Shari Anton - Lord Of The Manor

Cover Page

Praise 10 TH ANNIVERSARY Special thanks to our well-wishers, who have contributed their congratulations and support. “The best historicals, the best romances. Simply the best!” —Dallas Schulze “Bronwyn Williams was born and raised at Harlequin Historicals. We couldn’t have asked for a better home or a more supportive family.” —Dixie Browning and Mary Williams, w/a Bronwyn Williams “I can’t believe it’s been ten years since Private Treaty, my first historical novel, helped launch the Harlequin Historicals line. What a thrill that was! And the beat goes on…with timeless stories about men and women in love.” —Kathleen Eagle “Nothing satisfies me as much as writing or reading a Harlequin Historical novel. For me, Harlequin Historicals are the ultimate escape from the problems of everyday life.” —Ruth Ryan Langan “As a writer and reader, I’ve always felt that Harlequin Historicals celebrate a perfect blend of history and romance, adventure and passion, humor and sheer magic.” —Theresa Michaels “Thank you, Harlequin Historicals, for opening up a ‘window into the past’ for so many happy readers.” —Suzanne Barclay “As a one-time ‘slush pile’ foundling at Harlequin Historicals, I’ll be forever grateful for having been rescued and published as one of the first ‘March Madness’ authors. Harlequin Historicals has always been the place for special stories, ones that blend the magic of the past with the rare miracle of love for books that readers never forget.” —Miranda Jarrett “A rainy evening. A cup of hot chocolate. A stack of Harlequin Historicals. Absolute bliss! Happy 10th Anniversary and continued success.” —Cheryl Reavis “Happy birthday, Harlequin Historicals! I’m proud to have been a part of your ten years of exciting historical romance.” —Elaine Barbieri “Harlequin Historical novels are charming or disarming with dashes and clashes. These past times are fast times, the gems of romances!” —Karen Harper

Title Page Lord Of The Manor Shari Anton www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedication To Ray and Jean Antoniewicz, with love.

Excerpt Richard came toward Lucinda with long strides. A tall, muscled warrior, strong of body and purpose. His arms swung at his sides in rhythm to his footfalls, and his hands were clenched. Hands that could skim over her with serene tenderness or stroke her with urgent hunger. Either way, guiding her to beyond the heavens. She’d come to envy his inner tranquillity, admire his calm but firm treatment of his vassals, appreciate his effort to give her son a noble’s education, and cherish the time he spent with her alone. She couldn’t have selected a better man to act as protector. Or found a better lover. Or chosen a better man to love. The realization severely tested her already fractured composure. But there it was. Undeniable. She loved Richard. And he must never know…

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

About the Author

Copyright

“The best historicals, the best romances. Simply the best!”

—Dallas Schulze

“Bronwyn Williams was born and raised at Harlequin Historicals. We couldn’t have asked for a better home or a more supportive family.”

—Dixie Browning and Mary Williams, w/a Bronwyn Williams

“I can’t believe it’s been ten years since Private Treaty, my first historical novel, helped launch the Harlequin Historicals line. What a thrill that was! And the beat goes on…with timeless stories about men and women in love.”

—Kathleen Eagle

“Nothing satisfies me as much as writing or reading a Harlequin Historical novel. For me, Harlequin Historicals are the ultimate escape from the problems of everyday life.”

—Ruth Ryan Langan

“As a writer and reader, I’ve always felt that Harlequin Historicals celebrate a perfect blend of history and romance, adventure and passion, humor and sheer magic.”

—Theresa Michaels

“Thank you, Harlequin Historicals, for opening up a ‘window into the past’ for so many happy readers.”

—Suzanne Barclay

“As a one-time ‘slush pile’ foundling at Harlequin Historicals, I’ll be forever grateful for having been rescued and published as one of the first ‘March Madness’ authors. Harlequin Historicals has always been the place for special stories, ones that blend the magic of the past with the rare miracle of love for books that readers never forget.”

—Miranda Jarrett

“A rainy evening. A cup of hot chocolate. A stack of Harlequin Historicals. Absolute bliss! Happy 10th Anniversary and continued success.”

—Cheryl Reavis

“Happy birthday, Harlequin Historicals! I’m proud to have been a part of your ten years of exciting historical romance.”

—Elaine Barbieri

“Harlequin Historical novels are charming or disarming with dashes and clashes. These past times are fast times, the gems of romances!”

—Karen Harper

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Ray and Jean Antoniewicz, with love.

A tall, muscled warrior, strong of body and purpose. His arms swung at his sides in rhythm to his footfalls, and his hands were clenched. Hands that could skim over her with serene tenderness or stroke her with urgent hunger. Either way, guiding her to beyond the heavens.

She’d come to envy his inner tranquillity, admire his calm but firm treatment of his vassals, appreciate his effort to give her son a noble’s education, and cherish the time he spent with her alone.

She couldn’t have selected a better man to act as protector.

Or found a better lover. Or chosen a better man to love.

The realization severely tested her already fractured composure. But there it was. Undeniable. She loved Richard.

And he must never know…

England, 1109

Richard stepped back and sucked in his gut to avoid the whizzing tip of his brother’s broadsword. The gasp of the crowd encircling the castle’s practice yard confirmed how close the sword had come to nicking his navel.

He grinned. As always, Richard had let Gerard, his elder half brother and Baron of Wilmont, set the pace of the session. Allowed Gerard to probe for weakness in his defenses. That mighty stroke, clean and swift—and close—proclaimed Gerard hadn’t found one.

Richard returned the compliment with a stroke that would have disarmed a lesser man. Gerard absorbed the blow like a huge boulder, half buried in earth, not budging a mite.

“Ready to halt?” Gerard asked almost casually.

“Not until you sweat,” Richard answered, having noted the lack of a sheen on Gerard’s bare chest. ’Twas now a matter of pride to make the wavy blond hair at Gerard’s temples curl from dampness, as his own did.

In truth, neither brother would win this contest. He and Gerard were too evenly matched, from their skill at swordplay to the strength in their broad shoulders. From the green of their eyes to the flaxen color of their hair. Each even bore a long, jagged scar across his chest—Gerard’s earned many years ago while defending Everart, their now-dead father, Richard’s earned more recently, when he’d been mistaken for Gerard.