The Secret Heiress

The Secret Heiress
Bethany Campbell

Mills & Boon Silhouette
Marie Lafayette has struggled for most of her life. So when her mother's dying confession reveals an astonishing truth, Marie walks away from her career to find answers at Fairchild Acres…where she might be the heiress to the Fairchild family fortune!But Marie can't bring herself to reveal her true identity. Her? An heiress? And to make matters worse, she's falling for racing world royalty. Andrew Preston is wealthy, handsome…and completely wrong for her. Because even as Andrew makes Marie feel like Cinderella, she knows fairy tales don't exist. And men like Andrew don't fall for women like her….

Dear Reader,

Like many little girls growing up, I loved horses, though I knew I would probably never own one. So my relatives, bless them, gave me horse books!

My beloved Aunt Charlotte gave me a special book on great racehorses.

The story that most haunted me was of Black Gold, a great little horse that won the fiftieth Kentucky Derby. Run for too many years, he finished his last race—but broke a leg. He crossed the finish line on three legs—but he crossed it. And then was put down.

I thought of Black Gold when writing about Andrew, the quiet and serious hero in this book. He is a man who loves horses and is passionately devoted to both keeping the sport fair—and free of tragic endings like those that befell Black Gold, Ruffian, Barbaro and Eight Belles.

We need more like him.

Bethany Campbell

The Secret Heiress

Bethany Campbell

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

BETHANY CAMPBELL

has written forty-eight novels and novellas of romance and romantic suspense. An eight-time finalist for the RITA

Award, she has won three, as well as three Reviewers’ Choice Awards, a Maggie Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award.

Under another name, she has published articles, short stories and poetry. Her proudest moments outside of romance were doing a poetry workshop with Maya Angelou, and being presented two poetry awards in one evening by Gwendolyn Brooks.

She won the 2005 Cape Fear Screen Writing Award, and her film script, Three Apples Fall, has just been shot and edited by LCW productions.

Her husband, Dan, has written science fiction, a syndicated humor column and a number of short plays and screenplays. The couple lives in northwest Arkansas with three cats and a garden that’s been out of control for fourteen years. Their favorite pastime is watching movies and videos. They plan, someday, to clean their office.

To the memory of Charlotte and Jesse Hall

and to their children, John and my dear Mary Ann

CONTENTS

PART ONE: Australia, the Northern Territory

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

PART TWO: Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

PART THREE: Australia, The Hunter Valley

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

PART FOUR: Australia, The Hunter Valley

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

PART FIVE: Australia, The Hunter Valley

Epilogue

PART ONE

Australia, the Northern Territory

February

Chapter One

The tall Kentuckian, Andrew Preston, was new to Australia.