Susan Paul - The Bride Thief

Cover Page

Excerpt It was too late Sir Justin’s hand closed over Isabelle’s mouth just as her eyes flew open to see him sitting beside her on the bed, and the scream that naturally followed was thoroughly muffled. “Do not,” he warned, his voice low and firm as he placed a cloth over her mouth and quickly tied it behind her head. Isabelle tried to strike him, but found that her hands and feet were already tied. “I mean you no harm, and I do not wish to hurt you. If you will but trust me a little, I vow, on my honor, that all will be well.” Then, picking her up, he carried her to the chamber’s one window, out of which a rope dangled. “I’ve wanted to tell you this past month, but never found the chance. I find you very beautiful.” Isabelle had always been rational. Always. But in the wake of Sir Justin calling her beautiful, rationality disappeared, and he had tossed her over his shoulder and carried her all the way down the length of her uncle’s grand manor house before it even occurred to her that she should put up a struggle…!

Dear Reader Dear Reader, In the third book of her medieval BRIDE TRILOGY, The Bride Thief, Susan Paul, writing as Susan Spencer Paul, tells the story of the youngest Baldwin brother, Justin, a delightful rogue who is being forced by his brothers to marry or lose all he possesses. Justin, however, neatly sidesteps the marriage that has been arranged for him and falls for his intended’s cousin instead, a woman much more worthy of his love. A young woman puts herself smack in the middle of the investigation of her father’s murder, despite opposition from the local sheriff, who would rather she butt out, in 1996 March Madness author Lynna Banning’s second book, Wildwood, a terrific new Western. And in Tempting Kate, longtime Harlequin Historicals author Deborah Simmons returns to the Regency era for her heartwarming tale of a haughty marquis who falls in love with the penniless daughter of a local earl, after she shoots him by mistake. We are also delighted with the chance this month to introduce our readers to a new Western series from awardwinning author Theresa Michaels. The trilogy opens with The Merry Widows—Mary, the tender story of a marriageshy widow who opens her heart to a lonely widower and his little girl. Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you’ll keep a lookout for all four books, 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 The Bride Thief Susan Spencer Paul www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SUSAN SPENCER PAUL lives in Monrovia, California, with her husband and two young daughters. She started her first novel when she was in her early teens, but eventually put it aside, unfinished, in favor of more important interests…such as boys. Now happily married and— somewhat—settled down, she’s returned to her love of the written word, and finds it much easier to finish the books she starts.

Dedciation Dedicated with love and gratitude to my wonderful mother-in-law, Betty Joyce Liming.

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

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Copyright

Sir Justin’s hand closed over Isabelle’s mouth just as her eyes flew open to see him sitting beside her on the bed, and the scream that naturally followed was thoroughly muffled.

“Do not,” he warned, his voice low and firm as he placed a cloth over her mouth and quickly tied it behind her head. Isabelle tried to strike him, but found that her hands and feet were already tied. “I mean you no harm, and I do not wish to hurt you. If you will but trust me a little, I vow, on my honor, that all will be well.” Then, picking her up, he carried her to the chamber’s one window, out of which a rope dangled. “I’ve wanted to tell you this past month, but never found the chance. I find you very beautiful.”

Isabelle had always been rational. Always. But in the wake of Sir Justin calling her beautiful, rationality disappeared, and he had tossed her over his shoulder and carried her all the way down the length of her uncle’s grand manor house before it even occurred to her that she should put up a struggle…!

In the third book of her medieval BRIDE TRILOGY, The Bride Thief, Susan Paul, writing as Susan Spencer Paul, tells the story of the youngest Baldwin brother, Justin, a delightful rogue who is being forced by his brothers to marry or lose all he possesses. Justin, however, neatly sidesteps the marriage that has been arranged for him and falls for his intended’s cousin instead, a woman much more worthy of his love.

A young woman puts herself smack in the middle of the investigation of her father’s murder, despite opposition from the local sheriff, who would rather she butt out, in 1996 March Madness author Lynna Banning’s second book, Wildwood, a terrific new Western. And in Tempting Kate, longtime Harlequin Historicals author Deborah Simmons returns to the Regency era for her heartwarming tale of a haughty marquis who falls in love with the penniless daughter of a local earl, after she shoots him by mistake. We are also delighted with the chance this month to introduce our readers to a new Western series from awardwinning author Theresa Michaels. The trilogy opens with The Merry Widows—Mary, the tender story of a marriageshy widow who opens her heart to a lonely widower and his little girl.

Whatever your tastes in reading, we hope you’ll keep a lookout for all four books, 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

lives in Monrovia, California, with her husband and two young daughters. She started her first novel when she was in her early teens, but eventually put it aside, unfinished, in favor of more important interests…such as boys. Now happily married and— somewhat—settled down, she’s returned to her love of the written word, and finds it much easier to finish the books she starts.

Dedicated with love and gratitude to my wonderful mother-in-law,

Betty Joyce Liming.

England, May 1426

It had been exactly nine years and seven months since Sir Hugh Baldwin, the earl of Siere, married the lady whom he then, as now, loved deeply and completely. She was, in his admittedly biased opinion, the most beautiful, charming, intelligent, witty and desirable woman presently alive on God’s earth, and he counted himself the most fortunate of men to have made her his. It was understandable, then, having spent the past several weeks abstaining from his conjugal rights while this same woman recovered from the rigors of birthing their fourth child, that the earl had eagerly anticipated this particular night, when Lady Rosaleen would at last be able to rejoin him in their marriage bed, and more understandable, having embarked upon that pleasurable encounter, that he should fly into a furious rage upon being almost immediately interrupted by his steward. The steward, who steadfastly remained outside his master’s chamber door despite the dire threats hurled his way, insisted that the earl attend to the missive that had only just arrived from his eldest brother, the venerable lord of Gyer. Fortunately for the steward, the lady Rosaleen found the situation thoroughly amusing, and sent her irate husband down to his working chamber to see to his sudden and unwelcome task, promising that she would repay him tenfold for his attention to duty when he finally returned to her.