The Prisoner Bride
All Women Just Naturally Loved Him–at least until now, Kiernan FitzAllen noted, bemused. Mistress Glenys Seymour seemed immune to his roguish charms. Granted, he had kidnapped her, which could be somewhat off-putting. But ensorcellment had to be afoot for such a master thief to be so completely enchanted by this very practical maiden fair!Were she truly able to cast a spell, Glenys Seymour would whisk away any trace of the confusing yet compelling passion she felt for Kiernan FitzAllen. The man was an outlaw, an adventurer, a roué–and yet the fabled Chosen One who would help her gain her secret heart's desire!
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“You tremble,” he murmured
“There is no reason, Glenys. Can you think I would ever bring you harm?”
“Nay,” she said weakly, hearing how badly her voice shook, “but I am not…I have no…skills or…knowledge. I know nothing.”
“And I know everything,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb lightly across her lips. “We are not well matched. I vow I wish I could be as you are again, but ’tis impossible.” He lifted his other hand, sliding his fingertips slowly down the side of her neck. “Have you ever been kissed, Glenys?”
“N-nay,” she whispered, filled with both terror and anticipation.
He smiled. “Good. ’Tis most selfish of me, but I confess that I am glad to be the first.”
With his thumbs he carefully tilted her face upward, leaning toward her slowly…so slowly…until he was but a breath away….
Praise for Susan Spencer Paul’s previous work
The Captive Bride
“Like a sorceress Ms. Paul enchants her readers and carries them on a magical journey into the past.”
—Rendezvous
Beguiled
“A charming, sweet, emotionally satisfying read.”
—Romantic Times Magazine
The Bride Thief
“A thoroughly researched tale of passion and pageantry in the Middle Ages. THE BRIDE THIEF will steal your heart.”
—Bestselling author Susan Wiggs
#588 THE QUEST
Lyn Stone
#589 THE MAIL-ORDER BRIDES
Bronwyn Williams
#590 SARA AND THE ROGUE
DeLoras Scott
Available from Harlequin Historicals and
SUSAN SPENCER PAUL
*The Bride’s Portion #266
*The Heiress Bride #301
*The Bride Thief #373
*Beguiled #408
*The Captive Bride #471
*The Stolen Bride #535
*The Prisoner Bride #587
Dedicated with love to my wonderful uncles
Richard Alton Walls
Who, even when I was very young, encouraged me to follow my dream of being a writer
Charles Yancy Walls
Whose support these many years has meant more than I can put into words
Alton Emmett McQueen
The true writer in our family, who taught me a great deal about my craft and saved me from making many embarrassing mistakes in my earliest books
And, finally, in memoriam, to Morris Neil McQueen
Whose letters still inspire me in so many ways, and whom I miss even more greatly with each passing day
Contents
Prologue
London, May, 1440
“I’ll not kill the girl, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Nay, nay, of course not,” Sir Anton Lagasse assured his guest at once. “You misunderstand me completely. I love Glenys, and she loves me. I should never want any harm to befall her. I only want her taken and kept fully safe until her family agrees to let us marry.”
Sir Anton looked about nervously at the depraved assortment of villains filling the tavern, and prayed that he’d not have to remain much longer before his business was concluded. The Black Raven wasn’t the sort of place he normally visited. It was, however, a favorite haunt of thieves, whores, and murderers—all of whom could be found here and hired for a price. Withdrawing an expensive handkerchief from his tunic, he mopped his sweating brow before turning back to the man who sat opposite him at the table, a man who was as comfortable among these people as Sir Anton was uncomfortable.
“Against her will, you said,” his guest replied, setting his tankard aside with slow deliberation. “A woman who loves a man would willingly be secreted away in order to marry him. I can but wonder at how greatly this Glenys of yours cares for you if she must be taken by force and imprisoned until you come to fetch her.”
Sir Anton considered his companion with care. Kieran FitzAllen was well known as a man who could be trusted to complete unpleasant tasks for pay and afterward keep silent, but he was also known to be particular about the work he accepted. He was willing to steal, thieve, thwart intentions and fight like the very devil, but he refused to harm women. Though that was hardly to be wondered at. FitzAllen was a handsome knave, and women, young and old, married and unmarried, pure and impure, had an unfortunate tendency to throw themselves at him. He repaid such adoration with equal admiration, mainly of a physical nature, or so Sir Anton understood it. Kieran FitzAllen, it was rumored, had lain with more women in his twenty-nine years than most men could hope to merely meet in a lifetime. Nay, he would never harm a woman, not even for a fortune in gold. Sir Anton knew he must find the way to convince this man of his sincerity.
“Glenys’s family is what lies between us,” he told him, leaning forward, “and what keeps her from coming to me freely. ’Tis difficult for any who are not acquainted with the Seymours. She fears death if she tries to leave them.”
“Death?” Kieran FitzAllen regarded him with suspicion. “How so? You do not mean that they would kill the girl for wedding you?”
Sir Anton sighed and nodded. “’Tis what Glenys believes, no matter how I strive to reassure her. Her family has chosen another for her to wed, and will not even let her see or speak to me. But such is the measure of our love that she, in turn, has refused the marriage they have arranged.”
