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The Blacksheep Prince's Bride
Martha Shields
A devoted member of Edenbourg's royal household, lady-in-waiting Rowena Wilde was determined to obtain answers regarding the king's disappearance–starting by playing nanny to the prime suspect's son. Yet the harder she tried to prove Jake Stanbury's guilt, the more she found herself defending his innocence.But when Jake proposed a marriage of convenience to retain custody of his son, could Rowena accept a temporary union when her heart begged him to give her forever?
THE EDENBOURG TATTLER
Word has it that Rowena Wilde, lady-in-waiting to Princess Isabel, has devoted herself to caring for the two-year-old son of gorgeous royal cousin Jake Stanbury—the number-one suspect in King Michael’s disappearance!—while the Americans are still on Edenbourg soil. However, what started as a simple “favor” seems to have escalated into something a bit more long-term—for Jake has just proposed marriage to the lovely virgin! But will a secret Rowena holds in her heart keep their temporary arrangement from becoming a lifetime commitment?
Now Nicholas is missing, too!
Or is he?
Code Name: Prince (SR#1516) by Valerie Parv
Dear Reader,
The year is off to a wonderful start in Silhouette Romance, and we’ve got some of our best stories yet for you right here.
Our tremendously successful ROYALLY WED series continues with The Blacksheep Prince’s Bride by Martha Shields. Our intrepid heroine—a lady-in-waiting for Princess Isabel—will do anything to help rescue the king. Even marry the single dad turned prince! And Judy Christenberry returns to Romance with Newborn Daddy. Poor Ryan didn’t know what he was missing, until he looked through the nursery window.…
Also this month, Teresa Southwick concludes her much-loved series about the Marchetti family in The Last Marchetti Bachelor. And popular author Elizabeth August gives us Slade’s Secret Son. Lisa hadn’t planned to tell Slade about their child. But with her life in danger, there’s only one man to turn to.…
Carla Cassidy’s tale of love and adventure is Lost in His Arms, while new-to-the-Romance-line Vivienne Wallington proves she’s anything but a beginning writer in this powerful story of a man Claiming His Bride.
Be sure to come back next month for Valerie Parv’s ROYALLY WED title as well as new stories by Sandra Steffen and Myrna Mackenzie. And Patricia Thayer will begin a brand-new series, THE TEXAS BROTHERHOOD.
Happy reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
The Blacksheep Prince’s Bride
Martha Shields
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Lisa Turner
Books by Martha Shields
Silhouette Romance
* (#litres_trial_promo)Home Is Where Hank Is #1287
* (#litres_trial_promo)And Cowboy Makes Three #1317
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Million-Dollar Cowboy #1346
Husband Found #1377
The Princess and the Cowboy #1403
Lassoed! #1461
The Blacksheep Prince’s Bride #1510
MARTHA SHIELDS
grew up telling stories to her sister in the back seat of the family Rambler on the way to visit their grandparents in Florida. A way to pass the time turned into a love of words, which led to an education in journalism. Fresh out of college, Martha discovered romance novels and finally found a focus for her writing. Martha lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband of over twenty years, a college-age daughter and a Cairn “terror” who can’t believe he’s not in Kansas anymore. During the day, Martha tries to make college courses sound exciting, and at night, she escapes the pressures of the day by weaving tales of romantic worlds, hoping readers can do the same.
You can keep up with Martha’s new releases via her Web site, which can be reached through the author page at www.eHarlequin.com (http://www.eHarlequin.com).
Contents
Chapter One (#ud374c6c2-6223-56f2-9ae1-20c2c447e0ef)
Chapter Two (#ub731fa1a-f27e-58b8-9811-daab2f11488d)
Chapter Three (#ufecbbc10-87a6-54a1-86cc-80fce7b04b64)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Rowena Wilde hated this house.
The Dowager Cottage was a dismal place. Built three centuries ago of native granite, the three-story “cottage” sat on the edge of the cliff like an old woman hunkered down against the storms blowing off the North Sea.
It was where extraneous queens grieved for lost husbands, relived former glory and waited to die.
As she stood with one hand wrapped around a cold iron spoke on the front gate, Rowena recalled the times she’d accompanied Princess Isabel as she visited her grandmother, who’d died three years ago. They’d sipped tea in the gloomy parlor with heavy velvet curtains shutting out the light. Though central heat had been installed years ago, the house was never warm. Even with a blazing fire. Even in the middle of July.
Rowena had known she’d have to stay here when she and Isabel had concocted this plan. Which was one reason she’d been half-hoping Jake Stanbury would refuse to accept her as his son’s nanny.
The cottage was full of ghosts, and Rowena had never been comfortable around ghosts.
The other reason, of course, was Jake.
Jake and the Dowager Cottage. Alone, each was a daunting prospect. Together…
Rowena shivered despite the bright April afternoon sunlight.
Both Jake and the cottage got her blood pumping, but for vastly different reasons—all related to fear.
Which was ridiculous.
Taking a deep breath, Rowena marshaled her inner resolve.
There was nothing to be afraid of. The cottage was just a pile of stone. She could dissipate the gloom by tearing down curtains and turning on lamps. And Jake…
Well, she was here for a reason. As long as she kept her mind on her purpose, she wouldn’t get sidetracked by feelings she understood all too well…and dreaded.
Rowena forced her lips into her customary smile. Her mother had always said that the best way to conquer fear was to smile your way through it. She’d learned a long time ago that her mother was right. As long as she was smiling, she couldn’t scream.
Rowena released the gate latch…wishing she didn’t feel like Sleeping Beauty about to prick her finger.
“I’m going to get you.”
Jake Stanbury stopped dead, his hand still on the knob of the massive, intricately carved front door. He recognized the voice immediately.
So Rowena Wilde had moved in.
The new nanny’s heavily sinister tone seemed to prove the possibility that had occurred to him when his royal cousin, Princess Isabel, had suggested her lady-in-waiting as caregiver for his two-year-old son—the possibility that Rowena had been placed in his household as a spy.
What the hell was he going to do now? Leave her here to poke through his papers and roam the dreary old house he’d been assigned when Sammy’s noisy antics became too much for the guests—notably Edward, his own father—in the palace apartment where they’d been staying? What if she rifled through his things while Sammy was around? Would she blithely tell the boy that his father was suspected of kidnapping the King of Edenbourg?
“I’ll find you, Sammy-Jammy. You just wait.”
Muffled giggling followed her words.
Relief flooded through Jake. They were playing a game.
Shaking his head, he closed the door and placed his briefcase on the chest in the foyer.
This is what the strain of the past month had brought him to—suspecting a sweet, beautiful young woman of playing Mata Hari. Probably the biggest intrigue Rowena had been involved in was finding the laundress responsible for scorching the princess’s favorite gown.
Jake stripped off his suit coat and laid it across his briefcase, then followed the happy sounds to the door of the formal parlor, heavily furnished in some Gothic style. Whoever had decorated this house either had eclectic tastes or access to the palace attic, because every room was decorated with a different period of antiques.
Blindfolded, her arms outstretched, Rowena wandered around the large room. Sammy peeked out from under an antique side table on the other side of the couch, one hand over his mouth to stem the tide of his laughter.
Blind Man’s Bluff. Such a simple game, but Jake had never thought to play it with his son, who was having such a good time he relieved Jake of any lingering suspicions. Sammy’s happiness was all that mattered.
Ever since Sammy’s mother had deserted them, his son had panic attacks every time Jake had to leave him with a sitter. Which was the main reason Jake needed a nanny.
He was determined to give his son a stable home. He’d been forced to use baby-sitters—strangers to Sammy—when he was out of the house, and had rarely managed to get the same one twice. Since Jake couldn’t be with Sammy twenty-four hours a day, he hoped having a live-in nanny would add stability to his son’s life.
Though he no longer had to work for a living, Jake’s expertise in mergers and acquisitions was in high demand. And there were some offers he couldn’t refuse. Like the one presented last week—as a consultant to Edenbourg’s acting king, his cousin, Nicholas.
The work was just a way to keep him busy. He knew it, and everyone else knew it. The suggestion that his expertise was needed by Nicholas was simply a way to save the royal family the embarrassment of asking him to turn over his passport so he couldn’t leave the country and return to America while they investigated any involvement he might have had in the king’s disappearance. His uncle’s disappearance.
Recognizing the frustrating path his thoughts were traveling down, Jake forced his attention back to the playful pair in the parlor.
Sammy’s giggling should’ve led Rowena right to him, of course, but she flailed around comically, running into tables and upsetting lamps and antique knickknacks which she pretended to barely catch in time. Her antics sent Sammy into fresh peals of laughter.
Jake couldn’t suppress a smile, though the tenderness melting his heart was all for his son. It definitely wasn’t for the petite, auburn-haired beauty bungling around his living room.
The only thing he felt for Rowena was gratitude. He finally had someone he could leave Sammy with—and feel good about it. Someone who’d already proved she could coax his son out of his panic attacks and shyness.
Jake leaned against the doorjamb to watch their antics, but straightened abruptly a moment later. Something was out of place. The only item in the room made during the last century was a shiny steel step stool…directly in Rowena’s path.
He didn’t have time to wonder what it was doing there. Vaulting over the couch, he launched himself off the side table just in time to catch Rowena as she stumbled into it.
Their combined momentum took them down, but Jake grabbed her waist and twisted so his back hit the floor first, taking her slight weight.
Rowena didn’t scream as they fell, just emitted a quick, “Oh!”
She landed flat on top of him, her legs straddling one of his, her nose buried in his chest. “What in the…?”
Because of the antique oriental rug covering the centuries-old oak floor, Jake wasn’t in enough pain to keep his body from reacting—especially when Rowena started squirming to free her hands.
Though his mind denied the feelings every time they surfaced, his body knew that he’d been attracted to Rowena since the instant he’d seen her. And now his body reminded his mind of every moment he’d indulged in sensuous fantasies about what his body wanted to do to her small but oh-so-curvaceous body.
He couldn’t remember having such a strong reaction to a woman. Ever. Including his ex-wife.
“Daddy’s home!”
His son’s cry doused enough flames for Jake’s mind to regain control.
He grabbed Rowena’s hips to keep them still…but it didn’t help. Having his hands on her bottom incited his libido just as much. Her curves were soft and warm, as was the sweet scent of roses wafting through his brain.
He could only hope she was too confused to notice what was happening between them.
When Rowena freed a hand and peeled back her blindfold, the instant of surprise lighting her long-lashed, wonderfully expressive, golden hazel eyes held a hint of pleasure. “Mr. Stanbury.”
Or was it another trick of his mind?
He couldn’t tell, because the pleasure was quickly masked with concern. “Where did you come from? Are you all right?”
