Francesca (The Silk Merchant's Daughters)

New York Times bestselling author Bertrice Small continues her glorious historical-romance series featuring four sisters in Renaissance Florence who have anything but marriage on their minds .

When the Duke of Terreno Boscoso sends word that he s seeking a wife for his heir, Rafaello, Florentine silk merchant Giovanni Pietro d Angelo and his wife encourage a meeting for their headstrong daughter Francesca. She refuses to even consider it until her father makes her a promise: If Rafaello does not suit, you may return. She is therefore shocked when Rafaello chooses her as his bride and her parents agree to his proposal without her consent.

Furious and feeling betrayed, Francesca flees into the forest and takes shelter at an inn. There, she earns her keep as a servant and meets an unlikely suitor who steals her heart. But how certain can the future be for the runaway bride, who is still promised to another?