Claire DelaCroix's The Countess

THE COUNTESS
Claire Delacroix
Dell Historical Romance 8/00
[Medieval Scotland]
ISBN No. 0-440-23634-7, $6.50, 359 pp.
Review (c) Lynne Remick, 2001

Buying info: The Countess (Delacroix, Claire. Bride Quest.)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

The Countess Eglantine de Crevy is determined that her three daughters will marry for love and not by arrangement, as were both of her own loveless nuptials. So when an aged suitor seeks betrothal to her middle daughter, Jacqueline, Eglantine will not stand for it. Armed with a Deed stolen from her brother's treasury, the Countess discreetly leaves France for Kinbeath, in the distant wilds of Scotland.

When the Countess and her entourage arrive at the holding, she not only finds it in ruin, but it seems another has staked claim to the property---a barbaric Scots rogue named Duncan MacLaren. Again, Eglantine stands her ground and refuses to give up her title. However, it is not long before the ground beneath the Countess' feet begins to shake and she falls into Duncan's arms.

Duncan has stolen her kisses and her heart, but Eglantine cannot trust a man who is after the property to which she holds the deed. Then, when someone ransacks the food supply and steals her treasury, she knows of only one who would have cause to see her unable to survive. Furious, she sends the Highlander away. But with him, he takes her heart, leaving her alone with the possibility that she hastily accused him of any wrongdoing.

At the direction of the Dugall, King of the Isles, Duncan is to return to Kinbeath and handfast with Eglantine to acquire a right to the property, or he shall lose his chieftainship. Duncan agrees--but is it his greed that propels him, or his heart?

As the first of the Scottish Bride Quest series (which follows on the tail of the Irish Bride Quest series), THE COUNTESS provides a captivating tale of an unforgettable Scottish rogue who will stop at nothing to capture the heart of the woman he loves. Through the form of minstrel poetry, Claire Delacroix adds a mysterious touch of tragedy to this endearing romance.

THE COUNTESS includes a hoard of delightfully amusing haracters which further add to the enjoyment of this book. Most favored of all is the wicked and relentless Alienor who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if it is the man her stepmother Eglantine is in love with! In addition to these new and memorable characters, Delacroix resurrects old favorites from the Irish Bride Quest series, including handsome Burke and his enchanting wife, Alys.

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