“Oh, Father,” Tara said, her stomach sinking.
“I have a bit of blunt. Stephens bought a mare from me. He overpaid, but the mare didn’t bring in much.” He released his breath as if steadying his nerves before admitting, “And then it becomes worse.”
“Worse? I don’t think I can properly appreciate worse right now.”
“You have to know,” he said. His expression had softened into one of deep remorse, and Tara couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. Aileen had always been harder on him than Tara was. Aileen didn’t trust him.
Tara felt she had to depend upon him, even for all of his notable faults. Beyond everything else, he was her father.
“What is it I must know?” she asked.
“Someone has purchased my paper. He owns it all.”
“Your paper?” Tara repeated.
“You can’t gamble without money,” he said as if stating the obvious. “I had to reclaim what I’d lost, so I borrowed from moneylenders and a banker here and there. The man who now owns my debts came this afternoon. He expects me to pay. He wants his money now.”
“Can you speak to Blake?” she suggested.
Her father’s laugh was angry. “No, there will be no money from that quarter. He told me he would no longer cover my debts. He said he’d see that food was on my table, but he’d not cover my losses.”
Tara could not blame Blake. She forced herself to take a breath. “What of Annefield?”
His manner lightened. “It’s entailed. There is no fear there. It will go to my heirs. I haven’t lost that yet.”
“But what have you lost?”
“It’s what I could lose that matters. What I will lose.”
“And what is that, Father?”
“My horses. I built my reputation on them. My pride,” he added. “It shames a man to know he is that foolish.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Aye, the land around Annefield.”
“What?” Tara came to her feet. “Did you not say it was entailed?”
“The house is entailed, the rest is gone unless I can meet my obligations.”
“Then we shall meet them.” Here was something she could sink her teeth into. The case of blue devils that had been following her since Aileen and Blake had left was immediately lifted from her shoulders, and in its place stood generations of pride. “We shall not lose the land. It is ours. Tell me all, Father. Between the two of us, we can create a plan. Who is this man who has purchased your paper?”
“Breccan Campbell.”
It took a moment for Tara to overcome her shock. “Campbell? He has that much money?”
“He may be a giant oaf of a man, but he has a shrewd mind. He showed me the vouchers. They have my signature.”
“Rude?”
“Aye, of the boldest nature. I tell you I welcome this fight. So he thinks he can best us. Well, he is wrong.”
“You are right, Daughter,” the earl said. “Although he did offer me a solution, and one that I have accepted.”
“What solution is that, Father?”
The earl sank down on the chair beside hers. “Perhaps. Maybe you made a better impression on him than he did on you.” His tone had grown hopeful.
“I don’t care what he thinks of me. I don’t like him. In fact, I detest him. Yes, that is how I feel. I have no desire to set eyes on him again.”
The earl lifted his glass to his lips and poured it down his throat before saying, “That is unfortunate, my girl. Because the terms of receiving all my paper back is that you marry him.”
That statement caught her attention. “Marry him? Me? Oh, no, that will not happen—”
“As a matter of fact, it will happen, and it will be done in one hour’s time. Campbell will be here with Reverend Kinnion and the witnesses. You’d best go dress, girl. You are about to become a bride.”
About the Author
CATHY MAXWELL spends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, “Why do people fall in love?” It remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness. She lives in beautiful Virginia with children, horses, dogs, and cats. Fans can contact Cathy at www.cathymaxwell.com or PO Box 1135, Powhatan, VA 23139.
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By Cathy Maxwell
The Brides of Wishmore
THE BRIDE SAYS NO
The Chattan Curse
THE DEVIL’S HEART
THE SCOTTISH WITCH
LYON’S BRIDE
THE SEDUCTION OF SCANDAL
HIS CHRISTMAS PLEASURE • THE MARRIAGE RING
THE EARL CLAIMS HIS WIFE
A SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS
IN THE HIGHLANDER’S BED • BEDDING THE HEIRESS
TEMPTATION OF A PROPER GOVERNESS
THE SEDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH LADY
ADVENTURES OF A SCOTTISH HEIRESS
THE LADY IS TEMPTED • THE WEDDING WAGER
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
A SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE • MARRIED IN HASTE
BECAUSE OF YOU • WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE
FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN • YOU AND NO OTHER
TREASURED VOWS • ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL
Coming Soon
THE BRIDE SAYS MAYBE
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE BRIDE SAYS NO. Copyright © 2014 by Catherine Maxwell, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2014 ISBN 9780062219268
Print Edition ISBN 978-0-06-221925-1
FIRST EDITION
10987654321
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