Surrender To The Marquess

Surrender To The Marquess
Louise Allen

A battle of wills!When Lady Sara Herriard’s husband dies in a duel, she turns her back on the vagaries of the ton. From now on, she will live as she pleases. She won’t change for anyone – certainly not for the infuriating Lucian Avery, Marquess of Cannock!Lucian must help his sister recover from a disastrous elopement and reluctantly enlists Lady Sara’s help. She couldn’t be further from the conventional, obedient wife he’s expected to marry, but soon, all he craves is for her to surrender – and join him in his bed!

A battle of wills!

When Lady Sara Herriard’s husband dies in a duel, she turns her back on the vagaries of the ton. From now on, she will live as she pleases. She won’t change for anyone—certainly not for the infuriating Lucian Avery, Marquess of Cannock!

Lucian must help his sister recover from a disastrous elopement and reluctantly enlists Lady Sara’s help. She couldn’t be further from the conventional, obedient wife he’s expected to marry, but soon all he craves is for her to surrender—and join him in his bed!

‘Ladies need protection.’ Lucian stalked over to the balustrade.

Shaking the provoking creature would not be a good illustration of his case—kissing her would be even worse.

‘How did you get here this evening, for example? These streets and lanes are dark—anyone could be lurking.’

‘By sedan chair, with the same two reliable, burly chairmen I always use. They will come and collect me later. And should desperate footpads leap out and manage to fell both of them I can defend myself.’

‘How? With sharp words?’ he demanded, and took two strides to stand in front of her, his hands either side, pinning her back against the balustrade. ‘Men are stronger, more vicious, than you could imagine.’

‘Also more vulnerable,’ she murmured. ‘Look down, my lord. It is not only my words that have an edge.’

He did—just as he felt pressure against the falls of his evening breeches. In the moonlight something glinted: sharp steel, held rocksteady in her hand.

Lucian stood quite still. ‘Where did that come from?’

Author Note (#u5e72efc4-bc0f-57b0-879f-5f3811a0f2b6)

Some time ago I wrote Forbidden Jewel of India, a story I was passionate about, set entirely in India in the 1780s—a time when the East India Company ruled in uneasy alliance with the Princes and Rajas. Anusha was half-Indian; her lover, Nicholas Herriard, an English officer and heir to a marquess. When it was time for him to take up his title and return to England in 1816 I had all the fun of discovering how he and Anusha and their son and daughter adapted to English life.

I told Ashe Herriard’s story in Tarnished Amongst the Ton, but I had no inkling of what might happen to Sara, his sister—until now. So here she is, very much her mother’s daughter and determined to be her own woman—despite what the men in her life think and certainly despite what Lucian Avery, Marquess of Cannock, believes is best for her.

I hope you enjoy following Sara’s stormy path to true love as much as I enjoyed discovering it.

Surrender to the Marquess

Louise Allen

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

LOUISE ALLEN loves immersing herself in history. She finds landscapes and places evoke the past powerfully. Venice, Burgundy and the Greek islands are favourite destinations. Louise lives on the Norfolk coast and spends her spare time gardening, researching family history or travelling in search of inspiration. Visit her at louiseallenregency.co.uk (http://www.louiseallenregency.co.uk), @LouiseRegency (https://www.twitter.com/louiseregency) and janeaustenslondon.com (http://www.janeaustenslondon.com).

Books by Louise Allen

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

The Herriard Family

Forbidden Jewel of India

Tarnished Amongst the Ton

Surrender to the Marquess

Lords of Disgrace

His Housekeeper’s Christmas Wish

His Christmas Countess

The Many Sins of Cris de Feaux

The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone

Brides of Waterloo

A Rose for Major Flint

Danger & Desire

Ravished by the Rake

Seduced by the Scoundrel

Married to a Stranger

Silk & Scandal

The Lord and the Wayward Lady

The Officer and the Proper Lady

Mills & Boon Historical Undone! ebooks

Disrobed and Dishonored

Auctioned Virgin to Seduced Bride

Visit the Author Profile page

at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.

To Lorna Chapman

for encouraging me to tell Sara’s story. Thank you!

Contents

Cover (#ue7a50558-b8f4-525c-a97f-c25c3ef99773)