Fields of Contention

By Catherine Carson

After falling out with his father and leaving the family business, Marcus Barnaby bought Hill Top Farm with the intention of building up a herd of pedigree Hereford cattle which would be much sought after for their breeding potential.
His neighbour Charles Trenchard had two fields for sale and when Marcus approached him, he was presented with an ultimatum – marry the man’s daughter within a six month period and he would give him the fields – or no deal.
Bethan Trenchard had no idea about her father’s plan and fell totally under the charismatic spell of the tall handsome man who seemed to be oblivious to her shy nature and plain looks…..Until they returned from their honeymoon and the truth brought her world crashing down around her

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781326656003

Book preview

Fields of Contention

Fields of Contention

By Catherine Carson

Standard Copyright © Catherine Carson 2016

ISBN 978-1-326-65596-9 Paperback

ISBN 978-1-326-65600-3 eBook

About the author

Born in Scotland I now live with my husband in the North West of England.  We have three children who, between them have given us six wonderful grandchildren.

I studied commercial subjects at school and college and spent most of my working life in the offices of various companies, starting as a junior in a local garage typing invoices for car repairs.   I left Scotland and crossed the border to England to marry the man I met whilst on a holiday with my extended family and eventually became a secretary with a beer bottling company leaving six years later when the first of our three children came on the scene. 

Returning to the workforce when our children were young adults I finally untied the apron strings to join the offices of a large wholesale book supplier and embraced the advancement in technology since I had first learned to type on a manual typewriter and take notes in shorthand.

During the years I became something of a letter writer as friends and family lived in many parts of the country and indeed the world.  Often friends and family would tell me…..‘You could write a book’ to which I always replied…..‘But would anyone read it’. 

When my granddaughter asked if I would write a book especially for her I confided in my good friend Lisa Schmidt and she told me to go for it.  That book became the first of many stories which had been lurking in my imagination for a good number of years.

Once started I found the stories simply kept coming and often an overheard conversation or a glimpse from the passenger seat of the car would trigger a likely scenario which my imagination would then elaborate and weave into a story.

My hope is that my writing brings a little pleasure into the life of my readers and allows them to leave the mundane world behind for a few hours as they meet the characters I adore creating.

www.facebook.com/catherinecarsonbooks.uk

www.catherinerenacarson.jimdo.com

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Dedication

To all authors who suffer a writer’s block– this book was a long time in the pipeline.

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

Other Books by this Author

The Mouse in the Library

Family Ties

Overall Construction          

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and Cakes

Memories Rekindled

Wholesale Love

Hope’s Conflict

Estates of the Heart

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for Custody

White Knight Black Knight

Through the Garden Gate…

Love Lost and Found

Alphabet Bachelors

A Dreamer’s Tale

A Precious Jewel

Footbridge of Solace

Girl Meets Boy

Demolition of the Heart

When Life Gives You Lemons

Return to the Past

Pretence & Reality

Opening a Can of Worms

~~~~~~

Tapestry of Love-Bk 1

Twins Exchanged-Bk 2

Highland Feud Bk-3

~~~~~~~

Soil, Seed & Betrayal-Bk 1

Desert Prince, Exiled Princess-Bk 2

Body Language-Bk 3

~~~~~~

An Open Book-Bk 1

Afraid to Love-k 2

~~~~~~

A Second Chance-Bk 1

Taming the Playboy-Bk 2

~~~~~~

Estranged Husband & Father-Bk 1

Identical Mistake-Bk 2

~~~~~~

Sigh of the Claymore-Bk 1

Beyond Claymore-Bk 2

Chapter 1

Marcus Barnaby knew he was a good looking man with a classic firm jawline, piercing blue eyes, and rich dark brown hair.  His muscular toned body fit perfectly in his six feet five inch frame and he knew exactly how to use his attributes to gain favour with the long legged blonde women he preferred and who were adept at pleasing a man and shared his no commitment maxim.

Few people ever challenged his decisions whether in his private life or in the high powered business world he had been part of.  A mere lifting of his eyebrows and a flash of displeasure from those piercing blue orbs was enough to cause trepidation in the boardroom or shop floor of the family business he ran with his father and brother.

Being brought up in a wealthy family he had all the advantages money could buy and was not afraid to use his privileged position to maintain the lifestyle he enjoyed; his fierce independent streak brought him into conflict with his father who lectured him constantly regarding his apparent lack of commitment with the young women he dated. 

At thirty-two years of age he had, until now, resisted finding a wife and having the children his parents obviously wanted, telling them his younger married brother could fulfil their needs in that direction.  After a particularly heated argument he resigned his position with the family printing and publishing company using a legacy from his maternal grandfather, together with his personal savings, to fund a complete change of career.

He kept his city apartment and arranged for a cleaning company to keep it aired and ready for use should he decide to come to the city for a weekend.

Hill Top Farm had come on the market as a result of a downturn in the fortunes of the family who owned it and after inspecting the land and realising its potential he purchased the property and with his limited budget hoped to acquire a couple of fields which adjoined his land and had been put on the market by his neighbour.

To this end he had driven to the Trenchard Estate to put in an offer which he hoped would meet with Charles Trenchard’s approval.

It seemed the man had other ideas regarding the land and was suggesting Marcus could have both fields if he married his daughter.  Thinking at first the man was joking he took a step back but when Charles assured him it was no joke he asked why he wanted such a marriage for his daughter.

‘The girl needs a husband and you, young man, need the land and if I am not mistaken your funds are limited.  Go away and think it over and I am sure you will find my proposal is not as outrageous as you first thought.  My solicitor will draw up an official contract and if you accept I will expect you to marry my girl six months after signing that contract. When you return from your honeymoon the land will be yours.’  Charles held out his hand but Marcus was a little wary of taking it as he had a feeling it would be construed as entering a gentleman’s agreement with this man; in the end his inherent good manners accepted the proffered hand.

Making various enquiries he discovered Trenchard’s daughter was a very capable horsewoman who had something of a reputation for enjoying the attentions of her male admirers. In effect the type of woman he had always associated with and who would be happy to enter a marriage which would not interfere with either of their lifestyles.

With the knowledge he would be thumbing his nose at his father if he married this woman, he drove back to the estate a week later and signed the contract Trenchard’s solicitor had drawn up.

Going to the stable block after being informed he would find the woman who was to become his wife, Marcus stood by the open doorway of the small office and found a dark haired young woman working on a computer and after knocking gently on the door frame he asked for Miss Trenchard.

When the girl turned, his first thought was she had to be the plainest girl he had ever seen, her mousy brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and each one of her features seemed to be overshadowed by a nose which had obviously been broken and badly set or simply left to heal as it was.

‘How can I help you?’  Bethan felt her heart beat a little faster as she looked into the piercing blue eyes of this man; even from the doorway she could feel the pure male magnetism which exuded from his body. 

‘My name is Marcus Barnaby and I was told I could find Miss Trenchard in the stables.’ 

‘You have found me Mr Barnaby and I presume you have come to inspect our set-up with a view to either boarding your horse or perhaps having your mare presented to one of our breed stallions.’  Bethan raised herself from her chair and immediately felt at a disadvantage as she held out her hand to this tall man.  Even on tiptoe she doubted her five foot four inch frame would reach this man’s shoulder and when his large hand engulfed hers an electric current seemed to course through her whole being.

Now he knew why Charles Barnaby needed to find a husband for his daughter; there was no way this plain woman would ever be considered marriageable material and he could only surmise she offered her male partners something a little extra to keep them interested.

His first reaction was to go back to the house and tear up the contract he had signed.   An hour later when she had finished her conducted tour of the stables part of him was curious to find out if her knowledge in the bedroom in any way surpassed her obvious understanding of horse flesh. When she readily agreed to visit his farm it confirmed his suspicions this woman was in cahoots with her father to attain a husband by fair means or foul.

On her visit to the farm he was somewhat