Catherine Archer - Lord Sin

Cover Page

Excerpt “Why, you insufferable beast!" Mary took a deep breath, her hands going to her hips. Ian’s gaze slid down, pausing for a moment on her bosom before he looked back at her face. Only then did she recall that she had unbuttoned the neck of her dress. She knew that if she looked down there would be far more of her showing than she wished. Even as the thought swept through her mind, he smiled knowingly and she felt a deep flush of heat move down her throat and over her breasts. His next words drove all thought of retaining a pose of unconcern from her mind. “If you keep standing there looking so completely desirable, Miss Fulton, I just might kiss you again.” Her arms came up to shield her bosom from his view. “You, my Lord Sinclair, are despicable. No wonder they call you Lord Sin.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader, Catherine Archer is fast gaining a reputation for her dramatic and emotional historical romances, and this month’s Lord Sin with its brooding hero and Gothic overtones will surely add to it. Pressured by his estranged father to marry, a rakish nobleman, in an act of defiance, marries a vicar’s daughter who is outspoken, educated and beautiful, but completely unsuitable, and gains a wife who can finally teach him the meaning of trust and love. In Elizabeth Mayne’s Lady of the Lake, a pagan princess surrenders her heritage and her heart to the Christian warrior who has been sent to marry her and unite their kingdoms. And Cally and the Sheriff by Cassandra Austin, is a lively Western about a Kansas sheriff who falls head over heels for the feisty young woman he’s sworn to protect, even though she wants nothing to do with him. Our fourth title for the month is The Marriage Mishap by Judith Stacy, the story of virtual strangers who wake up in bed together and discover they have gotten married. Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you enjoy all of our books, available wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold. Sincerely, Tracy Farrell Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Harlequin Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609. Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page Lord Sin Catherine Archer www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author CATHERINE ARCHER has been hooked on historical romance since reading Jane Eyre at the age of twelve. She has an avid interest in history, particularly the Medieval period. A homemaker and mother, Catherine lives with her husband, three children and dog in Alberta, Canada, where the long winters give this American transplant plenty of time to write.

Dedication This book is dedicated to the children of my siblings with much love and the hope that they might each follow their own dreams. To Russell, Tricia, Matthew, Sofia, Samara, Alexander, Joseph, Jeremy, Arielle, Jason, Crystal and Jacob. I would also like to add a word of thanks to the members of the RW—L, for their help with research information and moral support. Lastly I must thank my editor, Karen Kosztolnyik, for her support and her valuable contributions to my work.

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

Copyright

Mary took a deep breath, her hands going to her hips.

Ian’s gaze slid down, pausing for a moment on her bosom before he looked back at her face. Only then did she recall that she had unbuttoned the neck of her dress. She knew that if she looked down there would be far more of her showing than she wished. Even as the thought swept through her mind, he smiled knowingly and she felt a deep flush of heat move down her throat and over her breasts. His next words drove all thought of retaining a pose of unconcern from her mind.

“If you keep standing there looking so completely desirable, Miss Fulton, I just might kiss you again.”

Her arms came up to shield her bosom from his view. “You, my Lord Sinclair, are despicable. No wonder they call you Lord Sin.”

Dear Reader,

Catherine Archer is fast gaining a reputation for her dramatic and emotional historical romances, and this month’s Lord Sin with its brooding hero and Gothic overtones will surely add to it. Pressured by his estranged father to marry, a rakish nobleman, in an act of defiance, marries a vicar’s daughter who is outspoken, educated and beautiful, but completely unsuitable, and gains a wife who can finally teach him the meaning of trust and love.

In Elizabeth Mayne’s Lady of the Lake, a pagan princess surrenders her heritage and her heart to the Christian warrior who has been sent to marry her and unite their kingdoms. And Cally and the Sheriff by Cassandra Austin, is a lively Western about a Kansas sheriff who falls head over heels for the feisty young woman he’s sworn to protect, even though she wants nothing to do with him.

Our fourth title for the month is The Marriage Mishap by Judith Stacy, the story of virtual strangers who wake up in bed together and discover they have gotten married.

Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you enjoy all of our books, available wherever Harlequin Historicals are sold.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609. Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

has been hooked on historical romance since reading Jane Eyre at the age of twelve. She has an avid interest in history, particularly the Medieval period. A homemaker and mother, Catherine lives with her husband, three children and dog in Alberta, Canada, where the long winters give this American transplant plenty of time to write.

This book is dedicated to the children of my siblings

with much love and the hope that they might each

follow their own dreams. To Russell, Tricia, Matthew,

Sofia, Samara, Alexander, Joseph, Jeremy, Arielle,

Jason, Crystal and Jacob.

I would also like to add a word of thanks to the

members of the RW—L, for their help with research

information and moral support.

Lastly I must thank my editor, Karen Kosztolnyik, for

her support and her valuable contributions to my work.

The wind tugged the hair loose from Mary Fulton’s bun and whipped it across her pale face. She did not even bother to reach up and push it from her eyes. Mary was too intent on holding tightly to the straw bonnet she clutched over her slender midriff. It was as if that plain straw hat could hold her misery inside her, keep it from rising up to completely overwhelm her. She didn’t notice the way the long, wide blue ribbon that was meant to tie the bonnet atop her head fluttered across the front of her lighter blue print dress as she walked, though she once came near to treading upon it.

Nor did she clearly see the heather, asphodel, campion and spotted orchids that bloomed amongst the short, coarse grass of the moorland. She had no appreciation for them, or the sun that occasionally peeked from the gray haze of clouds overhead, or anything else, for that matter. Nothing could get past the swelling ache of emptiness in her heart.