The cry of the owl

Summary: "The most shocking thing that Tamazine had heard in her life was uttered by her father on his deathbed: "Blackmanstone... not yours when I'm gone." The only home she had ever known had been entailed to a stranger -a man capable of almost anything. She shuddered to think of her father's last words about the future owner: "He deserves to hang!" Her father's death had left her frightened-how could she ensure her mother and sister's security and happiness? When Joslan Penrose arrived to claim his inheritance, Tamazine felt the dark cold of the Romney Marsh grip her. All options, save one, were closed. She must marry this man who wanted to lend respectability to his name, and hope and pray for the chance to destroy him. Each day she breathed held the promise of liberation because she had learned of his affiliation with a band of smugglers-the owlers. Feared by everyone along the coast, this band of thieves used the haunting cry of the owl as their signal to one another on the marsh at night. But in spite of the danger, Tamazine wouldn't hesitate to alert the police to the activities of her husband and his friends if the chance presented itself. Yet something held her back-waiting, and wondering about her own feelings. What was it about this notorious man which held her riveted to her stand of silence? Fear or danger, or concern for her family's reputation; or was it something else, deep in the green eyes of the man she so despised? This novel of romantic suspense is steeped in emotional conflict and dark adventure as it rushes to its culmination in the Great Storm of 1701."--