Susannah could not help wishingthat she and Harry might havehad a little time together before allhis relatives arrived.
She was trying to accustom herself to the idea that she was engaged to a man she lovedâa man she was not sure felt quite the same about her. She knew that Harry felt something for her, but most marriages were arranged for reasons other than love, and she could not yet be certain that she was loved as she would wish to beâto distraction.
Anne Herries, winner of the Romantic Novelistsâ Association ROMANCE PRIZE 2004, lives in Cambridgeshire. She is fond of watching wildlife, and spoils the birds and squirrels that are frequent visitors to her garden. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature, and sometimes puts a little into her books, although they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment, and to give pleasure to her readers.
Recent novels by the same author:
A DAMNABLE ROGUE*
MARIANNE AND THE MARQUIS MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS MARRYING CAPTAIN JACK THE UNKNOWN HEIR THE HOMELESS HEIRESS THE RAKEâS REBELLIOUS LADY
*Winner of the Romantic Novelistsâ AssociationROMANCE PRIZE
and in the Regency seriesThe Steepwood Scandal:
LORD RAVENSDENâS MARRIAGE
COUNTERFEIT EARL
and in The Hellfire Mysteries :
AN IMPROPER COMPANION
A WEALTHY WIDOW A WORTHY GENTLEMAN
Author Note
Writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon is a constant joy. A Season in Town, Book One, is about Susannah and Lord Pendleton. Susannah never expected to have a season, because her mama could not afford it. However, Amelia Royston has inherited a fortune, and she wants to spend some of it on young women in less happy circumstances than herself. Susannah is flattered by the attentions of the dashing Lord Pendleton, but overawed by the prospect of becoming the wife of such an important man.
Beneath the story runs a thread of intrigue that continues throughout all three books in this trilogy and may threaten Amelia herself. Look out for Harry and his friends in the next two.
The Spanish Peninsulaâ1812
Three men lay slumped on the earth, which had been baked hard by the fierce Spanish sun. Harry Pendleton had his back against a rock. Of the three he was in the best shape. Max Coleridge was lying with his eyes closed, his blood-soaked shirt stuck to his chest in this damned awful heat. Gerard Ravenshead was fanning Max with a large leaf, trying to keep the flies from settling on his wound. A neckcloth was wound around a deep cut at the side of Gerardâs head.
âI thought we were done for,â Harry said. He was speaking his thoughts aloud, saying what they all felt. âWhat a mess!â
âYou canât blame yourself for it, Harry,â Gerard said and looked at him. âThey knew we were coming. Someone must have warned them.â
âTen killed, and the three of us only got out by the skin of our teeth.â Harry stood up and walked over to take a look at Max. âSomehow they must have got wind that we planned a surprise raid to take prisonersâ¦â
âOne of the servants,â Gerard replied and shrugged. âIn this damned war Iâm never sure whether we are fighting the French with the Spanish or the Spanish and the French.â
âI wouldnât trust their generals as far as I could throw them,â Harry growled. He looked at the blood trickling down Gerardâs face. They had wrapped a kerchief round his head, but it wasnât doing much good. âYour wound is still bleeding. Do you want me to take another look at it?â
âYou saved my life once today,â Gerard said and grinned at him. âYou donât have to nursemaid me, Harry. Iâll manage. We have to get Max back to the village, and by the looks of him that means carrying him between us.â
Harry pulled a wry face. âThe way youâve been behaving out here, Iâve sometimes felt as if you meant to throw your life awayâ¦â Gerard had gained a reputation as something of a daredevil.
âThere were moments when I didnât much care if I died,â Gerard admitted. He took a swipe at a fly buzzing about his face. âBut when youâre facing death things come into perspective. I intend to live and return home and one dayâ¦.â
Gerard left the sentence unfinished. Harry nodded. He knew something had been eating at his friend. He suspected it was to do with a young woman Gerard had been courtingâand the tiny scar at his temple that heâd noticed when they first met in Spain after a year of not seeing one another. Gerard often rubbed at it when he was thoughtful, and the look in his eyes told Harry he was remembering something that made him angry.
âI know what you mean,â Harry said. âSoldiering is blood, sweat and tearsâand that is the easy part.â It was listening to the screams of dying men and knowing you couldnât save them that hurt the worst. âCome on, then. Help me get Max on my back and Iâll carry him.â