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The Promise
Brenda Joyce
DEA agent Rodrigo Ramirez is sent undercover to Gloryanne Barnes's stepbrother's farm in Jacobsville, Texas, where he's looking to bust a new and vicious drug cartel.Gloryanne is smart, savvy and fiercely independent, but her job has put her in danger from the same criminal Rodrigo is investigating. She's drawn to the enigmatic new farmhand, Rodrigo, a man who is much more than he seems.Confused and bitter about love, driven by his dangerous job, Rodrigo's not sure if his reckless offer of marriage to the oh-so-tempting Gloryanne is just a means to completing his mission–or something more.But as Gloryanne's bittersweet miracle and Rodrigo's double life collide, they must face the truth about each other, and decide if there's a chance for the future they both secretly desire.
Praise for
BRENDA JOYCE’S
bestselling de Warenne dynasty
An Impossible Attraction
“Best-selling Joyce matches up a strong-willed, proud…heroine and a testosterone-rich, arrogant…hero…[A] long, lushly sensual historical.”
—Booklist
A Dangerous Love
“The latest de Warenne novel is pure Joyce with its trademark blend of searing sensuality, wild escapades and unforgettable characters. You’ll find warmth and romance alongside intense emotions and powerful relationships. It’s a story you won’t easily forget.”
—RT Book Reviews
The Perfect Bride
“Another first-rate Regency, featuring multidimensional protagonists and sweeping drama… Entirely fluff-free, Joyce’s tight plot and vivid cast combine for a romance that’s just about perfect.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Truly a stirring story with wonderfully etched characters, Joyce’s latest is Regency romance at its best.”
—Booklist
“Joyce’s latest is a piece of perfection as she meticulously crafts a tender and emotionally powerful love story. Passion and pain erupt from the pages and flow straight into your heart. You won’t forget this beautifully rendered love story of lost souls and redemption.”
—RT Book Reviews
A Lady at Last
“Romance veteran Joyce brings her keen sense of humor and storytelling prowess to bear on her witty, fully formed characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A classic Pygmalion tale with an extra soupçon of eroticism.”
—Booklist
“A warm, wonderfully sensual feast about the joys and pains of falling in love. Joyce breathes life into extraordinary characters—from her sprightly Cinderella heroine and roguish hero to everyone in between—then sets them in the glittering Regency, where anything can happen.”
—RT Book Reviews
The Stolen Bride
“Joyce’s characters carry considerable emotional weight, which keeps this hefty entry absorbing, and her fast-paced story keeps the pages turning.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A powerfully executed romance overflowing with the strength of prose, high degree of sensuality and emotional intensity we expect from Joyce. A ‘keeper’ for sure.”
—RT Book Reviews
The Masquerade
“Jane Austen aficionados will delve happily into heroine Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Fitzgerald’s family…Joyce’s tale of the dangers and delights of passion fulfilled will enchant those who like their reads long and rich.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A passionate tale of two lovers caught up in a web of secrets, deceptions and lies. Readers who love the bold historicals by Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss will find much to savor here.”
—Booklist
“An intensely emotional and engrossing romance where love overcomes deceit, scandal and pride…an intelligent love story with smart, appealing and strong characters. Readers will savor this latest from a grand mistress of the genre.”
—RT Book Reviews
The Prize
“A powerhouse of emotion and sensuality, The Prize weaves a tapestry vibrantly colored with detail and balanced with strands of consuming passion.”
—RT Book Reviews
BRENDA JOYCE
The Promise
For Kathy Pichnarcik
The Promise
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
PART TWO
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PART THREE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
PROLOGUE
Adare, Ireland
Summer 1824
THE ANIMATED SOUND OF adult conversation drifted from the mansion’s formal dining room, where the Earl of Adare was having a supper party in celebration of his wife’s birthday. The children had gathered in an intimate salon across the great, vaulted entry hall from the dining room, and Elysse O’Neill, who was eleven years old, sat on the gold brocade sofa in her most formal supper dress, wishing she had been allowed to join the adults. Her best friend, Ariella de Warenne, also dressed up for the party, was beside her, engrossed in a book. Elysse could not understand her friend—she hated reading. She would have been bored, if not for the boys.
They stood in a huddle on the other side of the salon, excitedly whispering to one another. Elysse stared at them, trying to eavesdrop, knowing they meant to cause trouble. Her eyes were riveted on Alexi de Warenne, Ariella’s brother, as he was always the leader of the pack.
She had met him four years ago, when he had first arrived in London with his father and Ariella, from Jamaica Island where he had been raised. Upon being introduced, she had snubbed him instantly, although his dark, bronzed looks and swaggering air of confidence had instantly fascinated her. After all, he was a bastard, even if his mother was a Russian noblewoman, and she was a lady, so she meant to put him down. But he hadn’t been affected by the rejection; instead, he had proceeded to regale her with his stories of his life. Elysse had expected him to be backward and gauche, but he was neither of those things. She quickly realized that she had never met any boy before who had lived through as much as he had. He had sailed across the world with his father, weathering hurricanes and monsoons, avoiding naval blockades and pirates, while carrying the world’s most precious cargoes! He had swum with dolphins, climbed the Himalayan Mountains, trekked jungles in Brazil. He had even sailed a raft up a river in China without his father! In fact, he had bragged that he could sail anything, anywhere—and she had believed him. Within an hour, she had decided that he was the most interesting boy she had ever met—not that she would ever let him know!
She knew him well now. Alexi was an adventurer, like his seafaring father, and he could not stay on land for very long, or sit still, either. What were the boys up to? They hurried across the salon, and she realized that they were about to leave, their goal the terrace doors.
Pushing her golden hair behind her ears and smoothing down her blue satin dress, Elysse slid to her feet. “Wait,” she cried. She rushed over to them. “Where are you going?”
Alexi grinned at her. “Errol Castle.”
Her heart lurched. Everyone knew the castle ruins were haunted! “Are you mad?”
His blue eyes danced. “Don’t you want to come, Elysse? Don’t you want to see the old ghost who wanders the north tower in the light of the full moon?” Alexi leaned close. “They say he pines for his lady love. I know how you adore romance! She left him, you know, on a full moon—for another man. And so he killed himself, forever to walk the tower when the moon is full.”
“Of course I know the story.” Her heart beat with alarm and fear. She wasn’t brave like Alexi or her younger brother, Jack, or Ned, the earl’s heir, who stood with them. She had no desire to rush off into the night and meet the ghost.
“Coward,” Alexi said softly. He touched her chin. “I’ll protect you, you know.”
She jerked away. “And how will you do that? You are only a boy—and a mad boy, at that!”
His smile faded. “If I say I will protect you, I will.”
She believed he would do just that—even from a ghost. She hesitated, not wanting to go with them. “Ladies don’t have to be brave, Alexi. They must only be graceful, politic, polite and beautiful.”
“Of course they do! My stepmother has sailed the world with my father and even fought pirates at his side. She is brave and beautiful.” His eyes gleamed.
Ned stepped forward. “Leave her be, Alexi. She doesn’t want to come with us.”
Her younger brother, Jack, snickered at her.
Ariella walked up to them, having actually put down her history book. “I’ll go.” Her blue eyes were wide and bright. “I would love to see the ghost!”
Alexi gave Elysse a daring look.
“Fine!” she cried, furious that he had taunted her into agreeing. “But how will we get there?”
“It won’t take more than twenty minutes if we ride,” Ned said. “The girls can ride double, behind us. Jack can ride by himself.”
This was a horrible idea—Elysse simply knew it—but everyone else was wide-eyed with excitement. Within moments, she was following the boys and Ariella across the terrace to a paddock where they would steal their mounts. The boys often rode bareback, with just a bridle or even a halter. Now, she wished they were horrid horsemen—but they were not. The night was so dark and so quiet! As she followed them across Adare’s great gardens, she glanced up at the gleaming moon. It was full and bright. She prayed they would not encounter any ghost that night.
A few minutes later everyone was astride, and they were trotting away from the house. Elysse held on hard to Alexi, angrier with him by the minute. He was an excellent horseman, but she was a terrible rider, and she was afraid she would fall off.
“You are breaking my ribs,” he said, with laughter in his tone.
“I hate you,” she exclaimed.
“No, you don’t.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way. Ahead, in the moon’s odd yellow light, she saw the dark shadows of Errol Castle. It was huge.
It was so quiet now. All she could hear was the rhythmic clip-clop of their horses’ hooves and her own thundering heartbeat. Beneath her hands, she could feel Alexi’s breath come more rapidly and thought she could feel his heart, racing more swiftly than it should. They passed through the piles of eerily white stones that had once been the outer walls of the barbican. She wanted to turn around and go home! Suddenly a wolf howled.
