The Blackmailed Bride

The Blackmailed Bride
Mandy Goff

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesThe despicable Baron Finley is the last man Lady Olivia Fairfax would want as her husband, but what choice does she have?He holds the secret to a family scandal, and she must bow to his blackmail or see herself and her brother publicly disgraced. Steeling her resolve—and shielding her heart—Olivia is prepared to do her duty to her family. . . until Nicholas Stuart, the Marquess of Huntsford, complicates her plans. Nick is brave, honorable, infuriatingly attractive and unshakably determined to protect Olivia—even from herself.He won't let Olivia sacrifice her happiness for any price. Instead, he'll teach her to follow her heart. . . and pray that it leads her straight to him.

“Why are you so averse to my compliments?”

“I can’t let you say those things to me,” Olivia replied. “I can’t, even for a moment, let myself be flattered by your pretty words.”

Nick was close enough to her to reach out a hand and lay it on the side of her face. “Why can’t you let me tell you how I feel?”

Olivia’s disgust at the injustice of the situation rolled forth in a consuming wave. “How could I expect you to understand what I’m saying when no one knows?”

“Knows what?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

“Nothing.” She’d already said far more than was safe.

“I thought we were done with the secrets.”

“I still have a few more,” she said quietly.

“You’re going to have to trust someone eventually,” he told her as he withdrew his hand. “I was hoping you might let it be me.”

She turned to him, with her dashed hopes, fear and sadness in her eyes. “It can’t ever be you,” she whispered.

MANDY GOFF

began her foray into the literary world when just a young child. Her first masterwork, a vivid portrayal of the life and times of her stuffed animals, was met with great acclaim from her parents…and an uninterested eye roll from her sister. In spite of the mixed reviews, however, Mandy knew she had found her calling.

After graduating cum laude from North Greenville University with a bachelor’s degree in English, Mandy surrendered her heart—and her pen—to fulfilling God’s call on her life…to write fiction that both entertains and uplifts.

Mandy lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband and three-year-old daughter. And when she is not doing laundry or scouring the house for her daughter’s once-again-missing “Pup-pup,” she enjoys reading good books, having incredibly long phone conversations and finding creative ways to get out of cooking.

Mandy Goff

The Blackmailed Bride

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

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

—The Song of Solomon 2:11

To Daniel and Brie. I could never eloquently convey how much I love and thank God for you both.

I am blessed beyond measure.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Mom and Dad, for giving me the freedom to dream crazy dreams and for providing me with the support and encouragement to achieve them. To Megan, whom I am prouder than I could say to call both sister and friend and who has believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. To Dennis and Sue, for accepting me into their family long before I married into it. To Elizabeth Mazer, my editor extraordinaire, for being wonderful and long-suffering and for seeing possibilities in the mess. And to Cheryl, who has been my professor, mentor and finally VBFF, and someone I could not thank enough for everything even if I were to say it again…and again…and again.

Contents

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

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four