The Courtship

Table of Contents

 

 

The critics praise the novels of
New York Times
bestselling author

CATHERINE COULTER

THE WILD BARON

 

“Catherine Coulter has created some of the most memorable characters in romance.”

 

 

ROSEHAVEN

 

“A hot-blooded medieval romp.”

 

“Catherine Coulter delivers the kind of straightforward, fast-paced romance her readers expect in
Rosehaven.
”

 

“Bawdy fare, Coulter-style . . . romance, humor, and spicy sex talk.”

 

“A winner . . . Coulter expertly takes the reader beyond the simple romance of this medieval couple, showing the politics of the times, the attitudes of the people, and the characters' daily struggle to simply keep on living. She delivers intrigues and plot twists as solid as the stone walls of Oxborough keep.”

 

“A witty, feisty heroine; sexy situations; and accurate historical settings.”

 

 

THE BRIDE TRILOGY

The Sherbrooke Bride
·
The Hellion Bride
·
The Heiress Bride

“Coulter is excellent at portraying the romantic tension between her heroes and heroines and she manages to write explicitly but beautifully about sex as well as love.”
—Milwaukee Journal

 

 

THE VIKING TRILOGY
Lord of Hawkfell Island
·
Lord of Raven
'
s Peak
·
Lord of Falcon Ridge

“Coulter's characters quickly come alive and draw the reader into the story. You root for the good guys and hiss for the bad guys. When you have to put the book down for a while, you can hardly wait to get back and see what's going on.”

 

 

THE LEGACY TRILOGY
The Wyndham Legacy
·
The Nightingale Legacy
·
The Valentine Legacy

“Delightful . . . brimming with drama, sex, and colorful characters . . . Her witty dialogue and bawdy, eccentric characters add up to an engaging, fan-pleasing story.”
—Publishers Weekly

 

“Marcus and the Duchess are sparring lovers worthy of Shakespeare's Beatrice and Benedick, or at least TV's Dave and Maddie; and their supporting cast is every bit as much fun.”

 

“Lively characters ... an exuberant adventure.”
—Booklist

“Old secrets, a pirate's legacy, and a cast of wonderful characters are part of this funny, lively, and occasionally mysterious story.”

 

“Strong characters . . . entertaining reading with interesting and varied characters, historical local color, and a well-paced plot.”

 

“There is murder, mystery, and sex in this engaging story . . . It's hilarious and in the usual good writing and intricate plotting style of Ms. Coulter.”
—The Chattanooga Times

THE COURTSHIP
THE TARGET
MAD JACK
ROSEHA VEN
THE WILD BARON
THE COVE
THE VALENTINE LEGACY
THE NIGHTINGALE LEGACY
THE WYNDHAM LEGACY
LORD OF FALCON RIDGE
LORD OF RAVEN'S PEAK
LORD OF HAWKFELL ISLAND
THE HEIRESS BRIDE
THE HELLION BRIDE
THE SHERBROOKE BRIDE
BEYOND EDEN
IMPULSE
FALSE PRETENSES

 

 

THE EDGE
in hardcover from G. P. Putnam's Sons

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

THE COURTSHIP

 

A Jove Book / published by arrangement with
the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Jove edition / January 2000

 

All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2000 by Catherine Coulter.

Excerpt from
Stardoc
copyright © 2000 by Sheila Viehl.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or part,
by mimeograph or any other means, without permission.
For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is
http://www.penguinputnam.com

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-05281-5

 

A JOVE BOOK®
Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
JOVE and the “J” design
are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.

 

 

L
ORD BEECHAM STOPPED dead in his tracks. He turned around so quickly that he nearly tripped over a huge potted palm.

He couldn't believe it. He had to be wrong. She couldn't have said that, could she? He looked for the woman he had just heard speaking.

He parted two huge palm fronds and peered into the Sanderling's library, a long, narrow, shelf-lined room just off the ballroom. Where the library was filled with dark-bound tomes, cobwebs in gloomy corners, and just one small branch of candles casting shadows, the ballroom was overflowing with lit candles, plants, and at least two hundred guests, all of them laughing, dancing, and drinking too much of the potent champagne punch.

The woman he had heard before spoke again. He took a step closer to the dimly lit library. Her voice was rich, tantalizing, filled with laughter. “Really, Alexandra,” she said, “doesn't just the simple thought of discipline, just hearing the word, saying it slowly to yourself and letting it caress your tongue as you say it, doesn't it conjure up all sorts of delicious scenes of dominance? Can't you just see yourself? You are completely at the mercy of another, that person is in total control, and there is nothing you can do about anything. You know something is going to happen, you're dreading it, your heart is pounding, you're afraid, so very afraid, yet it's a delicious sort of fear you feel. You know, deep down, that you are anticipating what is to come. You can't wait for it to come, but there is nothing you can do except imagine what will be done to you. Ah, yes, your skin is rippling with the excitement of it.”

There was dead silence. Wait, was that heavy breathing he heard?

Lord Beecham, whose very active imagination had conjured up a vision of himself standing over a beautiful woman, smiling down at her as he tied her hands over her head and her legs, spread, to the posts of his bed, knowing that in just a few minutes, he would remove her clothing, one lovely garment at a time, slowly, ever so slowly, and—

“Oh, goodness, Helen. I have to fan myself. I believe my bosom is palpitating. You are far too good at painting word pictures. What you describe—it sounds terrifying and wonderful. It rather makes my mouth water. It also sounds like a grand production that requires a lot of planning.”

“Oh, yes, but that is part of the ritual. It is very important that it be planned perfectly. You are part of the ritual, the most important part, if you are the one in control. It requires that you be constantly inventive, that you don't continue to rely on the same old disciplines. Remember, anticipation of something unknown is a very powerful thing. To be effective, discipline must constantly grow and change. In most cases, it is effective to have other people nearby to witness the discipline. This makes the recipient all the more frightened, his senses more heightened, his thoughts more focused. It is an amazing process. You will have to try it. Both sides of it.”

More deep silence.

Try it? He wanted to run into that room this very instant and try everything he could possibly envision or dream about. His fingers were already on his cravat, ready to jerk it off so he could tie the wrists of the woman speaking, together over her head, so she would be helpless, her eyes large and frightened and excited as she stared up at him, her lips parted. Damnation, he had only one cravat, the one he was wearing. He needed at least two. He shuddered, imagining the smooth flesh of her wrists as he lightly wrapped the cravat around and around them, then pulled them bound, over her head—

He heard a deep sigh.

“All of that is well and good, Helen, but what I need are specific disciplines to try. A list of disciplines, if you will. From mild disciplines to the most rigorous.”

He realized suddenly that he knew that voice. Good God, it was Alexandra Sherbrooke. He couldn't believe it. On second thought, he pictured Douglas Sherbrooke in his mind's eye, that big, hard man who had reputedly kept his wife happy for eight whole years now. And Alexandra wanted to know about discipline? To try on her husband? What a delightfully wicked idea.

Who was the woman speaking to her, this Helen?