Captive Of The Viking. Juliet Landon

      Taken in revenge!

      Aric the Ruthless is consumed by his need for vengeance. And so he takes his enemy’s widowed daughter, Lady Fearn, as his slave... His fiery captive may fight him at first, but he knows he will soon tempt her into his bed!

      Fearn’s marriage brought her only fear and pain, but powerful Viking Aric is nothing like her cruel husband. And as her captor’s seduction awakens her to new sensations, dare she hope this ferocious warrior could become the husband she deserves?

      ‘This,’ he said softly, ‘will be good. Here we have peace and privacy, and time for you to discover things you could not have imagined.’

      ‘You are arrogant!’ she whispered.

      ‘Sure of myself, yes, and sure of you too. I doubt you’ve ever been told that you’re the loveliest woman in all England. But I’ve seen how men’s eyes follow you.’

      ‘Lust. That’s all.’

      ‘Let go of your anger. This is more than simple lust. I want you because you’re a match for me. Courageous, fierce, passionate, impetuous. You have the body of a goddess, made for loving, and I can give you pleasure if only you’ll allow it. Let me show you.’

Author Note

      Whilst I am interested in most periods of British history, I find the overlapping of the early Celtic, Viking and Anglo-Saxon eras particularly fascinating. It is not the violence, battles and bloodshed that intrigue me most, but the position of women in those societies. They were obliged to balance their own desires and needs against those of husbands, fathers, the decrees of society, the King and religion. The constraints must have been enormous and yet we know there were women who managed to make things work in their favour.

      This is why I like to make my heroines women who rise above the difficulties in which they find themselves, become stronger as a result, and find love in the most unlikely circumstances. After all, to most British women there can be few more unlikely circumstances than being caught up in a series of conflicts as world-changing as those between the tenth-century Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings of Denmark.

      My story may be a work of fiction, but I believe there must have been situations not unlike this one which did not claim the attention of the chroniclers. I like to think that in this small way I am redressing the balance.

      Captive of the Viking

      Juliet Landon

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      JULIET LANDON has a keen interest in art and history—both of which she used to teach. She particularly enjoys researching the early medieval, Tudor and Regency periods, and the problems encountered by women in a man’s world. Born in North Yorkshire, she now lives in a Hampshire village close to her family. Her first books, which were on embroidery and design, were published under her own name of Jan Messent.

      Books by Juliet Landon

      Mills & Boon Historical Romance

      At the Tudor Court

      Betrayed, Betrothed and Bedded

      Taming the Tempestuous Tudor

      Stand-Alone Novels

      The Widow’s Bargain

      The Bought Bride His Duty, Her Destiny The Warlord’s Mistress A Scandalous Mistress Dishonour and Desire The Rake’s Unconventional Mistress Marrying the Mistress Slave Princess Mistress Masquerade Captive of the Viking

      Collaboration with the National Trust

      Scandalous Innocent

      Visit the Author Profile page

      at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

Author Note

       Title Page

       About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Epilogue

       Author Afterword

       Extract

       Copyright

Chapter One

      The year 993—Jorvik, now known as York

      Even at that early hour of the day, a dense pall of smoke lay over the thatched rooftops of Jorvik like a grey blanket filtering upwards into the haze of dawn. The furnace was already roaring from the blacksmith’s workshop, from the glassmakers and potters, the bakers and the moneyer, whose task was no less exacting than the swordsmith’s. The Lady Fearn and her young maid, Haesel, kept to the path on the outer edge of the city and soon came to the river from where, for safety, the merchants’ ships had been moored upriver well away from the main wharves and the warehouses. They rocked gently on the brown water as the ferryman pulled his boat into the bank just as the two women reached it.

      ‘Morning, lady,’ he called. ‘You not taking the bridge, then?’

      The bridge over the River Ouse was close by the wharves, now deserted