The Bartered Bride

by Anne Hillary

Robin and Kitty are both pawns in a game played long ago by their fathers--a gambling aristocrat who finally lost more than he could afford, and a wealthy social-climbing commoner who offered the other an ideal way to discharge his losses. Now that the Earl of Scotney was dead, his son Robin was bound to honor his father's last debt--an iron-clad contract compelling Robin to marry a woman he had never seen. A woman he didn't know and didn't want. And what of the woman herself? Ravishing raven-haired Kitty Tolbert swore never to marry a man willing to barter his title for her fortune. Never.

But then Kitty met a handsome stranger and fell in love. She didn't know his name and didn't care--until the day Lord Scotney came to claim his bride and her dowry. It was Robin! The man she loved at first sight and the man she had halved for years were one and the same! Could she ever look into his eyes again without wondering about this man who could deny his heart to settle a debt and marry a fortune? Kitty knew the future was in her hands. She couldn't live with him--but could she live without him?

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

Anne Mikita and Edward Kolaczyk were native mid-westerners, they married on 1972. She taught elementary school, but after the marriage she became a restless housewife and mother of four kids. He was a bored marketing executive of IBM group, where he worked during 23 years until he quit on 1982. On 1976, she started to write romance novels, on 1981 she had a few novels published, and her husband decided collaborate with her, and they became a marriage writing team under female pennames. They discovered, that they are very different, but complementary. They used the pseudonyms of Anne Hillary, Anne Benson, Kathryn Jessup, Erika Bryant, Anne Edwards, Andrea Edwards, and Adriene Edwards, they also signed novels with real names Anne and Ed Kolaczyk. The marriage write in their house in Illinois, where they share housework, cooking and childrearing.

Reviews

[Catsalive · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too silly for me, but a lot of the earlier ones were.
Ch: Robin Michael Prentice, Lord Scotney, 5th Earl of Scotney & Mary Kathleen "Kitty" Tolbert

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an ancient one, from 1979, and does a great job as a comedy of errors. The best part of the whole novel for me is actually the subplot with Aunt Mavis and the dashing Sir Julian. Very romantic! a very nice read!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main romance has been done many times, but the secondary romance was very cute.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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