Virginia Heath - A Warriner To Protect Her

An heiress in distress and an earl in disgrace...

When heiress Violet Dunston escapes from an abduction, she finds an unlikely protector in Jack Warriner—a member of one of England’s most infamous families. Ensconced with mysterious Jack behind his manor’s walls, soon escape is the last thing on Letty’s mind!

Jack may be an earl, but his father’s exploits have left him with nothing to offer except a tarnished name. He’s turned his back on the ton, but with Letty tempting him day and night, he finds himself contemplating the unthinkable—a society marriage!

The Wild Warriners

Four brothers living on the edge of society...scandalising the ton at every turn!

Tucked away at their remote estate

in Nottinghamshire are the ton’s

most notorious brothers.

The exploits of Jack, Jamie, Joe and Jacob Warriner’s parents—their father’s gambling and cheating, their mother’s tragic end—are legendary. But now, for the first time, the brothers find themselves the talk of the ton for an entirely different reason...

Because four women are about to change their lives—and put them firmly in society’s spotlight!

Find out what happens in:

Jack’s story

A Warriner to Protect Her

May 2017

Jamie’s story

A Warriner to Rescue Her

July 2017

And watch for Joe and Jacob’s stories—coming soon!

Author Note

I have a thing for old Hollywood musicals. The glorious Technicolor, breathtaking CinemaScope and stereophonic sound captivated me as a child. Back in the days of VHS, when you had to tape things off the TV, I had a great collection of them which I would watch over and over again. Singin’ in the Rain, Calamity Jane and Meet Me in St Louis are three of the greatest films ever made, if you want my opinion, but the best of all is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers .

I love that film. I adore the premise. Seven down-ontheir-luck brothers, living in a shack in the middle of nowhere and eking out a living from the land. Looked down upon by the rest of the community because they’re a little bit wild, they’re all desperately in need of a wife and yet never meet any women at all—let alone court one.

In homage to that wonderful film I’ve created my Wild Warriners. Four brothers tainted by the dreadful reputation of their hideous ancestors, practically broke and forced to toil on their estate because they can’t afford to pay anyone else to do it. And all desperately in need of that special someone. Their perfect match.

This story is the first in the series and follows Jack Warriner, the eldest brother and head of the family. He’s proud, stubborn and used to being in charge. What he needs is a feisty woman to stand up to him...

A Warriner to Protect Her

Virginia Heath

www.millsandboon.co.uk

When VIRGINIA HEATHwas a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older the stories became more complicated—sometimes taking weeks to get to their happy ending. One day she decided to embrace her insomnia and start writing them down. Virginia lives in Essex with her wonderful husband and two teenagers. It still takes her for ever to fall asleep…

Books by Virginia Heath

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

The Wild Warriners

A Warriner to Protect Her

Stand-Alone Novels

That Despicable Rogue

Her Enemy at the Altar

The Discerning Gentleman’s Guide

Miss Bradshaw’s Bought Betrothal

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.

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For Tracy Croft.

Mentor, friend and feisty heroine.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

The Wild Warriners

Author Note

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

1st December 1813. One month, three days and

approximately eighteen hours remaining...

The thin cord dug into her wrists painfully. Letty ignored it to focus on the practicalities. She barely opened one eye and peeked through her lashes. The Earl of Bainbridge’s crinkly, grey head was lolling sideways, swaying slightly with the motion of the carriage—eyes closed, mouth slack—and she experienced a moment of relief to know he had finally nodded off. She risked opening her eyes properly for the first time in the better part of an hour, raising her head carefully from the seat to look out of the small strip of window still visible between the dark curtains which hid her from the world.

It was black as pitch outside.

A good sign.

It meant they were deep in the countryside, miles from any life, and the fact she could not even see the stars suggested this part of the Great North Road was edged with sheltering trees. Bainbridge’s tatty coach was also flying along at speed, another indicator that they were a long way from the next inn or village. So far, each time the driver had approached one, the wheels had slowed and he had rapped loudly on the roof. Then the Earl had violently restrained her, his gnarled hand clamping tightly over Letty’s already gagged mouth, the point of his boot knife pressed ominously against her throat as they had either passed through or the horses were quickly changed.

As he dozed, that very knife was still resting on his knee, his fingers loosely clasping it. Just in case. There seemed little point in trying to wrestle it from him when her main priority was escape. The last time she had showed any signs of struggle, Bainbridge had swept the back of his hand maliciously across her cheek with such force, his signet ring had sliced through the soft skin on her lip, leaving it now swollen and painful around the gag. For protection, she had pretended the blow had rendered her unconscious and had not moved a muscle since. If it had achieved nothing else, it had given Letty time to think.

As stealthily as she could, she rose to sit up and silently edged her bottom incrementally towards the door. If she could reach the handle, she could throw herself on to the road. After that, if she survived, she really had no idea what she was going to do. It was not really much of a plan, but as she had no desire to go to Gretna Green and she would much rather be dead than married to Bainbridge, it was better than nothing.

The Earl began to snore. But it was erratic on account of his upright position, the sort of snoring which woke a person up. There was no time to lose. Letty stretched out her bound hands and lunged at the handle desperately and, by some miraculous twist of fate, she managed to do this as the carriage veered slightly towards that side. She crashed into the door, wrestled with the handle and it flew open, taking her with it and tossing her sideways.