No Other Love
Candace Camp
Urgently on her way to the earl of Exmoor's estate, Nicola Falcourt's carriage is waylaid by a notorious highwayman known as The Gentleman. But there is nothing gentlemanly about the masked bandit's breathless kiss.The stranger believes Nicola is the wife of Richard Montford, earl of Exmoor, whom he despises and is intent on destroying. But he could not be more mistaken, for Nicola bears no love for the cruel earl who'd killed the only man she'd ever loved.Determined to uncover the rogue's real identity and his reasons for bringing down the earl, Nicola gets perilously close to him. But to save those she loves, she'll have to put all her trust in a man as dangerous as he is desirable.
Praise for the novels of
CANDACE CAMP
“Camp has again produced a fast-paced plot brimming with lively conflict among family, lovers and enemies.”
—Publishers Weekly on A Dangerous Man
“Romance, humor, adventure, Incan treasure, dreams, murder, psychics—the latest addition to Camp’s Mad Moreland series has it all.”
—Booklist on An Unexpected Pleasure
“Entertaining, well-written Victorian romantic mystery.”
—The Best Reviews on An Unexpected Pleasure
“A smart, fun-filled romp.”
—Publishers Weekly on Impetuous
“Camp brings the dark Victorian world to life. Her strong characters and perfect pacing keep you turning the pages of this chilling mystery.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Winterset
“From its delicious beginning to its satisfying ending, [Mesmerized] offers a double helping of romance.”
—Booklist
No Other Love
Candace Camp
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
No Other Love
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
1789
HELEN BENT OVER THE SMALL BOY in the bed. He looked so small and helpless that it tore at her heart. His hair clung in damp ringlets to his head. He lay still, almost unmoving, his eyes closed, extraordinarily long dark lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. The only sign of life was the faint movement of the sheet as his chest rose and fell. Moments earlier he had been mumbling in his sleep, tossing and turning in the grip of a high fever. Now he lay still as death.
Helen brushed the wet strands of hair back from his forehead. Don’t let him die. Please, not now. She had known him only two days, but already she could not bear to let him go.
Mr. Fuquay had arrived at the inn two nights ago in a post chaise with, oddly, this sick child inside. She knew Fuquay, of course. He had stayed at the village inn before, when Richard Montford had come with friends to visit his cousin, Lord Chilton, the Earl of Exmoor. It was whispered in the village that the Earl despised Richard Montford and would not allow him to stay at Tidings, the grand seat of the Montford family. Only now, of course, the old man was dead, and Richard Montford was the new Earl. It had seemed peculiar that Fuquay had come to the inn and not to Tidings.
It had seemed even more peculiar when she saw that he had two children with him. He had come to the door of the public room and motioned to her. She had cast a quick glance toward the tavern owner, then slipped out the door after Fuquay. He was an odd young man, handsome but very gaunt, with a peculiarly soft, almost dazed, look in his eyes most of the time. One of the other girls said that he was an opium eater, and perhaps that was true. But he had been kind and gentle to her, and it hadn’t taken much persuasion on his part to induce Helen to warm his bed while he was at the inn. He had been generous, too, and she remembered him fondly.
He had taken her to the carriage and opened it, showing her two sleeping children inside. A girl, hidden in bonnet and coat, was curled up against the opposite wall. Across from her, on the opposite seat, lay a boy, wrapped in a blanket. His face was flushed and bathed in sweat, his body visibly trembling.