her virginity and bought her that night. Adam is a scarred after the Battle of Waterloo leaves half his body and his face with scares, in a loveless marriage, he finally gives into desire and has sex with a whore. Little does he know she was a virgin. Trying to get her out of his mind, he forms a plans for her the have a respectable job as his daughter’s governess, thinking that would be that as he’ll never have to truly see her as he’s away from home.

The attraction between the two slowly grows from fear, to understand to friendship into love. Adam a true man of honor knows he can’t betray his wife or family again and Fleur still runs for a past that could have her hanged. As that night between the two set into motion huge changes in both their lives.

The first chapter of the book is so dark that I was surprised I was reading Mary Balogh. The first meeting between Adam and Fleur is to put it lightly : Bad. A all around miserable sexual experience for both of them. Don’t give up though, because the hidden reward is great.

The first impressions you get from the leads are very misleading. Fleur comes across as a strong woman at her limits, you have you applaud her for her courage, when many would have laid down and died, she kept on going. But inside is a scared woman, ashamed of the one night. The shame starts to transform itself into a fear of not only what would happen when she’s caught, but of Adam himself. I could understand Fleur fear and shame, raised in the time where if you gave your virginity out of wedlock, you’re a whore. Period. But I felt Fleur dwelled on it to much throughout the book, causing it to somewhat drag through the thought monologue. Although she had a lot weighting on her shoulders, I felt if she just open her eyes, she would see the truth staring her in the face sooner then later. Making her come across a stubborn and not thinking ahead.
Adam was the one I was most curious to see how he would be redeemed, if he could be. The theme of adultly is a touchy subject for many. But how the story unfolds your seen beyond the adultly and the scars on Adam’s body and to the scars he has on his very heart and soul. You start to see Adam and the goodness in his heart. A true man of honor. Many would have buckled under the pressure, Adam stood up and carried the heavy load of the betrayal of his wife (with)and his brother. I don’t think many people would have done what Adam did, he wasn’t without his faults, but he went above and beyond to take care of his daughter and his wife.

I don’t feel there was any true villain in this book, only those selfish to think of only themselves. Adam’s wife was selfish and truly only thought of herself, but you also pity her when she finally tells Adam along she knew the truth which he tried so hard to hide from her. The ending for Fleur’s cousin was very fitting after all he put her though, he ran like a dog with his tail between his legs.

The pace of the book only somewhat drags through the middle, but it’s the ending chapters that are solid gold in their profound moments between Adam and Fleur as they finally admit their love to one another through bittersweet tears. Their second and true love scene, is so touching between them, knowing at dawn they would have to part and to never seen one another again. How they end up together is also very heart wrenching sweet it brought tears to my eyes.

Overall: a very hard book to review without spoiling it, with so many moments that draw you closer to these complex characters as your slowly shown what their truly about. A beautiful and deeply meaningful romance between two people with deep scars and how they heal one another.
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May 12, 2011 Dinjolina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: evil-other-woman, hero-overly-angsty, hero-to-marry-some-ninny, historical-romance, kid-that-was-supposed-to-be-cute, my-spine-got-kidnapped-by-aliens, pretentious-read, romantic-suspense, stupid-plot-development, took-me-a-while-to-read

I know.
I am evil.
I am saying this book was not good.

:hides from angry mob:

It just that...it was so goody goody two shoes!
Ughh.

The hero made me want to rip my hair out!
He had sex with the heroine. Oh no!
He cheated on his wife!
He is evil!
At least he thinks he is wicked,wicked,wicked.
Even thou his wife will not touch him,his marriage is not consummated and his kid is actually his brothers bastard.
So what ever.
And even thou he is in love with the heroine,he tells her how he could not divorce. Becaus...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of heart-rending love stories

Recommended to Adrienne by: friends on GRs

Shelves: library-loan

Oh I just loved this story! bittersweet, heart breaking and sorrowful for the most part, but for me an enduring love story with a very happy HEA.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: regency-romance

I got really tired of hearing how repulsed the heroine was by the hero. You would think by her reaction to him—literally almost vomiting several times when he was near—that he had raped her. In reality, she went into prostitution voluntarily and was actually treated well by the hero. She said so many times how much she "HATED him" and feared him, yet she had this strange attraction to him at the same time. She was ridiculous, and I couldn't relate to her at all.

The hero was a doormat to his wife...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: angsty-goodness, kept-me-up-all-night, separated-for-long-time, share-gone, unusual-couple

I think the only reason I didn't give this DIK status is that I'm not 100% wild about the hero because of his decision close to the end of the book. Tumperkin (Isn't It Romance blog) just talked about endings and I would have liked this book especially to have an epilogue. There just was not enough sustained "happy together" time for Adam and Fleur to satisfy me. But it's quite wonderful: the emotion in two linked fingers is incredible. Horrid villain too!

Giving it away! Not mine, but an extra c...more

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May 20, 2012 Madame X rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

"The Secret Pearl" is heartwrenching, tender, and lovely; it is also, as I realized about halfway through the novel, an out-and-out adapation of "Jane Eyre" - the plot is different, but all the characters are there, and with somewhat remarkable fidelity.

In fact, the bare outlines of the plot of Jane Eyre come floating in and out of "The Secret Pearl" - Rochester's disfigurement after the fire is re-written as Adam's Waterloo wounds; mad Bertha is reincarnated as a sickly, bitter wife that Adam t...more "The Secret Pearl" is heartwrenching, tender, and lovely; it is also, as I realized about halfway through the novel, an out-and-out adapation of "Jane Eyre" - the plot is different, but all the characters are there, and with somewhat remarkable fidelity.

In fact, the bare outlines of the plot of Jane Eyre come floating in and out of "The Secret Pearl" - Rochester's disfigurement after the fire is re-written as Adam's Waterloo wounds; mad Bertha is reincarnated as a sickly, bitter wife that Adam treats with the tortured kindness that one expects from Rochester; the half-orphan upbringing and harsh schooling, through which Jane learned self-reliance and ladylike skills, teaches Fleur the same lessons; St. Claire, the too-good-to-be-true long lost cousin of Jane's, makes an apperance as the angelic curate, Daniel. Adele, the neglected daughter, finds new life in Pamela & even Miss Ingram makes a brief apperance as Lady Underwood

It's a remarkable sort of homage, in fact, because "The Secret Pearl" reads very much like a standard contemporary romance; the language is modern, the plot has the same blend of adventure and romance that one grows to expect from a modern romance. It's only if you look that the homage to Bronte is clear, but once you see it it's really as touching as the novel itself.

Because Adam and the heroine, Fleur, really do act exactly like Rochester and Jane in a new novel...and the tenor of their romance, the mixture of Adam's painstaking correctness and his sudden flashes of warmth and intimacy, Fleur's whole character which captures exactly the mix of fragility and tremendous strength that makes Jane Eyre such a lovable heroine two hundred years later...Adam calls Fleur a survivor a number of times, and that's exactly why Jane was so remarkable.

They even sometimes have conversations that paraphrase conversations that Jane and Rochester had.

I have to say. I've had a low opinion of Mary Balogh in the past & this novel revises it. It's clever, but it's also heartfelt and emotionally very subtle. Adam and Fleur are admirable, their love is sincere, it faces real challenges and Balogh constructs a plot that gives it the time to develop and grow before the final, satisfying conclusion. Bravo.(less)

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Nov 16, 2010 Bronwyn Rykiert rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

I had been impressed by several books by Mary Balogh before, but this one is simply outstanding.

The story starts with a difficult, raw scene of a man using the services of a prostitute in a seedy London hotel. For the first time since he married, Adam Kent, Duke of Ridgeway, is being unfaithful and giving in to the temptation of needs that his wife doesn't fulfil. He hadn't planned to hire the girl's services, but something beyond his own understanding beckons him to her that night.

Fleur was onc...more I had been impressed by several books by Mary Balogh before, but this one is simply outstanding.

The story starts with a difficult, raw scene of a man using the services of a prostitute in a seedy London hotel. For the first time since he married, Adam Kent, Duke of Ridgeway, is being unfaithful and giving in to the temptation of needs that his wife doesn't fulfil. He hadn't planned to hire the girl's services, but something beyond his own understanding beckons him to her that night.

Fleur was once a Lady, until dreadful events forced her to run away from her home and left her alone and without resources. That night, selling her body is the last choice she has. She accepts her fate with courage and doesn't even flinch or show her disgust towards her customer's badly scarred body or his emotionless treatment.

It's too late when Adam Kent realises that Fleur was a virgin who is selling her body as the only alternative to starvation. Moved by what poverty can lead to, the Duke orders his secretary to find Fleur and offer her a post as his daughter's governess.

So it is a surprised and suddenly hopeful Fleur who settles in Willoughby a few days later, unaware that her new employer is her one and only customer. And for a couple of weeks, she allows herself to relax and put both the heavy secrets that sent her away from her home and the dreadful night in London to the back of her mind... until the Duke comes home and she discovers the truth of his identity.

It's difficult to put into words what is so exceptional about The Secret Pearl. It's amazing that someone who appears like an anti-hero in the beginning of the book, a careless man who pays the services of a prostitute despite his married state, and treats her with so much contempt at first, turns out to be a vulnerable, tender, loving and romantic hero. We progressively discover a man who has been badly scarred by life, not just physically but also emotionally, and who still puts his loved ones' happiness before his own. We fear for Fleur when she's cornered, caught between what made her run from her home and the secret that links her to Adam. Her fear of him, seen both through her eyes and Adam's, is remarkably real. The change of feelings between Fleur and Adam, whom she sees as the brutal man who took her virginity in her nightmares, then as the only person who can save her from losing herself completely, flows very naturally until it culminates in one of the most poignant love scenes I've ever read.(less)

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Feb 15, 2010 Danica Avet rated it 5 of 5 stars

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May 31, 2009 becky rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone who loves historical romance novels

I've read a couple of other Balogh books that I liked, but I LOVED this one. I felt like the characters truly had something at stake and I could understand the loneliness and unhappiness that each felt and how even though things had started off terribly between them, they could grow to care about one another. Like any well-written book, I truly hated the "villians" who, to Balogh's credit, were well-written and believable. The hero's struggle to do right by his unloving wife and his dukedom show...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

Fleur is a Baron's daughter accused of murder and theft. She runs away and tries to obtain a position as a governess or companion but she has no references. She ends up selling her herself in order to keep herself alive. The Duke of Ridgeway is her one and only customer. After he realizes she is a virgin he can't quite get her out of his mind. He has his assistant track her down and hire her as a governess for his daughter. He swears that it is because of the guilt he feels and not his affection...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Anna D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

What a tremendous book! I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did because the reviews were sort of mixed. Mary Balogh has been a winner for me.

Despite having issues with the H/h and some of the circumstances in the plot, as a whole, I liked the story a lot..sometimes there are just those books you really like but can’t justify why. This is one of them. I think part of it is that there’s quite a bit of an unrealistic (too unrealistic) aspect to it, but then I remember that this is a wo...more 4.5 stars

What a tremendous book! I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did because the reviews were sort of mixed. Mary Balogh has been a winner for me.

Despite having issues with the H/h and some of the circumstances in the plot, as a whole, I liked the story a lot..sometimes there are just those books you really like but can’t justify why. This is one of them. I think part of it is that there’s quite a bit of an unrealistic (too unrealistic) aspect to it, but then I remember that this is a work of fiction, a romance. It’s not reality.

I can’t imagine a “Lady” who by all accounts is smart and reasonable allowing herself to get to the point of poverty that she has to sell her body. She was a daughter of an Earl! And lived amongst the privileged! In the first chapter, she tells Adam that selling her body was the last resort….but we come to find that it wasn’t, at least not in my opinion. She didn’t set aside her pride to beg for money/food, she didn’t attempt to steal, and she allowed her worst assumption to control her reason and not seek the help of her friends Daniel & Miriam Booth. That is what I had to get past with the heroine and if I let that go – her reasoning being that prostitution was the only way she knew to survive – I was able to enjoy most of the book. Some other things that were unrealistic and made it hard to feel sorry for the heroine is that she was smart, pretty, talented with the piano, and EVERY man she came across wanted her! There were 4 men wanting to marry her (Adam, Daniel, Duncan, & Matthew – though Matthew is the villain so he doesn’t really count) –oh, there was also Ned, who had a soft spot for her.

As far as heroes go, I liked Adam. Though he was on the fence between being EXTREMELY honorable and being a doormat to his “wife” – she was mean and made him miserable for 6 years and the whole time Adam was still trying to protect her and make her happy all in the name of honor and duty. That’s the reason why I could only like this hero and not love him. I respect that he maintained his honor, duty, and kind heart..but a great hero would do the same without sacrificing his own happiness. Frankly, I think if he had stood up for himself, there was a way to do it without hurting Sybil anymore than she was hurting (without Thomas) and protect his daughter, Lady Pamela. Overall, (view spoiler) I like my hero to take charge of his destiny; he didn’t quite do that here. BUT I still really liked him!! Mostly because of the sweet things he did:
- He made sure Houghton found Fleur so she can get off the street.
- He trusted Fleur with his daughter.
- He watched Fleur and his daughter in the schoolroom almost everyday.
- Listened to Fleur play in his library everyday. There is something VERY romantic about this.
- The way he inwardly battled with his guilt for taking her virginity
- How great of a father he was to Pamela. This is always an endearing quality. I melted when we find out that he would let Pamela sleep in his bed when she had nightmares (view spoiler)
- When they held hands in the carriage.
- And that night they made love for the second time. So sweet!
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Feb 18, 2013 Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. For me there must be some kind of simple magic in Balogh books. I wanted to not like this story. There are plenty or parts of it that I don't care for and becuase I've read other books of hers there are several things that are repetitive/not new (although this was an earlier book so at the time it was written it might have been more original). I'm not sure why, but I wanted to give fewer than 4 stars. But, I really can't. I enjoy reading all of her books and I like the characters for the most pa...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-chick-lit, owned-ebook

The book was not so bad, no. Especially as the book for practising Spanish. However at times I did wish I could just grab the oh-so-romantic hero by, hmm, whatever part of his body and shout it into his ears: "Stop being an idiot!". Really, just how far one can go in being "noble" and "loyal" and other rubbish of the kind? A psychologist would probably find an adequate explanation for the characters obsession with "doing things right" and putting anyone else first. Maybe they had a harsh life (y...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Hazel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 05, 2013 Ghostwriter rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have only three things to say about this book:

1)Four stars for the exellent writing.

2) Did really the heroine decide to sell her body after only two days without food? Really?

3) Ah Adam. My heart broke for him. Why did he have to tolerate so much s*** from everybody? Why didn't he just beat the smile out of his brother's face, throw his shrew of a wife out of his house, give the heroine the finger, find himself a pretty little thing, go to Hawaii and live happily ever after? Man i felt sorry...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Catia Pereira rated it 3 of 5 stars

Este livro foi-me recomendado pela amiga Vera Santos. Ela disse-me que eu iria gostar porque a história lembra um pouco "Jane Eyre". Ela tinha razão: de facto, lembra "Jane Eyre" de Charlotte e, também, de facto, gostei bastante do livro.
Fleur tem a mesma coragem, determinação e espírito livre de Jane Eyre.
Trata-se da história de duas pessoas que estão destinadas uma à outra. Duas pessoas que nunca se tinham visto mas que se reconhecem. Vivem a duplicidade de haver toda uma série de circunstânc...more

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Jan 30, 2010 Greymalkin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 21, 2013 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars.
Being as I hate romance novels that were written in the 90s (you can always tell), this was remarkably good. There were a lot of fantastic lines, and some real groaners. For all the complaints I could make about the characters, I liked them a lot. Both viewpoints were well-written.
I wished that one of the tertiary characters were the hero instead, because I liked him best of all the characters. There were some really cliche plot points that were relied upon a bit too heavily, and I fi...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Sam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2-romance, read-2012, reviewed

This was my first Mary Balogh book. The premise sounded promising, but the execution was underwhelming. The writing was a bit stilted—it didn’t have to be a masterpiece, but the writing shouldn’t ‘get in the way’ of enjoying the book. Perhaps my focus on sentence construction is indicative of how the story failed to grip me in any way. The first quarter of the book was tedious and slow to get going, focusing for too long on Fleur's thoughts on her big decision and dwelling a bit too much on desc...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Bonna Hardy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hand-me-downs

Just like Beauty and the beast!

Well...maybe if the beast is in a nasty hate filled marriage with Miss pots with his lil bastard chip for a kid.

Oh and Belle offed Gaston's little friend and then ran away where she promptly became a hoebag.

and even though she is totallllly grossesd out by the beast she starts to love him anyhow.

Because that would totally happen.

Oh and Miss Pots takes care of the little marriage problem and BAM! happy ending for all.

So yeah it was a typical romance novel.
You start...more

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Feb 26, 2008 Joene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

This is an interesting story, with the two main characters who both carry scars, his are on the outside, while hers are on the inside. Both have to overcome their injuries to believe in the fact that they are good enough to find love and happiness despite their problems.

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Nov 29, 2010 Patria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mary-balogh, favorite-romances

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 16, 2011 Katrina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2.5 Stars

The theme of the story, A fallen-woman and a duke, is one of those themes that I really really like. It is because I love seeing the characters fight for their love against propriety and prove that their love really stands despite social classes. Like it’s us-against-the-world type kind of love..sighhhhhh. HAHA

But I’m disappointed in the relationship development in this one. Yes, they have it, but all of the sudden it’s just LOVE. I was expecting more of the inner turmoil and angsty emo...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, read-2011

Mary Balogh books are just so hard for me to rate. 3.5 for The Secret Pearl.

My 2 main issues are

1. I found it way to long. Balogh often alternates POV on the same scene and it just seems redundant. I never felt I learned anything new from the other characters POV. Just one Scene with the h/h POV in 3rd person would have done the trick for me.

2. We know that Fleur's first time was horrid and she is extremely weary of our hero but do you have to beat us over the head with it?? I got the picture...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Sakura Joyce rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: disfigured-hero

Fleur is forced to sell her body after running away from home with little money because she is being accused of murder and theft. Her first customer turns out to be Adam, the Duke of Ridgeway.

Adam is disfigured after coming home from the war. He hastily married a woman who is in love with his half-brother and his attempts to get to know his wife only cause her to cringe from him even more. Adam is not an unfaithful husband but his cold wife finally leads him to his night with Fleur.

The encount...more

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May 12, 2013 HÜLYA YILMAZ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Duygu yüklü bir romandı. Mary Balogh'un Asla Unutulmaz romanından cok daha güzeldı. Su ara mumla aradıgımız vefa,sadakat duygularını cok güzel islemistı yazar. Erkek karakterın müthis fedakarlıgı romanı damgalamıstı resmen.Okurken de hic duraksamadan yorulmadan okudum ,bunda da çevirmenin katkısı oldugunu düsünüyorum. İkı yaralı kısı ancak bu sekılde birlestirilıp bir bütün haline getirilebilırdı. Hem erkegin,hemde kadının acısını,hayal kırıklıklarını,asklarını tam da yüregimde hissettim. Bana b...more

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May 04, 2011 Babyfishmouth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, kindle, lonely-hero

I don't think I've ever read a grimmer romance in my life. The only laugh in the book came about three pages from the end. I didn't even realize how humorless it was until I got to that one small joke by the hero.

The heroine Fleur was very frustrating in her refusal to trust the hero and confide her secrets. As stupid as she was, the hero was seemed overly insightful in figuring it all out.

All the above aside, it was an enjoyable read. As I was reading, I just couldn't imagine how this story w...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Cherie Jensen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow! My second time through this book, the first was quite awhile ago. Tortured and scarred hero, strong but desperate heroine. No silliness or unrealistic tension in this story. It was riveting. I started it last evening in lieu of another book. It called to me from the shelf. I fell asleep after starting it and continued this morning and only put it down to eat and read my email. There is lots of drama: an unconsummated marriage, a child born out of wedlock, desperate poverty, fatal accidents,...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-historical, romance, owned

She does better "angst" than perhaps any other author out there.

Basic Premise: When a noblewoman on the run is penniless and desperate, she turns to prostitution to stay alive. Her first "customer", without her knowledge, sends his man to hire her to work on his country estate.

That's maybe not the best way to describe this book. What I will say, though, is that I think Balogh does things in this book that few romance authors dare: she allows her characters to have moral absolutes, honor and pri...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Lady Wesley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This books, a Mary Balogh classic from 1991, is gripping, dark, and ultimately uplifting.

In the opening chapter, a man hires a young, sad looking woman outside Covent Garden and proceeds to have swift and rather brutal sex with her, realizing only after it's too late that she is a virgin. Afterward, he is haunted by the memory and sends his secretary to track her down. Upon his master's order, the secretary hires her to be a governess to the master's five-year-old daughter. It's hard to know wh...more

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About Mary Balogh

Mary Balogh has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.

More about Mary Balogh...

Books by Mary Balogh

First Comes Marriage (Huxtable Quintet, #1)

A Summer to Remember (Bedwyn Prequels #2)

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Quotes from The Secret Pearl

“But he was not Matthew. He was everything that Matthew was not. He was safety and comfort and warmth. He was home. He was everything in the world that was hope and sunshine. He took a step toward her and opened his arms to her, and she was in those arms without ever knowing how the distance between them had closed.” — 2 people liked it

“Why have you done all this for me?" She turned her head to look at him. "Tell me the truth."

He shook his head slowly.

"I don't think I could have been more terrified of the devil than I was of you," she said, "when it was happening and in my thoughts and nightmares afterward. And when you came home to Willoughby and I realized that the Duke of Ridgeway was you, I thought I would die from the horror of it."

His face was expressionless. "I know," he said.

"I was afraid of your hands more than anything," she said. "They are beautiful hands."

He said nothing.

"When did it all change?" she asked. She turned completely toward him and closed the distance between them. "You will not say the words yourself. But they are the same words as the ones on my lips, aren't they?"

She watched him swallow.

"For the rest of my life I will regret saying them," she said. "But I believe I would regret far more not saying them."

"Fleur," he said, and reached out a staying hand.

"I love you," she said.

"No."

"I love you."

"It is just that we have spent a few days together," he said, "and talked a great deal and got to know each other. It is just that I have been able to help you a little and you are feeling grateful to me."

"I love you," she said.

"Fleur."

She reached up to touch his scar. "I am glad I did not know you before this happened," she said. "I do not believe I would have been able to stand the pain."

"Fleur," he said, taking her wrist in his hand.

"Are you crying?" she said. She lifted both arms and wrapped them about his neck and laid her cheek against his shoulder. "Don't, my love. I did not mean to lay a burden on you. I don't mean to do so. I only want you to know that you are loved and always will be."

"Fleur," he said, his voice husky from his tears, "I have nothing to offer you, my love. I have nothing to give you. My loyalty is given elsewhere. I didn't want this to happen. I don't want it to happen. You will meet someone else. When I am gone you will forget and you will be happy."

She lifted her head and looked into his face. She wiped away one of his tears with one finger. "I am not asking anything in return," she said. "I just want to give you something, Adam. A free gift. My love. Not a burden, but a gift. To take with you when you go, even though we will never see each other again."

He framed her face with his hands and gazed down into it. "I so very nearly did not recognize you," he said. "You were so wretchedly thin, Fleur, and pale. Your lips were dry and cracked, your hair dull and lifeless. But I did know you for all that. I think I would still be in London searching for you if you had not gone to that agency. But it's too late, love. Six years too late.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/124830.The_Secret_Pearl?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320414690l/124830.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/124830.The_Secret_Pearl?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh[/url]

The Secret Pearl

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