Bogus Bride
He Married The Wrong Sister… .Ten Years after he left England, Sam Jardine wrote home for a bride, but instead of the angelic beauty he remembered, the fiery Caitlin Parr had arrived on America's shores. A decade of silent infatuation had finally paid off.Caitlin knew she wasn't Sam's first choice, but she vowed that he would never regret making her his wife, and the fire that sparked between them only proved that her rightful place was by his side.
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Table of Contents
“It’s too early for bed—so what
shall we do to fill in the time?”
Samuel laughed abruptly.
Realizing the implication of her innocent question, Caitlin blurted, “Oh, I didn’t mean that. I—I just mean I wasn’t weary enough to be packed off to bed like a pesky child.”
“Cat, I’d never put you to bed like a child.”
Caitlin saw that special glint appear as his eyes rested on the swell of her breasts, which suddenly began to feel too large for her bodice. She found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and she was wondering what would happen if she dared to lean slightly forward.
Sam circled her with his arms and pulled her onto his lap.
Dear Reader,
Emily French is fast gaining a reputation for the incredible emotional impact of her stories, and this month’s Bogus Bride is no exception. It’s the story of a young woman who gives up everything to travel to America and marry a man whom she has loved from childhood, in spite of the fact that he is expecting to wed her younger sister. Don’t miss this wonderful story.
Haunted by their pasts, a gambler and a nobleman’s daughter turn to each other for protection against falling in love in Nina Beaumont’s new book, Surrender the Heart. And a Federal Marshal on the trail of a gang of female outlaws doesn’t realize that the woman he’s falling in love with is their leader in Judith Stacy’s heartwarming Western, Outlaw Love.
Our titles for the month also include Knights Divided by Suzanne Barclay. In this medieval tale from one of our most popular authors, a young woman finds herself embroiled in a maelstrom of passion and deceit when she kidnaps the rogue whom she believes murdered her sister.
Whatever your taste in reading, we hope you’ll find a story written just for you between the covers of a Harlequin Historical novel. Keep a lookout for all four titles 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
EMILY FRENCH
A living passion for the past, combined with the sheer joy of writing, has lured Emily French away from the cold ivory tower of factual academia to warm, heartfelt historical romance. She likes her novels to be full of adventure and humor, her heroes to be intelligent and kind, and her heroines to be witty and spirited.
Emily lives on the East Coast of Australia with her husband, John. Her interests are listed as everything that doesn’t have to do with a needle and thread.
To my first readers, Robyn Lee and Debra Spratley,
whose encouragement made a miracle seem possible.
Thanks, girls.
I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains,
And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about.
Christopher Marlowe
—Tamburlaine the Great
Cornwall, England, Spring 1842
“A letter, Caitlin. Papa has a letter from America. From Samuel!”
With a passionate rustling of silken petticoats, Caitlin was on her feet. “Give it to me,” she commanded, her cheeks on fire.
“I may not see so well these days, but it is addressed to me,” her father said bitingly, “and your sister shall read it.”
Caitlin swallowed hard. There had been times when she thought that Samuel had forsaken her, that she would be a spinster for the rest of her life. But now the longed-for letter had come. She could wait.
The flimsy envelope held a much-crumpled letter, as if the writer had altered it many times before daring to send it. Caitryn gave her sister a small apologetic glance and sat on the settee beneath the tall silver candlesticks. It was a long letter, crossed and recrossed, and she spread out the sheets where the light would fall upon them. Her sweet face shone with anticipation and joy as she began to read the letter aloud.
Caitlin stood at the window, spine stiff, fingers interlaced too tightly, and watched the expression on her younger sister’s face. It was as if Caitryn believed that Samuel had penned the pages with a heart full of love for her and that what he had to say was for her eyes alone.
Samuel wrote of all that had happened to him since he had left Cornwall, ten years before. Then he went on to say that he had entered the lumber trade and had prospered mightily. He was now a man of means, with everything a man could wish for, except a wife.
Sir Richard grunted. Samuel was the only son of the local doctor, and it had been decided that Samuel should also become a doctor. But Samuel, though possessed of all those attributes desirable in a doctor—a warm heart, strong nerves, charming manners and an unshakable faith in his own judgment—had been a reluctant recruit. Samuel had preferred examining the earth and the trees that grew upon it, and the changing seasons that died and renewed themselves.
