Claire Thornton - The Abducted Heiress

“Am I to be your hostage?” She thought of the chest full of money.

“No,” said Jakob.

“Then why do you want me?” she asked, bewildered.

“I don’t want you,” he replied curtly.

Desire caught her breath. His sharp response cut straight through her defenses, hurting her where she was most vulnerable. She knew full well that her most attractive feature was her inheritance—but it was a long time since she’d been reminded of that quite so brutally. It didn’t matter that Jakob was a brigand who’d just escaped from prison. He was still a handsome man who had no doubt enjoyed many beautiful women.

Shamed and humiliated, she turned her face into her shoulder in an instinctive effort to hide her scarred cheek from her abductor.

It was only when Jakob realized she was trying to conceal her scars that he guessed why his brief comment had wounded her so severely. He muttered a soft curse.

Raven’s Honor

“Claire Thornton has written an exciting historical unlike anything I’ve read this past year. She hooked me within the first few pages and kept me hanging on the edge throughout the rest of this beautifully written love story…. I highly recommend this intoxicating love story.”

—Romance Junkies

Gifford’s Lady

“Claire Thornton is truly gifted in creating stories that are so unusual—with charismatic characters, intriguing plots and subtle humor. Her hero steps off the page and into your heart with his bravery and sensibilities.”

—Romance Junkies

“Thornton offers an inventive plotline and paints a vivid picture with her descriptions.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“[Abigail] and Gif share a wonderfully tender and intimate love scene that’s one of the best I have read this year…. It’s a standout.”

—All About Romance

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All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Published in Great Britain 2005

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

The Abducted Heiress © 2005 Claire Thornton

ISBN: 978-1-474-09553-2

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

The stories in the City of Flames trilogy take place in Europe during the reign of Charles II. This was an era of great color, drama and variety. The king scandalized some of his subjects with his many mistresses, but his reign also saw the emergence of modern banking among the London goldsmiths. Actresses appeared for the first time in London theaters, while members of the Royal Society met every week to witness scientific experiments.

Athena Fairchild, Colonel Jakob Balston and the Duke of Kilverdale are cousins, but they’ve led very different lives. Athena grew up in England, Jakob in Sweden, and Kilverdale spent his childhood exiled in France as a result of the war between Charles I and Parliament.

The cousins’ romances take place in various locations, but London is at the heart of the City of Flames trilogy. The cousins all meet the one they love in the city—although Athena’s happiness is destroyed almost before it begins.

Athena’s story, The Defiant Mistress, begins in May 1666 in Venice and the events span the rest of the summer. Jakob’s story, The Abducted Heiress, and Kilverdale’s story, The Vagabond Duchess, both begin in London at the start of September 1666. In the early hours of the morning of September 2 a fire in Pudding Lane will burn out of control….

While I was writing these books I fell in love with the characters and their world. I hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Stockholm, Sweden, 1653

‘What’s wrong, Father? Is it bad news?’ Jakob asked.

Instead of replying, James Balston continued to stare at the letter in his hand.

Jakob’s sense of unease grew stronger. His mother also noticed her husband’s unusual reaction to the letter. Margareta lowered her embroidery to her lap and waited for James to speak, a crease of worry between her eyes.

‘Andrew is dead,’ said James. It was a measure of his shock that he spoke in English.

‘Förlåt?’ Margareta looked at Jakob in confusion. Despite the fact that she and James had been married for eighteen years, she still spoke very little English. ‘Vad sade han?’

‘Andrew är död,’ Jakob automatically repeated his father’s words in Swedish.

‘Åh nej!’ The colour drained from his mother’s face.

The depth of her distress momentarily surprised Jakob. None of them had ever met his cousin Andrew—

Jakob’s wits suddenly caught up with him. Now that Andrew was dead, Jakob’s father was first in line to an English viscountcy. They would all have to go to England. No wonder his mother was so upset.