The Lord's Forced Bride

The Lord's Forced Bride
Anne Herries

From dangerous stranger – to her wedded husband! A dark and handsome stranger fighting in a town square mesmerises youthful innocent Catherine Melford. His shirt off, his skin glistening with sweat – he’s all man! On meeting him again in the opulence of the Royal Court, Catherine finds her desire is more aroused than ever.But he is Andrew, Earl of Gifford, and bad blood runs between their families. He is also the lord she’ll soon be forced to wed!

‘Gifford will marry Mistress Melford. That should satisfy any grievances between you.’

Catherine gasped. She glanced at her father’s and then the Earl’s face. Both looked as stunned as she felt. The Earl of Gifford frowned and then nodded, seeming pleased with the honours he had received.

‘Catherine,’ Andrew said, turning to her with a satisfied look. ‘I hope it will please you to accept His Majesty’s decree?’

Catherine felt all eyes turned on her. She knew that she had no choice but to accept and look happy, though in her heart it was not the way she had wanted Andrew to ask her. However, petulance was for children, and she was no longer a child. She raised her head, her lovely face calm as she said, ‘It would give me great pleasure to be your wife, sir.’

The Lord’s Forced Bride

Anne Herries

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ANNE HERRIES lives in Cambridgeshire, where 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. She is a winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romance Prize.

Previous novels by the same author:

MARRYING CAPTAIN JACK

THE UNKNOWN HEIR

THE HOMELESS HEIRESS

THE RAKE’S REBELLIOUS LADY

A COUNTRY MISS IN HANOVER SQUARE

(#litres_trial_promo)

AN INNOCENT DEBUTANTE IN HANOVER SQUARE

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THE MISTRESS OF HANOVER SQUARE

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THE PIRATE’S WILLING CAPTIVE

FORBIDDEN LADY

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And in the Regency series

The Steepwood Scandal:

LORD RAVENSDEN’S MARRIAGE

COUNTERFEIT EARL

And in The Hellfire Mysteries:

AN IMPROPER COMPANION

A WEALTHY WIDOW

A WORTHY GENTLEMAN

Author Note

THE LORD’S FORCED BRIDE tells the story of Catherine and Andrew, Earl of Gifford. In FORBIDDEN LADY, Catherine’s mother had reason to dislike the then Earl of Gifford, Andrew’s father. However, when Andrew and Catherine meet they are caught up in a political settlement forced on them by King Henry VII to settle the old quarrel between their families. Catherine is already falling in love with the gallant Earl who rescued her brother and then her, but does he love her or is she merely the bride he was forced to take by the King’s command? As she begins her married life, Catherine has enough problems to face without murderous attempts on her life. Can the couple win through and find happiness together? Read the second book in The Melford Dynasty, and look out for the third soon.

I hope you will enjoy these books, which are the start of a family saga coming down through the ages. Happy reading!

Chapter One

Andrew, Earl of Gifford, heard the sounds of fierce fighting before he rode into the clearing that September morning. The clash of steel was unmistakable and he had drawn his sword before he came upon the violent scene. A young man was fighting for all he was worth, but he was heavily outnumbered. Surrounded by three burly men, who were clearly intent on taking his life, he had just managed to wound one in the arm when Andrew bore down on them. He swooped low in the saddle, lashing out at one attacker who was pressing the young man hard and wounding the rogue across the arm. Wheeling his horse about, Andrew rode back and slashed at the nearest villain, catching him a blow on the shoulder. At that moment, the young f man finished off the rogue he had been fighting and the other two fled in disorder. Dismounting, Andrew looked at the man he had helped, and saw that he was bleeding from his left arm.

‘Let me bind that for you,’ he said. ‘I have fresh linen and water in my saddlebags.’

‘You are very kind, sir,’ the man replied. ‘You have done me great service this day. I cannot thank you enough.’

‘I did only what I thought just,’ Andrew told him with a smile that lit his eyes. ‘The odds were unfair. I thought to make them a little more even.’

‘You do not know what you did. I am on important business for…well, I cannot say, sir, for my work is secret. I say only that I shall always be grateful for your help.’

‘Let me tend your wound,’ Andrew said. ‘Then you may be on your way.’

‘You are a true friend indeed,’ the man replied and smiled as Andrew tore his sleeve and began to minister to him, washing the arm before applying a salve and linen wrappings. ‘My name is Harry…may I know yours, sir?’

‘It is Andrew.’ He finished the binding. ‘I think those ruffians have fled for their lives, Harry—but take care, for if they seek something you carry they may not be the only ones to attempt your demise.’

‘You are right,’ Harry replied. ‘I must reach Oxford by this evening. There I shall meet with friends and from then on I shall be in good company.’ He hesitated for a moment, then, ‘Would you ride with me a part of the way?’

‘It is my way, too, for the moment,’ Andrew said and offered his hand, which Harry gladly took. ‘You spoke of a secret mission. I shall ask nothing of you. We are strangers and we shall travel as such, parting with no other knowledge of each other than a name…is that agreed?’

‘Yes, for I must retain my anonymity for the time being, sir, and it is only fair that you should retain yours.’

‘Then let us ride on,’ Andrew told him with a grin. ‘One day we may meet again, and then perhaps we shall learn the truth—but for now we are passing strangers travelling together for our mutual benefit.’

Catherine wandered from stall to stall, her lovely face alight with excitement as she examined the pedlars’ wares. It was a warm September day and the annual fair had come to the village of Melford Chase, which was a cause for celebration for all who lived here in the valleys that lay on the borders of Wales and England. Catherine and her younger sister, Anne, had been eagerly awaiting this day for some weeks, because their mother had promised that they would buy silks for new gowns and lace to trim them.

Anne and Lady Melford were still lingering at the silk merchant’s stall, examining his wares, but Catherine had known what she wanted immediately, choosing a deep emerald silk. Anne could not decide between a pretty blue and a paler green, so she had left them to choose while she walked on, because there was so much to see. One stall was selling holy relics, another beads and bangles that gleamed like gold, but would turn your skin black if you wore them too long. You could find anything here, Catherine thought as she looked at spangled scarves and embroidered slippers, for only one stall away a man was selling cooking pots made of iron. A little further into the meadow were stalls selling cheeses and pies, also cakes and sweetmeats, and the smell of roasting sucking pig permeated the air, making her feel hungry.