Page 1 of A Lover for Lady Jane (The Welsh Rebels #5)

N ow what was she to do? Jane wondered.

Her sister, Sian, along with her new husband and the rest of the family, had left the day before.

Barely a week after the wedding, the newlyweds had elected to depart for their new home in Wales.

Alone, Jane had decided to stay behind at Sheridan Manor to welcome her new cousin.

Her aunt, Branwen, was to give birth to her fourth child in a few weeks’ time and would no doubt welcome the help.

This, of course, had been the official excuse.

In reality, Jane dreaded going back to Castell Esgyrn and finding herself on her own.

With her beloved sister married to the love of her life, and living in her own cottage, she would be lonely, and well…

Jealous.

Jane hated herself for the sentiment, but she couldn’t help it.

Things would change, inevitably. With a husband and soon, a family of her own, Sian would have less time for her.

That was bad enough, but her sister had married none other than Christopher Harrison, the man who had made Jane’s life a misery as a child.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to fully forgive him for the pain he had caused her, constantly mocking her for being too “perfect,” in his own words.

Of course, they had grown since then and he had explained that he’d only been jealous of her happy upbringing, so different from his lonely, miserable one.

He’d even asked for her forgiveness, which she had granted, but the fact remained.

She feared she would never be fully at ease with her brother-in-law.

Shaking her head, she steered her mare toward the town. Perhaps a visit to the market would do her good and distract her from her maudlin thoughts. It was worth a try. What else was there to do while she waited for the birth anyway? Nothing.

As she was approaching the river, four men sprang in front of her.

Before she had time to react, they had pulled her down from the saddle and surrounded her.

Their snarling countenances did not bode well.

She already knew they would not be satisfied with being handed the contents of her purse.

They might well make her surrender an infinitely more precious possession.

“Who are you? What do you want?” she asked, doing her best to calm the beatings of her heart. Why oh why had she not agreed to William’s offer of an escort? Just because she was on her father’s land didn’t mean she was safe. A woman alone was never safe.

Instead of answering her questions, the bearded man in front of her lifted his arm. Jane’s eyes widened in horror. Was he about to…

The question never fully formed in her mind, as a heartbeat later, his fist connected with her head, and she fell into a black hole.