The Courtship

the long version

Dear Reader: You met Heatherington in The Sherbrooke Bride and Helen Mayberry in Mad Jack. Now the two get together to track down a mystical treasure that Helen calls King Edward's Lamp. Helen is a big girl -- only two inches shorter than Heatherington -- a resolute taskmistress, owner of her own inn. She adores her father, Lord Prith, and wants to find the lamp more than anything. It is her only passion -- until she meets Heatherington. Spenser Heatherington, Lord Beecham, enjoys Helen's pursuit of him. He is a renowned womanizer, a resolute bachelor, and really enjoys his life. When she throws him to the ground and sits on him, and he finally admits that he will succumb to her, she informs him, to his chagrin, that she doesn't want a lover, she wants a partner. But things work out a bit differently than either of them expect. Indeed, Heatherington, unused to being thwarted, takes drastic steps to change his "big girl's" mind. Do they find Helen's lam? Is there more to this treasure than either of them knows? The Sherbrooke Brides - 5