Page 1 of Suddenly a Bride
Prologue
Lincolnshire, England, 1591
“My wife is dead.” Sir Edmund Blackwell folded his arms across his chest and stared into the faces of his wife’s parents. “I am sorry for your grief, my lord, but I do not understand why you felt the need to see me. After all, you know how she died.”
He’d been summoned from Yorkshire to Earl Langston’s estate in Lincolnshire to face the two people who’d conspired to make the last few years of his life a nightmare. He knew they blamed him for their daughter’s poor choices. When he arrived, he’d been offered no refreshments, only led through the great hall with its racks of spears and suits of armor, as if the threat of their military power was supposed to daunt him. The gallery where he now faced them ran the length of the mansion and let in the sun through stained-glass windows, which cast muted color everywhere. He was seated on a heavily carved chair. Dour ancestral portraits glared down at him; the earl and his countess did the same from a cushioned bench. A polished table stood as a barrier between them. Buffets and cupboards were scattered down the length of the room, decorated with china or covered with Turkish carpets.
Lord Langston, a thin, cold man, made no effort to conceal his contempt. “As part of Elizabeth’s dowry, we gave you Castle Wintering and its lands, which is an ancient part of our family estates. We merely wish to buy it back from you now that our daughter lies at peace.”
Edmund resisted the urge to voice his disgust. Their daughter hadn’t let herself have peace in life, so why would she be blessed with it in death? He had hoped that with time, he and Elizabeth would have grown to suit each other, but she and her parents had made sure that had never happened.
But give up Castle Wintering? Give up what he’d worked so hard for, and the only source of income he had left?Never.
Edmund returned the cold stare with one of his own. “I have invested much time and labor in the estate, and I wish to continue.” He started to rise. “If this was all you had to discuss, we could have done it through letters.”
“Please sit down, Sir Edmund,” said Letitia Langston, his wife’s mother. Where her husband pretended civility, she let malice glitter behind her eyes. “We could force you to sell us the land. After all, there are already those who believe you were the cause of my daughter’s death.”
He remained standing above them, knowing that his size usually frightened people. He narrowed his gaze at Lady Langston as her threat seemed to coil around him. What more proof did he need that they had planted this lie even as far away as Castle Wintering, all in an attempt to manipulate him? Would it ever end? “And we both know that that is a lie. I have already agreed not to publicize the details of her death. Do you wish me to change my mind?”
Edmund knew his own threat was a gamble, for they were a very powerful family. Yet their weakness was the merest thought of a scandal connected to their family name.
The countess’s fingers were white where she gripped her skirt at the knees.
Before she could speak, her husband interrupted. “Blackwell, we have another suggestion for the dilemma presented to us.”
“There is no longer a dilemma between us,” Edmund said tightly.
“Then there isyourdilemma.”
He stiffened but remained silent.
“You have land, Blackwell, but you no longer have the money to make it succeed.”
Not a difficult thing for their spies to discover. “Thanks to you—and your daughter.”
Lady Langston slammed her hands onto the table between them, but her husband touched her arm.
“I am resourceful,” Edmund continued, “and will get what I need for Castle Wintering.”
Lord Langston said, “I have a solution to your problems—all of them. We regret that there are those who blame you for our daughter’s death. We would like to offer you a new bride.”
Edmund tried not to let his astonishment show. He had known Elizabeth’s parents had something planned, but he never would have guessedthisattempt at manipulating him. “I am not interested in marrying so soon, my lord.”
Lord Langston continued as if Edmund hadn’t spoken, and his eyes glittered with challenge. “The girl is of good bloodlines, as she’s a cousin of mine through her mother, and her father was knighted by the queen. By offering another relative in marriage to you, we prove to the world that we do not believe the rumors about our daughter’s death.”
Edmund controlled his bitter laugh. Another Langston wife? They had said nothing that would induce him to marry someone from their family again.
“There is a substantial dowry involved, of course,” the earl said slowly, as if dangling bait.
And it was the perfect bait. Money was the one thing he desperately needed, now that his wounds prevented him from earning his living as a mercenary.
The Langstons were offering him a way out—but at what price and for what twisted reason? He could only imagine the kind of woman they wanted to saddle him with. But what choice did he have?
“Sit down, Sir Edmund,” said Lord Langston.
He sat. “Why are you doing this? Are you trying to rid yourself of this girl?”
The earl leaned back in his chair, not bothering to hide his triumphant smile. “She is a good girl whose family is not wealthy. We’ve taken her under our wing. She is used to hard work and will be an asset to you.”
