Penny Jordan.

To Love Honour And Betray.

A baby meant everything to Claudia. She deeply loved her husband

Garth, but only when she became pregnant did life feel complete. Whenshe miscarried, her world fell apart. And then a miracle happened: suddenly the baby Claudia craved was theirs.

But their happiness was built on shameful secrets. Garth had lied to Claudia and their marriage wasn't able to survive his betrayal of their wedding vows.

Now, the lies were about to catch up with them and it was vital that Claudia and Garth found a way back to the truth, before their beloved daughter paid the price.

"Women everywhere will find pieces of themselves in Jordan's characters." -Publishers Weekly UK 4. 99 ISBN 1551663961 9 "781551" 663968"> " I didn't come here to gloat.

"I came," Garth continued, "because I thought you might need someone to talk to... because I was concerned."

"Concerned for whom. Garth?" Claudia froze.

"Certainly not for me, the woman, the wife, you betrayed so easily."

"Claudia, for God's sake ... I came here to talk to you about Tara."

"But we are talking about her, aren't we?" she said softly.

Across the silence that divided them, their eyes met and it was Garth's that fell first.

"Claudia," he began rawly, but she shook her head. One look at her face told Garth that he would be wasting his time trying to reason with her. He had handled things badly.

As he let himself out of the house, he reminded himself that there was that school of belief that said the greater the love, the greater the hatred following any form of betrayal, but his betrayal. There were always two sides to every story and she hadn't ever been prepared to listen while he told her his.

Penny Jordan has been writing for more than fifteen years and has an outstanding record: over 100 novels published including the phenomenally successful A Perfect Family, Power Games, Cruel Legacy and Power Play which hit the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists. An internationally-acclaimed author. Penny Jordan has sales of over 60 million copies. She was born in Preston, Lancashire and now lives with her husband in a beautiful fourteenth-century house in rural Cheshire.

Other novels by Penny Jordan LOVE'S CHOICES STRONGER THAN YEARNING POWER PLAY SILVER THE HIDDEN YEARS LINGERING SHADOWS FOR BETTER FOR WORSE CRUEL LEGACY POWER GAMES A PERFECT FAMILY TO LOVE. HONOUR & MIRK BOOKS DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?

If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it was reported unsold and destroyed}yj a retailer. Neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this book.

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

All Rights Reserved including the right a/reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II B.

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First published in Great Britain 1998 MIRA Books, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 JSR Penny Jordan 1998 ISBN 155166 3961 Printed and bound in Great Britain Caledonian International Book Manufacturing Ltd, Glasgow Lying across her mother's bed, long legs dangling over the side, one hand propping up her chin, the other pushing aside the thick, dark heaviness of her long, curly hair, and waiting while her mother put the final touches to her make-up, Tara started to read from the local newspaper she had stopped off to buy as she drove through town.

'"Town Honours Prominent Local Businesswoman," she read aloud, telling her mother unnecessarily, 'that's you," before continuing, '" Last Saturday evening, a celebratory dinner was held in the town's twelfth-century Knights Hospitallers' Hall to mark a decade of fundraising by the Upper Charfont Beneficiary Trust and to honour one of its founder members and, more recently, its chairperson, Mrs. Claudia Wallace. "

"Sounds good, Ma/ Tara told Claudia in the soft, husky voice whose intonations and idiosyncrasies were so exactly those of her mother that when Tara was at home, callers often confused the two of them.

She turned back to the article.

'"Over the past decade, Mrs. Wallace has worked tirelessly and successfully to promote the interests and activities of the Trust and it is thanks to her that it has seen donations rise so spectacularly. Not only has Mrs. Wallace worked selflessly to raise funds for charity, she has, in addition, privately given her time and her skills as a trained probation officer and the senior partner in a successful local private counselling and advisory practice to train and, where necessary, give her own services to help with the charity's work.

'"In recognition of her committed involvement with the community, the Town Council has proposed that the new day care and recreation centre for physically disadvantaged residents be named after her...." " Tara looked away from the newspaper and studied her mother's reflection in the mirror.

"You don't look forty-five," she told her judiciously.

"In fact... have you ever thought of remarrying, Ma?" she asked her mother curiously.

"I mean, it's over ten years now since you and Dad divorced and..."

Very carefully, Claudia put down her mascara and turned to face her daughter. At twenty-three, Tara might now, in the eyes of the world, be very much an adult young woman but to her she was still her daughter, her little girl, the most precious gift that life had given her, and as such, Claudia had every mother's need to protect and guard her.

"After all, it's not as though there aren't at least a dozen men that I know of who'd love to marry you, given half the chance."

Claudia gave her a wry look and suggested, "I think that's rather an exaggeration, don't you?"

"Well, there's Charles Weatherall and Paul Avery and then there's John Fellows and, of course, there's Luke," she slipped in.

"Luke is a client, that's all," Claudia told her calmly, but she still turned her head away just in case that small flutter of sensation she could feel inside should somehow or other reveal itself outwardly. Not that there was any reason why the mention of Luke's name should cause that disturbing slight palpitation of her heartbeat, she reminded herself severely. For a start, he was at least seven years her junior.

"Mmm... So you haven't considered remarrying, then," Tara repeated.

Claudia studied her daughter thoughtfully.

Despite all her attempts to sound and look light-hearted, Claudia could sense Tara's tension.

"I haven't, no," she conceded, and then waited.

"Mmm... Have you seen anything of Dad recently?" Claudia's stomach muscles knotted. Now it was her turn to hide the quick, fierce stab of tension that struck through her at Tara's carefully casual mention of Garth, and instinctively Claudia looked away from her, letting the smooth, silky bell of her blonde bob swing forward to conceal her face as she responded, "No. No, I haven't. Is there any reason why I should have done?"

"No, none at all. It's just that ... well. Dad's been seeing quite a lot of Rachel Bedlington, that's the new account executive who joined the company just after Christmas.

She's in her early thirties. Dad head-hunted her from Faversham Bayliss. She specialises in women-focused ads. You know the type. New woman drives the car while wimpish boyfriend looks on. "

"Yes, I know the type," Claudia agreed calmly, and it wasn't just the advertisements she was referring to. She could see Garth's new account executive already elegant, intelligent, witty, young. She would be besotted with him, of course. What young woman in her position wouldn't be? And, in all fairness, Claudia had to admit that her ex-husband might be fifty, but he was still physically an outstandingly good-looking and a very masculine man even more so now perhaps in his maturity than he had been when he had been young.

"I don't think it's anything serious," Tara hastened to add, but Claudia could see from her expression hear in her voice that, on the contrary, she thought it was extremely serious. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to look smilingly at her daughter their daughter hers and Garth's.

"It's all right, darling," she told her equably.

"Your father is, after all, perfectly free to have a relationship with someone else. We are divorced and have been for ten years."

"I know."

As she watched the expressions chase one an other across Tara's face, Claudia acknowledged that physically no one would ever guess that they were mother and daughter.

For a start, Tara was a good eight inches taller than she was herself, but then that seemed to be the usual way of things these days. She didn't think she had a single friend whose daughter didn't tower inches above them.

Tara also had completely different colouring from her mother's. Where Claudia had a pale, delicate, English-rose complexion and the soft blonde hair to go with it, Tara's skin tone was much, much warmer, her eyes darker and her hair a rich dark brown tumbling past her shoulders in heavy, lustrous curls. Her deep green eyes were Garth's, and like her, his hair, too, was very dark, but unlike Tara's, Garth's was straight.

"Dad said that you were going to be nominated for the Businesswoman of the Year award," Tara announced abruptly.

Now Claudia couldn't conceal her reaction.

How on earth had Garth known that? She had only been told of the nomination a matter of days ago herself.

"He's very proud of you, Ma/ Tara asserted.

"We both are. Everyone thinks you're wonderful," she added, 'and you are. "

"The last time you flattered me like this, I seem to remember it had something to do with the fact that you'd completely burned out one of my best pans," Claudia reminded her dryly.

"Boiling eggs, which I forgot," Tara agreed laughing, and then suddenly the laughter died.

"Ryland is going back to Boston at the end of the month She told Claudia quietly.

"He's asked me to go with him."

"For a holiday?" Claudia asked lightly even while she knew, guessed, sensed what was coming, felt it in every doom-laden wave of panic that struck her body.

"No ... well, at first, perhaps. Ry..."

Ryland Johnson was Tara's American boyfriend, seven years her senior.

Tara had brought him home to meet Claudia at Christmas, and she had liked him immediately and immensely. It was obvious to Claudia even then that the two of them were head over heels in love.

"He only planned to stay over here for a year and... He wants me to meet his family and his friends. He wants..."

Tara bit her lip.

"I know what you're thinking," she told her mother, adding pleadingly, "Please don't be unhappy. America isn't so very far away, not these days, and you... I love him so much, Ma/ she confessed helplessly, flinging herself bodily into Claudia's arms as the tears filled her eyes.

"I know how you must be feeling and I wish, too, that I could have fallen in love with someone from home... that we could have lived here close to you and... I'm going to miss you so much."

Claudia closed her eyes, not to suppress her own tears but to suppress the sick feeling of dread that was surging over her.

"Does... have you told your father yet?" she managed to ask through dry lips.

Tara shook her head.

"No. I wanted to tell you first. Dad just thinks I'm going for aholiday. Well, officially, that's all it is, but ... I'm not, and itwill be much easier for me to get a visa that way. I don't know whichI'm dreading the most," she added with a shaky smile, 'the vetting I'mgoing to get from the US government or the one Ryland says I'll getfrom his aunt. If anything, I suspect his aunt's will be worse.

Apparently, she's fantastically wealthy and very WASP about whom Ryland marries. Ryland says she's a terrifying combination of old New England blood and equally old New England money. "

Tara giggled as she released Claudia and stepped back.

"I'm dreading having to meet her," she announced indifferently.

"According to Ry, she's going to want to know everything there is to know about my background. Not that I've any worries in that department. After all, your family and Dad's go back for ever, don't they?

"Ma.-what is it? Please don't look like that," Tara begged shakily as she saw her mother's expression.

Claudia had gone white, the bone structure of her pretty heart-shaped face suddenly standing out so sharply that Tara had an unnerving and distressing image of how her mother might look in twenty years' time.

Her normal warm and loving soft blue eyes looked so bleak and filled with despair that Tara had to fight to control her own emotions.