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Джойс Бренда
An Impossible Attraction
Аннотация к роману
«An Impossible Attraction»
- Бренда Джойс
Never say never… With the Bolton name in disgrace, marrying an elderly squire might be the only way for Alexandra Bolton to save her family from absolute ruin. But when she meets the infamous Duke of Clarewood, old dreams – and old passions – are awakened as never before.Yet she cannot accept his shocking proposition! The Duke is the wealthiest, most powerful peer in the realm, and Alexandra is the first woman ever to reject him! Now Clarewood – who always gets what he wants – will choose which rules to play by…
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Praise forBrenda Joyce
Praise for
Brenda Joyce
“Joyce’s latest is a piece of perfection as she
meticulously crafts a tender and emotionally
powerful love story. Passion and pain erupt from the
pages and flow straight into your heart. You won’t
forget this beautifully rendered love story of lost
souls and redemption”
—RT BOOKreviews on The Perfect Bride
“Joyce’s characters carry considerable emotional
weight, which keeps this hefty entry absorbing, and her
fast-paced story keeps the pages turning.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Stolen Bride
“An emotionally sweeping tale of heartache,
redemption and rebirth, The Stolen Bride lives up to this reader’s high expectations for a Perfect 10 read.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“The latest from Joyce offers readers a passionate,
swashbuckling voyage in her newest addition to the de
Warenne dynasty series. Joyce brings her keen sense
of humour and storytelling prowess to bear on
her witty, fully formed characters.”
—Publishers Weekly on A Lady at Last
“The latest in the de Warenne series is a warm,
wonderfully sensual feast about the joys and pains of
falling in love. Joyce breathes life into extraordinary
characters – from her sprightly Cinderella heroine and
roguish hero to everyone in between – then sets them in
the glittering Regency, where anything can happen.”
—RT BOOKreviews on A Lady at Last
The Masquerade “dances on slippered feet, belying its heft with spellbinding dips, spins and twists.
Jane Austen aficionados will delve happily into heroine
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Fitzgerald’s family…Joyce’s tale
of the dangers and delights of passion fulfilled will
enchant those who like their reads long and rich.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Joyce brilliantly delivers an intensely emotional and
engrossing romance where love overcomes deceit,
scandal and pride…An intelligent love story with
smart, appealing and strong characters. Readers will savour this latest from a grand mistress of the genre.”
—RT BOOKreviews on The Masquerade
An Impossible
Attraction
By
Brenda Joyce
Brenda Joyce is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels and novellas. She wrote her first novella when she was sixteen years old and her first novel when she was twenty-five – and was published shortly thereafter. She has won many awards and her first novel, Innocent Fire, won the Best Western Romance Award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Deadly series, which is set in turn-of-the-century New York and features amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill. There are over eleven million copies of her novels in print and she is published in more than a dozen countries. A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her husband, son, dogs, cat and numerous Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. For more information about Brenda and her forthcoming novels, please visit her website at www.brendajoyce.com.
Previous novels by the same author:
DEADLY ILLUSIONS
DEADLY KISSES THE MASQUERADE
A LADY AT LAST
THE STOLEN BRIDE
THE PERFECT BRIDE
A DANGEROUS LOVE
Brenda Joyce is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels and novellas. She wrote her first novella when she was sixteen years old and her first novel when she was twenty-five – and was published shortly thereafter. She has won many awards and her first novel, Innocent Fire, won the Best Western Romance Award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Deadly series, which is set in turn-of-the-century New York and features amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill. There are over eleven million copies of her novels in print and she is published in more than a dozen countries. A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her husband, son, dogs, cat and numerous Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. For more information about Brenda and her forthcoming novels, please visit her website at www.brendajoyce.com.
Previous novels by the same author:
DEADLY ILLUSIONS
DEADLY KISSES THE MASQUERADE
A LADY AT LAST
THE STOLEN BRIDE
THE PERFECT BRIDE
A DANGEROUS LOVE
For Sue Ball, one of the most generous and caring
spirits I have ever known. My heartfelt thanks for so
many years of kindness, friendship and support to me and my family.
Prologue
THERE WAS SO MUCH LIGHT, and Alexandra hesitated, confused.
“Alex…andra?” her mother whispered from the bed.
Gold-and-burgundy wallpaper adorned the walls, and dark draperies were closed over the bedroom’s two windows. The bureau was a dark, rich mahogany, as was the bed, and the bedding was wine and gold. The room’s single armchair was a dark, intense red. Yet the light within almost blinded her. “I am here, Mother,” she whispered back.
And then, because Elizabeth Bolton was dying and would not last another night, because she had wasted away from the cancer eating at her, because she was so frail and weak now that she could barely see, much less hear, Alexandra hurried forward. She held back the tears. She hadn’t cried, not even once, not even when her father had told her that her mother had a terrible and fatal disease.
Alexandra rushed to her mother’s side, her heart clenching as she looked at her gaunt, unrecognizable face and frame. Elizabeth had been so beautiful, so lively, so alive. She was only thirty-eight years old now, but she looked ninety.
Alexandra sat, reaching for her thin, frail hands. “Father said you wished to see me, Mother. What can I get you? Do you want a sip of water?”
Elizabeth smiled wanly, lying prone on the large bed, dwarfed by the pillows behind her, the blankets over her. “Angels,” she whispered. “Can you see them?”
Alexandra felt the tears rise. She batted her lashes furiously. Her mother needed her, as did her two sisters, who were only seven and nine. Father needed her, too—though he was locked in the library with his gin. But now she understood the odd light in the room, and the equally strange warmth. “I can’t see them, but I can feel them. Are you afraid?”
Elizabeth shook her head ever so slightly, and just as slightly, her grasp on Alexandra’s hands increased. “I don’t…want to go, Alexandra. The girls…are so young.”
It was hard to hear her, so Alexandra leaned even closer to her mother’s face. “We don’t want you to leave us, but you’ll be with the angels now, Mother.” Somehow she managed to smile. “I am going to take care of Olivia and Corey—you needn’t worry. I will take care of Father, too.”
“Promise me…darling…promise.”
She laid her cheek against her mother’s bony face. “I promise. You have done everything for this family, you have been its guiding light, its rock and its anchor, and I will do everything for Father and the girls now. We will be fine. They will be fine.” But it didn’t feel as if anything would ever be fine again.
“I am so proud…of you,” Elizabeth whispered.
Alexandra had straightened so they could look into one another’s eyes. She was the oldest, the firstborn, with years separating her and her two younger sisters, and she and her mother had always been close. Elizabeth had taught Alexandra how to manage the household, how to entertain and how to dress for tea or for a ball. She had taught her how to bake cinnamon cookies and how to make lemonade. She had shown her how to smile, even when upset, and how to behave with grace and dignity, no matter the occasion. She had shown her the true power of love, of family, of diligence and respect.
Alexandra knew her mother was proud of her. Just as she knew she could not bear this last moment with her. “Don’t worry about the girls or Father. I will take good care of them.”
“I know.” Elizabeth smiled sadly and fell silent. And it took Alexandra a full moment to realize that her eyes had become sightless.
She gasped, hard, the intense pain blinding her. The tears finally overflowed, even as she fought them. She grasped her mother’s hands more firmly and lay down beside her, already missing her acutely, the pain unbearable now, and that was how her fiancé, Owen, found her.
“Alexandra.” He gently lifted her to her feet.
She met his concerned, searching gaze and let him guide her from the death room. It was dark and somber now—the warm light long gone. In the hall, he held her for a long time. Alexandra let him, even as her heart broke all over again.
Because she knew what she must do.
Owen was her best friend, her one and only true love, but that didn’t matter now.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” he asked, eyes wide.
She clasped his beautiful cheek. “I love you, Owen.”
He was alarmed. “You are in shock. This is the time to grieve.”
She began shaking her head. “I can’t marry you, Owen. I told her I would take care of this family, and I meant it. My life is no longer my own. I can’t marry you, I can’t be your wife, or the mother of your children. I can’t. I have to take care of my sisters.” And in that moment, she knew it was the truth and was overwhelmed by the turn her life had taken.
“Alexandra!” he cried. “Allow yourself a period of mourning. I will wait for you. I love you, and we will get through this together.”
But she pulled away, the hardest thing she had ever done. “No, Owen. Everything has changed. Corey and Olivia need me, and so does Father.”
“I am going to wait for you,” he warned, and tears glistened on his lashes.
There were no choices now. She would hold the family together, no matter what it meant or what it took. “Goodbye, Owen,” she said.
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