The Captive Bride

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Copyright

“Such a sharp tongue you possess, Katharine. No soft and gentle wife will you be, I vow.”

“No wife will I be. I will not wed you!”

“I will give you a choice. You may don the wedding gown I have brought—”Senet nodded at the heap she had thrown to the floor “—or you may be married as you are, in your chemise.”

“You are deaf, dumb, blind and senseless!”she shouted furiously, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “I will not wed you!”

“I give you the span of a minute to make your decision.”

“You, a knight of the realm? You would not parade any woman before her own people so nearly undressed. And certainly not the woman you mean to have as a wife,”she said with disdain.

“Nay, I would not subject you to such a humiliation, but you are the one who will conclude the outcome.”

Dear Reader,

As the weather heats up this month, so do the passion and adventure in our romances!

Susan Spencer Paul brings us another tale in her fabulous medieval BRIDE SERIES, all loosely related—and very hotl—stories of stolen brides. You may know Susan from her mainstream historical novels written as Mary Spencer. The Captive Bride is the story of Senet Gaillard—Isabelle’s tortured brother from The Bride Thief—who meets the one woman who can mend his broken heart, Lady Katharine Mathus. But first he must storm her castle and “force”her to marry him!

Lord of Lyonsbridge marks the twelfth book for the talented Ana Seymour. In this unusual medieval novel, a sinfully handsome horse master teaches a spoiled Norman beauty important lessons in compassion and love. And don’t miss Linda Castle’s new Western, Heart of the Lawman, about the power of forgiveness. Here, a single mother, upon release from prison, is drawn to her child’s guardian—the same man who mistakenly imprisoned her…

Finally, we have a wonderful marriage—of—convenience story set in Oregon, Plum Creek Bride by Lynna Banning. When a German nanny travels to the West to care for a baby girl, she arrives to find a grieving widower—the town doctor—and teaches him how to love again.

Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historicals® novel.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Captive Bride

Susan Spencer Paul

SUSAN SPENCER PAUL

who also writes as Mary Spencer, lives in Monrovia, California, with her husband, Paul, an R.N., and their three daughters, Carolyn, Kelly and Katharine. She is the author of twelve historical novels set in a variety of time periods, and especially loves writing about the medieval and Regency eras.

Dedicated to my wonderful Liming sisters-in-law, Jeanie, Lori, Nancy and Barbara, with all my love

Prologue

France, March 1437

Sir John Fastolf was sitting with his booted feet propped on a trunk when the flap to his tent opened. He looked up from the missive he was reading and saw the tall man standing outside in the heavy rain. “Ah, at last. Sir Senet. Come in and be welcomed. Luc—”he turned his attention briefly to his busy serving boy “—bring Sir Senet some wine.”Then he waved to his visitor. “Come in, man. No need to stand in the rain. Come in and sit down.”

Senet ducked and stepped into the tent, removing his helmet with one hand as he did so. When he lifted his head it was to meet Sir John’s greeting smile with a somber gaze.

“Have you word from London, my lord?”he asked, standing in his place and dripping water on the rug that had been laid on the ground.

Sir John nodded. “This morn. I sent word to you as soon as I had it in my hands. The battle has gone hard, I take it?”His knowing gaze moved over the other man’s dirty, much worn armor.

Senet’s expression gave little away. “As ever, my lord.”

“Yes,”Sir John said with a sigh. “As ever. I shall miss your good services when you’ve gone, Senet. You’re one of the finest soldiers I’ve had the pleasure to command. Sit down and we’ll share a goblet over your good fortune.”

Senet’s gaze sharpened. “The king has approved my request?”

“His regents have, rather. You’d have made no headway without the aid of your sister’s husband, Sir Justin Baldwin. It was he who convinced Duke Humphrey to consider making you this boon. I needn’t tell you how unusual this is, given the fact of your father’s treason.”

“Have I made no reparation for that?”Senet demanded.

“Quite obviously you have,”Sir John told him, “else you’d not have your family lands returned to you. There is a condition, however, before you may take repossession of Castle Lomas.”

“Condition?”Senet repeated warily. He pulled the gauntlet from one hand and took the goblet the boy Luc brought him. When Sir John motioned again for him to sit, he carefully took the chair opposite his host.

Sir John accepted a goblet as well, sipping from it slowly before answering.

“Circumstances have fallen in a fortunate manner for you, Senet. I doubt the request to regain your lands would have been considered, much less granted, if Sir Richard Malthus hadn’t died without leaving an heir. It was Malthus, you recall, who was given the deed and title to Lomas after your father was executed for treason. There is only an unmarried daughter now, Lady Katharine, twenty and one years of age, who has seen fit to run the estate since her father’s death in any manner she pleases—which does little to endear her to Duke Humphrey, you may be sure. But that was as Malthus wished, at least until the girl should be properly wed. Sir Justin petitioned for you in the matter, and the king’s regents have agreed. Your lands will be returned to you in full as soon as you’ve taken Lady Katharine to wife.”

Senet stared at him, his fingers tightening upon the goblet he held. Sir John held his hands up, as if warding off what he thought must be an objection. “I know she is somewhat older than what most men seek in a wife, but I am assured that she is both hearty and hale and descended of a long line of good breeders. ‘Tis unlikely that you would have any trouble in getting an heir off her.”

“Has Lady Katharine agreed?”

Sir John smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, no. It appears that she’s received the news of your proposed marriage with little enthusiasm, and has denied the request based on a formal betrothal her father arranged between herself and a wealthy baron, Lord Hanley. Lord Hanley, however, disappeared more than three years ago while on a religious pilgrimage, and has long been presumed dead. Still, Lady Katharine insists that the betrothal be maintained and has refused any and all proposals of marriage. Duke Humphrey, understandably, is exceedingly displeased with the girl, and has granted you permission to.encourage her in the matter. Only make certain that you bring the lady no harm, nor any of those in her care.”He set his goblet aside on a nearby table and sat forward. “And now, Senet Gaillard, I have the unhappy task of releasing you from any further duty here in France. You’re to leave for England as soon as possible and make for Lomas.”

Senet nodded, his expression as sober and unremarkable as if Sir John had merely spoken of the weather.

“What of my friends? Sir Kayne—”

Sir John held up a staying hand. “He and Sir Aric and John Ipris are to go with you. I would not separate you from your comrades at such a time, and they have served England as well as you have done these past several years. To ask more of them now would be unjust. You are all released from duty to return home and lay your siege upon Castle Lomas.”

Senet drained his cup and set it aside. Standing, he took up his gauntlet and helmet. “Lomas is mine by right of birth,”he said evenly. “Lady Katharine is another matter. If by wedding her I reclaim what is rightfully mine, then you may be certain, my lord, that she will be my wife. Regardless of what her wishes may be, or how stubborn she may prove. She will wed me, even if I must lock her away to make certain of it. I promise you that on my very honor.”

He set his helmet upon his head with an easy, longpracticed motion, and tugged on his gauntlet. Making a curt bow, he bid Sir John good day, then turned about and left as abruptly as he had arrived.

Chapter One

England, July 1437

“It is unacceptable.”

Katharine put the missive aside with finality. The gaze she set upon the man standing before her was unwavering. “You may tell Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet Gaillard that my decision on the matter remains unchanged. And,”she added distinctly, “unchangeable. I will not accept Sir Senet for a husband. If Duke Humphrey finds this distressing, then I pray you will remind him that I am already betrothed.”

“He has not forgotten it, my lady,”Sir William told her with a slight bow. “But Lord Hanley has been presumed dead these past three years—”

“He is not dead!”Katharine rose from her chair. “I will not have you, or anyone else, saying so.”She gripped her skirt in a tight fist as she moved nearer the man. “The pilgrimage he’s undertaken has merely lasted longer than expected. If any ill had befallen him or his companions, I would have had word of it”

“The trouble, my lady, is that you’ve had no word from him. Nor has anyone else. It is only logical to assume the worst.”

“Not at all,”she countered. “Lord Hanley is an exceedingly devout man, and would not be given to such worldly concerns as writing mere missives when he is instead giving worship to God. He wished to make this journey before taking on the duties of marriage and so asked me to wait for his return. I will do as he requested and fulfill the promise I gave him. Surely Duke Humphrey would not want me to do otherwise.”

“My lady, only hear me—”

“There is nothing more to say,”she said brusquely. “You may convey my sentiments to Duke Humphrey exactly as I have expressed them, and tell him that I pray he leaves me in peace.”

The man hesitated.

“Are you quite certain that this is what you wish, Lady Katharine?”

“Quite certain.”

He looked behind her to where three other ladies sat watching the proceedings.

“There is no one who can change your mind?”

The ladies to whom he looked variously cast their eyes to the floor, and Katharine replied, “No one.”

He bowed. “Then I will thank you for receiving me, and bid you good day.”

Katharine nodded. “Mistress Ariette will escort you through the hall.”One of her ladies, a diminutive young woman, rose silently from her chair. “Godspeed to you, my lord.”

She collapsed into the nearest chair the moment he quit the room.

“May God forgive me,”she murmured, drawing in a deep breath and crossing herself, “for speaking so many falsehoods.”The breath was released in a rapid whoosh.

The remaining women quickly surrounded her.

“Oh, my lady, you were wonderful!”

“Thank you, Dorothea.”Katharine accepted the goblet of wine that was pressed into her shaking hand. “I thought my knees would give way before he finally left. Did he believe it, do you think?”

“He must have done so,”Dorothea answered, fanning her mistress with a small square silk linen. “You were most convincing.”

“Indeed,”said the other maid, younger than the other two. “You made Lord Hanley sound almost a saint, and that was not easily done.”

Katharine smiled. “I nearly choked on the words. If that pompous fool ever does return alive from his travels, I can only pray he’ll never hear of what transpired this day.”

“He might insist that you wed him.”

“May heaven forbid it!”Katharine said fervently, and her ladies nodded.

A soft voice came from the doorway. “My lady?”Ariette had returned. “He has gone.”

“But he’ll be back soon,”Katharine said with a frown. “Or if not him, another of Duke Humphrey’s messengers. The king’s regent has a never ceasing supply of them, so it seems. This makes the sixth we’ve dealt with thus far, not including the visit Sir Justin Baldwin paid.”

“Perhaps the duke himself might make the journey,”Dorothea speculated.

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”Katharine stood and walked back to where she’d left the missive. Unfolding and laying it upon the table, she flattened it with both hands. “I must find the means to keep Lomas without fettering myself in the doing. Surely there is some way to manage it.”

“I don’t know why you won’t at least see Sir Senet,”the youngest girl said. “’Tis rumored that he’s very handsome, as well as a brave knight who has attained much honor. And Lomas would have been his by right if naught had happened to change the matter.”

“I’ve no care for either Senet Gaillard’s looks or his attainments, Magan,”Katharine told her distractedly, studying the page before her. “His father was a traitor to the throne, and I’ll not be wed to such a one. And as to Lomas being his—I should have to be dead first.”

“Oh, my lady, please don’t say that,”Ariette begged. “The duke may force you to wed the man. Or he may grow even angrier and make Sir Senet lord here without the necessity of marriage. Then we would all of us be beneath his hand. Even you.”

It was true, Katharine thought unhappily, and might very well occur, especially if she continued to turn aside the proposed marriage. And it was something that might already have occurred to Duke Humphrey, regardless of whatever crimes Senet Gaillard’s father had committed. The past lord of Lomas might have been a traitor to the crown, but Sir Senet, if all that she’d heard was true, had more than proven himself loyal to both king and country. He’d killed his father’s own people in the war with France—his own people, since he was so closely related to French royalty, in order to prove himself.

But none of that mattered to Katharine. She had no wish for an arranged marriage. Indeed, she had no wish for marriage at all. It was naught but a chain to women, a path to lifelong servitude. Even the betrothal that her father had arranged to Lord Hanley, whom she despised, had been awful to her. When he had decided to go on his pilgrimage, Katharine had been utterly relieved; when he’d evidently disappeared on that same pilgrimage, she’d thanked God for unexpected mercies. Not that she wished harm upon Lord Hanley, but she’d been her own mistress at Lomas since even before her father had died, and had no wish to be otherwise. If she married Lord Hanley or Sir Senet, or any man, she would suddenly become as she had once been—powerless and, worse, unable to do so much as speak her mind on how best to manage Lomas for the benefit of both the land and the people. She had seen that fate befall her own mpther before her father had been gifted with the estate and title that belonged to Lomas, when they had lived at court in London. It was as if her mother had merely become a shadow, necessary only to make certain of the comfort of others, but nothing more. And like a shadow she had eventually faded beneath such a lack of identity. Katharine’s father hadn’t even realized that his wife was slipping away until it had been too late. She would never forget how stunned he’d been at her mother’s death, how unforgivably surprised.

“I will think of a way to keep it from happening,”Katharine vowed. “I must. Even if I cannot hold off marrying forever, at least I may buy enough time to find a husband of my own choosing.”

“I cannot see what good that will do,”said Dorothea. “They are all the same, are they not? And perhaps you may find one who is even worse, than Sir Senet. Only think of Lord Hanley.”

Katharine gave a slight shudder. “You speak truly, though few men could be a worse prospect for husband than he.”She grew thoughtful. “But it would be convenient, would it not, if I truly had a betrothed? Someone who would convince Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet and any other suitors that I am soon to be wed so that they may leave me in peace.”

“But you are betrothed,”Magan told her. “To Lord Hanley. And it would be impossible to procure him, would it not?”

“Yes, and may God be praised for it,”Katharine said with a nod, “but I doubt that any of Duke Humphrey’s messengers would recognize Lord Hanley if they saw him. He was not given to visits at court, and was somewhat solitary. Would it not be most convincing to my case if he should suddenly return from his pilgrimage?”

Her ladies gaped at her, until Dorothea said, “My lady, you cannot intend to practice such deceit.”

“Can I not?”Katharine’s lips curved into a smile. “I am a woman sorely pressed, and capable of attempting anything at all. Indeed, the more I think of it, the better I like the idea. I need only find the right man to lend me aid in such a scheme, and all will be well.”

“My lady, this is madness!”Ariette protested. “Only think. You would have to marry this man—a stranger. How can that be any better than wedding with Sir Senet?”

“I can’t think I should have to do any such thing,”Katharine replied evenly. “If I can only convince whoever will help me to temporarily play the part of my betrothed, then he may leave Lomas unfettered—and much the richer—once Duke Humphrey has been convinced. I’ll have no further need of him.”

“Will you not?”Ariette pressed. “And what will happen when the duke discovers you never wed? He’ll be angrier than before, and will have you punished for such a lie.”

“Hmm.”Katharine tapped the tip of one finger against her chin, thinking of this. “You speak truly, Ariette. And it would be just as well to have the matter done with so that we need not worry over any interference in future. But the answer to that is simple, as well. I must only find a man who will wed if enough money is offered and who has no more interest in maintaining a binding union than I. Someone who will gladly be on his way once the ruse has met its goal.”She smoothed her hand over the missive once more. “I believe I know the perfect man.”

“Who, my lady?”

She straightened. “Kieran FitzAllen.”

A collective gasp rose among the others.

“But, Lady Katharine!”Magan cried. “He’s your own cousin!”

“My half cousin,”Katharine corrected. “And distantly removed, at that, as well as basely born. Duke Humphrey has probably never even heard of him, or known of his existence. He’d pass perfectly as Lord Hanley, without a moment’s question.”

“But he’s…he’s…”Ariette began, faltering.

“A rogue,”Dorothea stated sternly. “A complete scoundrel in every way. He’s ever in trouble, and well you know it. I can’t believe anyone would mistake such a coarse man for Lord Hanley.”

“And I can’t believe you should wish to wed him,”Magan said. “Despite that he’s the most handsome of men, he would likewise make the most unreliable of husbands. Only think of all his.women.”She reddened just speaking of it. “How could you possibly wish to be united to such a man?”

“Easily,”Katharine said with a wave of one hand. “Oh, Kie’s a troublemaker, I grant you, but his heart is good and his pockets empty. ‘Twould be a simple matter to coax him to the idea, and he’d leave Lomas readily enough when the time came. He’s never wished to marry any more than I have. I can’t think why it’s not occurred to me before now that we might lend each other aid in the matter.”

“He’d be a burden about your neck for the rest of your life,”Dorothea declared. “Always showing up when he was in trouble or needing money. You’d never be rid of him.”

“I won’t care for that, so long as he never attempts to lay claim to Lomas. And that,”she said with certainty, “is something he would not do. You know how he disdains responsibility.”She grinned at her ladies. “’Tis why he’s always roaming about, hither and yon, is that not so? Nay, Kie will give me no trouble. He’ll make the ideal husband, if I can but convince him to come to Lomas to hear what I propose.”

“I doubt you could even find him,”Ariette said with a sniff. “He only shows up when he wants something.”

“Unkind!”Katharine charged. “And untrue. You know very well that he comes often only to visit. We’ve always gotten along well, and I have counted him among my truest friends. If he has needed aid on occasion, I’ve been more than glad to lend it. He’s never grown wearisome in his company, at least, as Lord Hanley was given to do.”

“And what of Lord Hanley?”Magan asked. “What if he should one day return from his pilgrimage? What a fine road of trouble that would be, were he to find you wed to another who’d taken his name.”

Katharine shook her head. “He’ll not return. Not after so long. And if he should—”The idea made her feel slightly ill. “At least I would be safely wed to another. If I lose Lomas for the deceit, I would not also have to suffer in being his wife. But come. We waste precious time. Magan, bring parchment and ink, and I will write a missive to Kieran. If only he can be found in time, we may be ready to receive whoever else Duke Humphrey deigns to send. Even Sir Senet Gaillard, should he be so bold as to come to Lomas uninvited. But I cannot think he would do anything so rude, unless he is more treacherous than his father was.”

“Oh, my lady,”Magan said, pleading, “I beg you to think of this matter again. It can bring naught but disaster!”

“There is no more time for pondering. Indeed, we would do far better to spend our time in prayer, and ask God to aid us in finding my cousin. Knowing how he wanders, that in itself may require a small miracle.”

It looked the same as Senet had remembered it. The valley spread out below was the most beautiful he’d ever seen—although he knew, in truth, that only he would think it so. But the land surrounding Castle Lomas was ripe with crops—wheat, oats, beans—while farther away it rolled gently, dotted with oak trees. Farther still the trees grew together more thickly, forming a forest. A small, constant river meandered through the middle of the valley, bordering the castle gates on one side. He remembered fishing in that river, and riding through the oak trees and forest, and hawking with his father in the fields on cold, early mornings. His mother had liked to sit atop the castle walls on pleasant nights and gaze out at the stars, pondering their distances and trying to figure the numbers in her brilliant mind. His sister, Isabelle, had played with him in the garden in the inner bailey when they were children, although she was older than he by some few years.