La mariée obéissante

Dear Reader, Between 1985 and 1998, I wrote more than thirty Signet Regency romances, most of which have long been out of print. Many of you have been asking me about them and hunting for them, and, in some cases, paying high prices for second-hand copies to complete your collections of my books. I have been touched by your interest. I am delighted that these books are going to be available as e-books with lovely new covers and very affordable prices.If you have read any of my more recent books, the Bedwyn saga, the Simply quartet, the Huxtable series, the Survivors’ Club series, for example, you may wish to discover if my writing has changed in the course of the past 30 years or if my view of life and love and romance remains essentially the same. Whatever you decide, I do hope you will enjoy being able to read these books at last. Mary Baloghwww.marybalogh.com “The Obedient Bride” Copyright © 1989 by Mary Balogh THE OBEDIENT BRIDE First Ebook edition June 2020 ISBN: 978-1-944654-34-4 All rights reserved. No part of the Ebook may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both copyright owner and Class Ebook Editions Ltd., the publisher of the Ebook. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are 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. Class Ebook Editions, Ltd. 1270 Avenue of the Americas Suite 2915New York, NY 10020 “Balogh is today’s superstar heir to the marvelous legacy of Georgette Heyer (except a lot steamier)!” –New York Times Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips “With her brilliant, beautiful and emotionally intense writing Mary Balogh sets the gold standard in historical romance.” –New York Times Bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz “When it comes to historical romance, Mary Balogh is one of my favorites!”— New York Times Bestselling author Eloisa James “One of the best!” –New York Times Bestselling author Julia Quinn “Mary Balogh has the gift of making a relationship seem utterly real and utterly compelling.” –New York Times Bestselling author Mary Jo Putney “Winning, witty, and engaging…fulfilled all of my romantic fantasies.” –New York Times Bestselling author Teresa Medeiros Table of Contents Cover Dear Reader Copyright Praise for Mary Balogh Title Page Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 More by Mary Balogh Biography Also by Mary Balogh The Obedient Bride Mary Balogh Class Ebook Editions, Ltd.New York, NY Chapter 1 VISCOUNT Astor yawned widely enough to hear his jaws crack and lifted one booted leg to join the other on the plush velvet upholstery of the carriage seat opposite him. He wriggled his shoulders against the cushions at his back in a futile attempt to ease aching muscles and find a comfortable position. It really was almost pointless, he reflected, spending a king’s ransom on a handsome, luxuriously padded, and well-sprung traveling carriage when the only place on which to demonstrate its superiority was English roads. Under such conditions springs were about as much use as wings would be.He was regretting for perhaps the dozenth time in the past three days his decision to travel in the coach with his valet and his baggage instead of bringing his curricle. At least with the curricle he would have had fresh air and the mental and physical activity of propelling himself along the road. Perhaps too he would be capable of seeing and avoiding more potholes than his coachman seemed able to do.But then, he thought, yawning hugely again and crossing his boots at the ankles, he could not have foreseen that the late February weather would be quite so gloriously springlike. The sun was shining down from a flawless sky; the trees were beginning to bud; he could glimpse snowdrops and primroses in the hedgerows; and he could imagine the freshness of the air and the singing of the birds, though the dust of the road and the noise of the horses and carriage wheels blotted them from his senses.Oh, for the chance to ride astride a horse or to be seated in his curricle, ribbons in hand! The sight of his valet’s head flopping from side to side on his chest and the faint whistling sound of his snoring were beginning to grate on Lord Astor’s nerves. He had tried clearing his throat loudly a few minutes before, but that had succeeded only in causing Henry to jump, rumble in his throat, smack his lips, and resume the head lolling and the gentle snoring.Lord Astor examined his Hessian boots glumly, twisting his feet from side to side in order to do so. There should be some consolation in the fact that he would be reaching his destination within the next couple of hours. But under the circumstances, he thought that, given the choice, he might prefer two more days on the road, even if they were to involve two more nights at unspeakable inns like the one of the night before.Four females. He was to face four female strangers. And they were strangers even though they were connected by some distant relationship. Only that fact accounted for his present newly acquired title and wealth. He was the closest male relative of the lately deceased Viscount Astor. It was rather a shame, the new Astor thought uncharitably, that he was not also the only relative of the dead viscount. The man was survived by a wife and three daughters. And he was on his way to pay his respects to them and to view his new home and estate.It was a deuced embarrassment, actually. He had known he was the heir,