What would you do if your lecherous and evil stepfather were about
to molest your young, innocent sister? You'd probably do what most
of us would do -- you'd stop it in whatever way you could. When
Tory grabs a brass bed warmer and bashes her stepfather, Baron
Harwood, over the head with it, she isn't sure whether to be afraid
she killed him or afraid she hasn't.


Tory and her sister, Claire, know that being there if and when the
Baron wakes up is not an option so they grab an antique jeweled
necklace and head for London to lose themselves in the city and
begin a new life. Employment isn't as easy to come by as Tory had
hoped and the pittance for which the girls were able to sell the
necklace doesn't last them long. Just as starvation and
homelessness seem a sure thing, a chance encounter with Cordell
Easton, Earl of Brant, provides Tory and Claire with jobs and a new
home.


The Earl seems as besotted with Claire's beauty as Baron Harwood
was, and Tory finds herself once again in the position of having to
discourage a man's attempts to engage Claire's interest. On top of
that, the staff has decided to make life as difficult as possible
for Tory, the new housekeeper, in support of Mrs. Rathbone who had
assumed she was the natural choice for that job. Tory's youth and
beauty do nothing to endear her to her staff either.


It doesn't take long until the Earl's attentions wander from Claire
to Tory as he realizes she has fire, spirit and determination the
likes her sister never will. Just as Tory and the Earl become
close, Baron Harwood comes to town and word gets to Cord that the
ladies newly in his employ are fugitives from justice.


When Tory and Claire head for France on a ship that Cord is sailing
on to rescue his cousin, a prisoner in a French jail, Tory and Cord
find themselves unable to deny their attraction to one another any
longer. Once they return to England, Cord learns Tory's true
identity and insists on marrying her.


In spite of their married state, there are still secrets between
Tory and Cord. As Tory is determined to learn the true identity of
the man who murdered her father, she gets herself into one scrape
after another and causes Cord to distrust her when she refuses to
be honest with him. One adventure follows another in this
fast-paced book as the lovers want to be close but circumstances
and emotions keep them apart.


THE BRIDE'S NECKLACE is a charming and enjoyable book by Kat
Martin, bestselling author of over thirty historical and
contemporary romances and whose books in print total nine million.
It is the first in an exciting trilogy soon to be followed by the
second installment due out in August 2005, THE DEVIL'S
NECKLACE.