The Bridegroom - Softcover

Johnston, Joan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440244757 ISBN 13: 9780440244752

Publisher: Dell, 2008

Synopsis

He vowed to wed, bed, and abandon her. But love got in the way...

Joan Johnston sweeps you back to Regency era England and Scotland with a love story that will take your breath away. Here is romance at its best as Johnston brings back unforgettable characters from her bestsellers Captive, After the Kiss, and The Bodyguard in a spellbinding novel of seduction and betrayal.

She was the reigning belle of the ton for the fourth Season in a row, but Lady Regina Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne's daughter, was determined to avoid the perils of marriage. She had already seen enough to distrust all men. Then Clay Bannister, the dashing Earl of Carlisle, dared to steal a kiss and stir new and exciting desires.

Scarred by tragedy, Carlisle intrigued her with his mysterious past and his dark, dangerous charm. She never suspected she was about to marry her father's most vengeful enemy—or that her greatest defense would be the passions he could not resist....

About this title

Review

Award-winning author Joan Johnston concludes her Captive Hearts series with another winner, The Bridegroom. Wrongfully accused and deported to an Australian penal colony, Clay Bannister, Earl of Carlisle, vows revenge on the men responsible for his suffering: Cedric Ambleside, who framed him, and Alastair Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne, who believed the trumped-up evidence and had Carlisle charged. After escaping the convict ship and making his fortune at sea, Carlisle returns to Regency London 11 years later to find his name cleared by Blackthorne, the same man who accused him. However, even the return of his title and his estates in England and Scotland cannot make Carlisle forget the loss of his wife and unborn son during his imprisonment--or the men who put him in prison. Unable to relinquish the darkness of his past, Carlisle woos Blackthorne's beautiful, headstrong daughter Regina, then presses her into marriage with the intent of abandoning her once she produces an heir. But the recalcitrant Reggie has in mind something else entirely. Carlisle finds his revenge difficult to exact when the instrument of that vengeance, his lovely new wife, refuses to cooperate. Reggie is determined that she will have both a loving husband and her father in her life, even if it kills her. And it might. Cedric Ambleside, embittered and hunted, will stop at nothing to keep Carlisle from finding him, even if it means murdering Reggie and once again framing Carlisle for the crime. As the threats to Reggie's well-being mount, Carlisle finds himself unable to contemplate his life without her, but it may be too late. --Alison Trinkle

From the Back Cover

"A guaranteed good read."
--Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author

"Johnston warms your heart and tickles your fancy."
--Daily News (New York)

"Joan Johnston continually gives us everything we want...fabulous details and atmosphere, memorable characters, a story that you wish would never end, and lots of tension and sensuality."
--Romantic Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Dell
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0440244757
• ISBN 13: 9780440244752
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 384