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Category:
Romance
ISBN-10: 1076511652
Type: Fiction
Pages: 267
Copyright: Nov 14, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781076511652
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
A Pledge, A Claiming, and Valor lead these Highland warriors to love.
Lady Isabel Calvert hides her true spirit from everyone, especially her best friend’s brother, Douglas, whom she secretly admires. Isabel’s older brother attempts to do the unthinkable and one night he almost succeeds. After the incident, her father’s superstition nature induces him to send her to an asylum. She must escape, her only hope—Douglas Kerr. Isabel is no shrinking violet, but she intends to be the timid woman all men want in hope that Douglas will love her.
Laird Douglas Kerr is forlorn at his mission to find a wife. He was charming, wasn’t he? At least that’s what everyone teases him about. Douglas is asked by his sister to retrieve her friend, Isabel, the fiery, red-haired, cat-eyed, temptress he’d met when he escorted his sister home for their father’s burial. When he meets the woman again, he doesn’t find the hellion he believes her to be. Nay, she’s a sweet, coy woman who intrigues him. As Douglas’ life becomes complicated with mysterious happenings, he might also find the love he’s been missing all his life. Can this dagger-wielding woman win the heart of the charmer?
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
Fairview Asylum
Newcastle, England
May 1217
From the distance, the compound loomed in the darkness. Nigel Calvert listened to the cries drifted into the night. He galloped to an outbuilding and handed his mount to a grubby-faced boy who led his steed away. A woman’s scream pierced the obscurity. The noise drew his gaze to the shadowed window casements above. His lips curled into a smirk and he hurried inside. In his excitement, his boots clipped the ground and echoed his haste.
“I didn’t think you would come.”
“Why should I not, Freddy? Your offer was too tempting.”
His friend, the caretaker of the asylum, Friar Frederick Whickham, roared laughter at his retort.
“Here, it’s more than enough payment for the night’s entertainment.” Nigel sneered as he pulled a cloth sack from inside his tunic. He dumped five coins into Freddy’s waiting hand.
“Have yourself a grand time. You’ll find her above, beyond the first door on the right.”
He nodded as he turned to leave, but Freddy stopped him.
“Aye, My Lord, she’s tied up and ready for you. She just arrived early this morn. The girl’s not showing yet so you won’t be hindered.” Freddy snickered when Nigel rounded his desk. “I believe she’s worth an extra coin.”
“If so, I’ll drop it off on my way out.”
“I expect to see you before the night ends. She’s a comely girl. Aye, beguiling.” Freddy grinned.
Nigel smiled, knowing he’d secured a girl to his tastes. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask…” He peered over his shoulder as he turned back. “What’s the fee to have someone placed here?”
“The same as you pay for your visit, My Lord. Do you have someone you’d like to commit?” Freddy rubbed his hands together, possibly to ward off the chill in the room, or perhaps at gaining more funds, but most likely, it was his suggestion to commit someone.
“I might want to keep her here for my sole use. How much for that?” He relaxed his stance and leaned against the friar’s desk.
“For you, My Lord, five gold pieces and two steeds, good ones.” Freddy threw in the last hoping he would be generous.
Nigel grinned at his shrewdness. “Quite costly, Freddy, but well worth it. Done. I’m not sure when she’ll arrive. It may take months before I make the arrangement.”
“The asylum isn’t going anywhere and neither am I. Her place will be secure. Be sure to send those horses though.”
“We have an accord. I’ll send the horses in a fortnight.”
As Nigel walked the corridor to the stairs, he thought about the asylum. His friend made a handsome fortune and provided pleasure for his young comrades. Fairview Asylum, where the church offered sanctuary to those in need, had been overtaken by Freddy in less than a year. He was supposed to support the nuns in caring for the girls sent there. Instead, he arranged for unwed mothers who were no longer wanted, to be used for wanton endeavors. It was the perfect place for his commerce.
Many girls were never seen again after they’d been committed. Families embarrassed by their daughter’s state or those who sought to rid themselves of worthless daughters entrusted them to Freddy and the asylum. If the church had knowledge of the happenings at Fairview, Freddy would hang by his neck, and condemned for his sins. Who had not a sin these days?
Nigel reached the door, opened it, and peered inside the dimly lit chamber. The girl awaited and didn’t know what he had in store for her. She wouldn’t lie compliant if she had. He closed the door and regarded her.
His father would find this place highly amusing, and mayhap in time, he’d tell him about it. At present, he needed to keep it secret. If his plan to commit his sister succeeded, no one could know of this place. Isabel denied his advances, and wouldn’t let him bed her. Nigel paid little attention to her when she was a child, but she’d changed overnight into a beautiful curvy woman with much appeal. If the color of her auburn hair gave indication, she would be high-spirited. The arrangement secured Isabel’s placement and her future. He grinned at the vision in his mind—the moment she’d be at his mercy.
When Nigel finished with the girls at the asylum, he left them to their demise. He never visited the same girl twice and delighted in the imaginative ways to end their liaisons. The girl before him was a rare beauty and reminded him of his sister. Perhaps he would keep her for a time. She was beguiling enough. She whimpered and her eyes widened when he approached.
Nigel removed his dagger, and she stilled. “That’s right. You should be fearful.” He undid the ties at her wrists because he wanted her hostility. Her fear and resistance would spur his desire. The girl’s hands struck him as she fought against his advances. Nigel threw back his head and laughed. His laughter mixed with the cries of the tormented and drifted into the moonless night.
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