title: The Temporary Wife/A Promise of Spring: Two Novels in One Volume
author:  Mary Balogh 
description: <b>Mary Balogh </b>is the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of numerous books, including <i>The Secret Mistress, </i>the acclaimed Slightly and Simply novels, and the five titles in her Huxtable series: <i>First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Seduction, At Last Comes Love, Seducing an Angel, </i>and <i>A Secret Affair</i>. A former teacher, she grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada.
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  * * *
  
  **S** **LIGHTLY**  
   **W** **ICKED**
  
  ![](Images/image00195.jpeg)
  
  MARY  
  BALOGH
  
  * * *
  
  A D E L L B O O K
  
  Contents
  
   _Title Page_
  
   _Chapter I_
  
   _Chapter II_
  
   _Chapter III_
  
   _Chapter IV_
  
   _Chapter V_
  
   _Chapter VI_
  
   _Chapter VII_
  
   _Chapter VIII_
  
   _Chapter IX_
  
   _Chapter X_
  
   _Chapter XI_
  
   _Chapter XII_
  
   _Chapter XIII_
  
   _Chapter XIV_
  
   _Chapter XV_
  
   _Chapter XVI_
  
   _Chapter XVII_
  
   _Chapter XVIII_
  
   _Chapter XIX_
  
   _Chapter XX_
  
   _Chapter XXI_
  
   _Chapter XXII_
  
   _Chapter XXIII_
  
   _Chapter XXIV_
  
   _About the Author_
  
   _Also by Mary Balogh_
  
   _Praise for the novels of Mary Balogh_
  
   _Previews of_ _Slightly Married_ _and_ _Slightly Scandalous_
  
   _Step into a world of scandal and surprise..._
  
   _Copyright Page_
  
  CHAPTER I
  
  ![](Images/image00194.jpeg)
  
  Moments before the stagecoach overturned, Judith Law was deeply immersed in a
  daydream that had effectively obliterated the unpleasant nature of the present
  reality.
  
  For the first time in her twenty-two years 