Shocked by the ineptitude of her masquerade, Alain of Huntly Woods takes Abigail under his protection until she recovers her sense and goes home. But her audacity and intelligence spark enough friction between them to burn through his cold logic and carefully laid plans.
In 1159 Paris as a spy for Henry II, Alain has sold his soul to the Angevin devil in exchange for the king's promise of an heiress, land and power. As his good intentions bring him unexpected passion, he struggles to find a way to have it all. Then he discovers Abigail's uncle, confessor to King Louis VII of France, plots against the English king, and Alain must choose between protecting his king or the woman he loves.
EXCERPT
Watching her, Alain realized
he knew two facts about her: one, she was well educated;
two, whatever her name was, it was not
Abelard.
Well, maybe three facts, he decided when she pushed a curl out of her eyes for the third time. Her haircut
was new. The repeated gesture
indicated she hadn’t known
which way it grew. Otherwise,
she would have cut it shorter or not at all. That meant this charade was new, no more than
a day
or two old.
On
the morrow, he would seek out rumors of robbery
or maybe murder in the finer neighborhoods. He could imagine nothing less than murder
would drive a woman
like her to don a scholar’s robe and come to the Quarter.
Abelard didn’t look like a murderer,
although he knew better than
most that looks meant
nothing.
Everyone was capable of murder.
And women were rarely
what they seemed.
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Tough choices. Sounds like an intriguing book.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
It was an extremely fun book to write. I think every historical author has a cross-dressing heroine in at least one book, but writing Abigail allowed me to let my history nerd out to play.
DeleteNice. I'm a sucker for murder, intrigue, and a good romance. Well done. Cover is awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Lots of intrigue in this one.
DeleteYou've done it again. What a great storyline this sounds to be. I've got to find time to catch up on all these wonderful stories. Doris/Angela
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think every historical writer has a cross-dressing heroine at some point because they are so much fun to write. Setting it in at the school in Paris let me go back to college for a little while, too.
DeleteKeena, you had me worried for Abigail all through the story! The tension was really perfect. I enjoyed this so much. I think this was the first book of yours I ever read, and I was soooooo hooked on your stories from that moment!
ReplyDeleteOf all the books that we've re-issued under the Prairie Rose banner, this is the oldest. It was the second story I ever wrote, to be honest. The first (about Alain's sister) has potential but it was the learning book, so to speak. Just between you and me, I kinda based Alain on Faramir. Ssshhh
DeleteSounds like a winner with a lot of twists and intrigue. I look forward to reading it. Best of success.
ReplyDeleteRobyn Echols w/a Zina Abbott
Thanks, Zina. I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteSound really good can't wait to read
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cynthia. I have so much fun writing this book, especially with the Paris setting. Convention wisdom is Paris doesn't sell, but I really don't see why it shouldn't.
DeleteI could use some pointers on the Art of Love, and I'm sure Dennis would appreciate it!!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, Nancy. Ovid gives better pointers than I do in his book, Art of Love. I only quote him a few times. :-)
DeleteCongrats, Nan. You won the free book. Send me your email and I'll send you the code. Thanks for commenting, everyone.
ReplyDelete