Book excerpt: In this steamy historical romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a jaded English nobleman and a disgraced Russian princess are forced into a whirlwind romance of secrets, passion, and mystery. Frustrated by his own failures at matrimony, King Henry VIII punishes an insolent nobleman by commanding him to marry the vagabond woman caught stealing his horse. Stephen de Lacey is a cold and bitter widower, long accustomed to the sovereign's capricious and malicious whims. He regards his new bride as utterly inconvenient…though undeniably fetching. But Juliana Romanov is no ordinary thief—she is a Russian princess forced into hiding by the traitorous cabal who slaughtered her family. One day she hopes to return to Muscovy to seek vengeance. What begins as a mockery of a marriage ultimately blossoms into deepest love. Books in the Tudor Rose Trilogy: At the King's Command The Maiden's Hand At the Queen's Summons Previously published.