'Bliss' by Lynsay Sands
King Henry II's reputation of being 'the Spawn of the Devil' didn't help him solve his problems with his two feuding nobles: Lady Helen Tiernay, 'the Tyrant or Tiernay', and Lord Hethe Holden, 'the Hammer of Holden'. So he decided to force the two to marry. They could share the bed they had made and leave him alone!
Lord Hethe Holden is never home. He's always away fighting for his king. Even though his father is dead, he doesn't want to go back home because it brings him too many painful memories of his father's treatment. He returns home to marry, he can't go against the king's wishes, and he's very surprised when he meets his intended bride.
Lady Helen Tiernay would do anything to prevent that wedding, she doesn't like how Lord Holden treats people, but she can't defy the king so she decides 'the Hammer' should be the one refusing to marry her.
What she does to prevent that wedding had me laughing so hard I cried. She even trains Goliath, her faithful huge wolfhound to... No, I won't tell you. Read it. It's worth it. I love Lynsay Sands's books, and 'Bliss' isn't an exception. It's well written and very funny.
(I read this book in 2003 and wrote this review then.)
