Ransom
Authors: Julie Garwood
Praise for Julie Garwood's splendid
New York Times
bestsellers
RANSOM
“AN ENTHRALLING TALE . . . . In this powerful story, passion, loyalty, friendship, and mystery superbly blend with realistic, three-dimensional characters.”
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Romantic Times
“PURE ENTERTAINMENT . . . . TRULY UNFORGETTABLE. Romance never felt so good.”
â
Rendezvous
“A KEEPER . . . . Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading Julie Garwood's classic tale
The Secret
will remember the two lovable rogues Brodick Buchanan and Ramsey Sinclair. Now they star in their own story . . . . The plot is crisp, entertaining, and makes Medieval England seem real.”
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Under the Covers Book Reviews
“THRILLING.”
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Amazon.com
“A RIP-ROARING ROMP, full of humor, romance, sword fights, and crisp dialogue . . . . So much fun, it begs to be read in one sitting . . . . Characters feel like old friends, and readers will regret to see the story end.”
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The Cedar Rapids Gazette
(IA)
“WONDERFUL . . . . RANSOM provides suspense, passion, and humor.”
â
All About Romance
“Julie Garwood's stories happen in a different world, and she makes that world palpable. Readers . . . appreciate the fragility of life in a time when death was omnipresent.”
â
The Kansas City Star
COME THE SPRING
“Heartwarming . . . . Wonderful . . . Garwood does her usual superb job . . . . [A] fascinating tale of western romance and adventure.”
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Abilene Reporter News
(TX)
“What began so beautifully in
For the Roses
and continued with the Clayborne Brides series comes to a truly lovely conclusion in
Come the Spring
 . . . . Humor, sensuality and mystery blend perfectly in this tale. You'll find it as hard as I did to say farewell to a family you have come to love like your own. Thank you, Ms. Garwood, for Mama Rose and her children.”
âKathe Robin,
Romantic Times
“The five novels that make up the Rose series are considered some of the best books written in the nineties. Julie Garwood's latest offering from that tremendous collection,
Come the Spring
, is as good if not better than the previous novels. The âgood guys' are all charming . . . and the villains are cold-bloodedly efficient and exciting . . . . The story line, with its tremendous prose and building suspense, turns this book into . . . a long-term literary classic.”
âHarriet Klausner, America Online
FOR THE ROSES
“Lively and charming . . . . Filled with humor and appealing characters . . . .”
â
Library Journal
“An enchanting tale with a happy ending . . . .”
â
Abilene Reporter-News
(TX)
“[A] brilliant achievement . . . . With a master's pen, Julie Garwood explores the heart and soul of a family whose love and loyalty will truly inspire.”
âRomantic Times
Praise for the #1
New York Times
bestselling trilogy of the Clayborne Brides
ONE PINK ROSE
“[An] utterly charming little book . . . .”
â
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Garwood hits her mark with a feisty, sassy, and capable heroine.”
â
BookPage
“Great dialogue and wonderful characters make this a laugh-out-loud book.”
â
Rocky Mountain News
(CO)
ONE WHITE ROSE
“A very special and moving read . . . . Ms. Garwood succeeds big-time with this novel.”
â
Amazon.com
“Vintage Garwood, funny and tender, familiar yet new.”
â
BookPage
“As charming as
For the Roses
, as sweet and funny and sensual as anything Ms. Garwood has written . . . . A must-have book if you love the Claybornes . . . .”
â
Romantic Times
ONE RED ROSE
“As Charming and heartwarming as the rest of the series. Ms. Garwood has a gift for sending our hearts soaring . . . .”
â
Romantic Times
“An exquisite treat for the senses.”
â
Amazon.com
“Absolute dynamite story. As usual, Ms. Garwood never fails to deliver a scrumptious romance, nonstop action, and delightful dialogue.”
â
Rendezvous
Books by Julie Garwood
Gentle Warrior
Rebellious Desire
Honor's Splendour
The Lion's Lady
The Bride
Guardian Angel
The Gift
The Prize
The Secret
Castles
Saving Grace
Prince Charming
For the Roses
The Wedding
The Rose Trilogy
One Pink Rose
One White Rose
One Red Rose
Come the Spring
Ransom
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For Bryan Michael Garwood, business and law graduate extraordinaireâ
With your keen mind, your passionate soul, and your merciful heart, there's no stopping you.
As you embark on this most noble career, remember: “Justice is a machine that, when someone has given it a starting push, rolls of itself.” Galsworthy,
Justice II
Start pushing, Bryan
England, in the reign of King Richard I
B
ad things always happen during the night.
In the dark hours of the night Gillian's mother died struggling to bring a new life into the world, and a young, unthinking servant, wishing to be the first to impart the sorrowful news, awakened the two little girls to tell them their dear mama was dead. Two nights later, they were once again shaken awake to hear that their infant brother, Ranulf, named in honor of their father, had also passed on. His frail body hadn't been able to take the strain of being born a full two months early.
Gillian was afraid of the dark. She waited until the servant had left her bedroom, then slid down from the big bed on her stomach to the cold stone floor. Barefoot, she ran to the forbidden passage, a secret hallway that led to her sister's chamber and also to the steep steps that ended in the tunnels below the kitchens. She barely squeezed behind the chest her papa had placed in front of the narrow door in the wall to discourage his daughters from going back and forth. He had warned over and over again that it was a secret, for the love of God, only to be used under the most dire of circumstances, and certainly not for
play. Why, even his loyal servants didn't know about the passageways built into three of the bedchambers, and he was determined to keep it that way. He was also extremely concerned that his daughters would fall down the steps and break their pretty little necks, and he often threatened to paddle their backsides if he ever caught them there. It was dangerous, and it was forbidden.
But on that terrible night of loss and sorrow, Gillian didn't care if she got into trouble. She was scared, and whenever she got scared, she ran to her older sister, Christen, for comfort. Managing to get the door open only a crack, Gillian cried out for Christen and waited for her to come. Her sister reached in, latched onto Gillian's hand and pulled her through, then helped her climb up into her bed. The little girls clung to each other under the thick blankets and cried while their papa's tormented screams of anguish and desolation echoed throughout the halls. They could hear him shouting their mama's name over and over and over again. Death had entered their peaceful home and filled it with grief.
The family wasn't given time to heal, for the monsters of the night weren't through preying on them. It was in the dead of night that the infidels invaded their home and Gillian's family was destroyed.
Papa woke her up when he came rushing into her chamber carrying Christen in his arms. His faithful soldiers WilliamâGillian's favorite because he gave her honeyed treats when her papa wasn't watchingâand Lawrence and Tom and Spencer followed behind him. Their expressions were grim. Gillian sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands as her father handed Christen to Lawrence and hurried to her. He placed the glowing candle on the chest next to her bed, then sat down beside her and
with a trembling hand gently brushed her hair out of her eyes.
Her father looked terribly sad, and Gillian thought she knew the reason why.
“Did Mama die again, Papa?” she asked worriedly.
“For the love of . . . no, Gillian,” he answered, his voice weary.
“Did she come back home, then?”
“Ah, my sweet lamb, we've been over this again and again. Your mama isn't ever going to come home. The dead can't come back. She's in heaven now. Try to understand.”
“Yes, Papa,” she whispered.
She heard the faint echo of shouts coming from the floor below and then noticed that her father was wearing his chain mail.
“Are you going to battle now, for the love of God, Papa?”
“Yes,” he answered. “But first I must get you and your sister to safety.”
He reached for the clothes Gillian's maid, Liese, had laid out for tomorrow and hastily dressed his daughter. William moved forward and knelt on one knee to put Gillian's shoes on her.
Her papa had never dressed her before, and she didn't know what to make of it. “Papa, I got to take my sleeping gown off before I put my clothes on, and I got to let Liese brush my hair.”
“We won't worry about your hair tonight.”
“Papa, is it dark outside?” she asked as he slipped the bliaut over her head.
“Yes, Gillian, it's dark.”
“Do I got to go outside in the dark?”
He could hear the fear in her voice and tried to calm her.
“There will be torches to light the way and you won't be alone.”