The Heiress Read online

  Thank you for downloading this POCKET BOOKS eBook.

  * * *

  Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from POCKET BOOKS and Simon & Schuster.

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

  Critical Acclaim for the Marvelous Romances of … Jude Deveraux

  REMEMBRANCE

  “Brilliant…. unforgettable…. as romantic as A Knight in Shining Armor…. Ms. Deveraux brings this unusual romance to life, demonstrating that she is a superb craftsman and a mesmerizing story-teller….”

  —Kathe Robin, Romantic Times

  “One of the world’s top romance novelists has out-done herself…. This is a book that Deveraux fans who loved A Knight in Shining Armor have anxiously awaited, and it certainly does not disappoint.”

  —Cheryl Rosamond, Lake Worth (FL) Herald

  “Jude Deveraux has the knack for never letting up on the tension in the storyline…. REMEMBRANCE is filled with great plot twists…. amazing.”

  —Druann Domangue, Lafayette (LA) Advertiser

  A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

  “A glorious love story that spans centuries, worlds, and souls. It is the epitome of every woman’s fantasy, a knight in shining armor who comes to the modern-day rescue of a distressed damsel…. The very special hero and heroine are enchanting and extraordinary.”

  —Chicago Daily Herald

  “The ultimate romance reader’s fantasy … A Knight in Shining Armor will capture your heart, make you laugh, cry, and wish this could come true.”

  —Romantic Times

  SWEET LIAR

  “A true thumbs-up.”

  —Los Angeles Daily News

  “A compelling mystery, a stunning love story…. funny, thrilling, warm, and loving…. Sweet Liar is a contemporary novel that only Jude Deveraux could write and one her fans will devour.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Another sexy winner….”

  —Copley News Service

  ETERNITY

  “Get ready to be completely enchanted…. Warm and loving, funny and tender … an updated fairytale that will lift your heart.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Engaging characters, hilarious dialogue, colorful historical backdrop…. Deveraux’s tales are tender, funny, warm, and endearing….”

  —Baton Rouge Advocate

  MOUNTAIN LAUREL

  “Tenderness, humor, passion, poignancy, and memorable romance…. Mountain Laurel is a delight.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Deveraux fans … will welcome yet another pair of feisty, independent souls whose conversation crackles with electricity.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  THE TAMING

  “Vintage Deveraux—a fast-moving, psychologically acute rendition of the battle of the sexes set in a richly textured historical landscape…. Deveraux’s mastery of every trick of narrative art creates depth and resonance….”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Delightful … The Taming is a winning combination … a very funny, engaging, fast-paced read that’s sure to please.”

  —Rave Reviews

  THE AWAKENING

  “A tender, hilarious, intense love story…. Everything Jude Deveraux readers expect from her passionate pen…. This is a keeper.”

  —Romantic Times

  WISHES

  “In Wishes, one of Jude Deveraux’s most enchanting stories, she blends a pinch of magic, a dash of Cinderella fantasy, and spoonfuls of fun into a stunning romance.”

  —Rave Reviews

  “Jude Deveraux always spins a gripping tale…. Plenty of passion—and the plot never slackens.”

  —Booklist

  Books by Jude Deveraux

  The Velvet Promise

  Highland Velvet

  Velvet Song

  Velvet Angel

  Sweetbriar

  Counterfeit Lady

  Lost Lady

  River Lady

  Twin of Fire

  Twin of Ice

  The Temptress

  The Raider

  The Princess

  The Awakening

  The Maiden

  The Taming

  The Conquest

  A Knight in Shining Armor

  Wishes

  Mountain Laurel

  The Duchess

  Eternity

  Sweet Liar

  The Invitation

  Remembrance

  The Heiress

  Legend

  Published by POCKET BOOKS

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Visit us on the World Wide Web: http://www.SimonSays.com

  Copyright © 1995 by Deveraux, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-7434-1739-9

  eISBN: 978-0-743-41739-6

  POCKET BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  The Heiress

  Chapter 1

  England

  1572

  The Maidenhall heiress!”

  Joby could hardly contain herself as she looked at her brother Jamie and her older sister, Berengaria, sitting so close to each other at the high table. She was no longer dazzled by the beauty of the two of them as she had been when she was small. Her father used to lift her high above his head and promise her that she was going to grow up to be as beautiful as her sister, Berengaria.

  But he’d not told the truth. Not about that or, as it turned out, about a great many things. He’d not told the truth when he said they’d always have enough to eat and always have a warm, comfortable place to live. He’d not told the truth when he’d sworn that her mother would soon stop talking to her spirit people.

  But most of all he’d lied about living forever.

  Joby tossed her head of dark curls and looked up at her brother with stars in her eyes. Her hair had been shorn after she’d beaten some of the boys at sword play, and in retaliation, they had slathered her head with warm honey and pine pitch. Now her hair was growing back into glossy curls, and she found that she did indeed have one quite beautiful feature.

  “The Maidenhall heiress,” she repeated. “Oh, Jamie, just think of all that lovely money. Do you think she bathes in a gold tub? Does she wear emeralds to bed?”

  “Nothing else is in her bed,” Rhys, Jamie’s man, said under his breath. “That father of hers keeps her as locked up as his gold.”

  Rhys gave a soft grunt as Thomas, Jamie’s only other retainer, kicked him under the table.

  Joby well knew the kick was to silence Rhys because they thought that at twelve years old she knew nothing about anything, and they wanted to keep it that way. Joby wasn’t about to tell them what she knew or did not know, because in her opinion, there were already too many restrictions placed on her freedom. If any of the many adults in her life found out just exactly how much she did know, they’d start trying to find out where she had been to learn what she wasn’t supposed to know.

  Jamie’s eyes were twinkling. “Perhaps not emeralds. But maybe she wears a silk nightgown.”

  “Silk,” Joby said dreamily,