Set in the time of her "Dark Champion", it is another good story from Jo Beverley.
As the King's champion, Renald de Lise arrives just after Lady Claire's beloved father, Clarence of Summerbourne's, death. Because of her father's involvement in a rebellion, Claire and her home are now forfeit to the King and the man he has sent to claim them.
Claire discovers that though Renald is a proud and powerful warrior he is also a man who has worked his way to the top and will stop at nothing to gain control of that which has been granted by the crown. He must claim Claire as his bride. She soon understands that she cannot outwit him and that he is a man whose passion and sensual assault on her senses leave her breathless. She is his wife in all ways and would be his soulmate except for the terrible secret Renald carries.
Once Claire learns of his role in her father's death, she craves vengeance against the man who is legally her husband and the keeper of her heart.
Claire discovers that though Renald is a proud and powerful warrior he is also a man who has worked his way to the top and will stop at nothing to gain control of that which has been granted by the crown. He must claim Claire as his bride. She soon understands that she cannot outwit him and that he is a man whose passion and sensual assault on her senses leave her breathless. She is his wife in all ways and would be his soulmate except for the terrible secret Renald carries.
Once Claire learns of his role in her father's death, she craves vengeance against the man who is legally her husband and the keeper of her heart.
Pretty good read, a bit of intrigue and romance.
He entered her life in the midnight darkness of a storm, and in the shadow of her gentle father's death. She was forfiet to the king's champion. He took possession of Claire like a conquerorr, and set her heart racing. Then she learned his terrible secret...
He entered her life in the midnight darkness of a storm, and in the shadow of her gentle father's death. A rebellion had left Clarence of Summerbourne dead - his castle and his daughter, Claire, forfeit to the king's champion. Renald de Lisle arrived at the castle gates as a warrior, took possession of Claire like a conqueror, and set her heart racing as her lover. Amid moonlight and velvet, she became his bride; atop tangled bedclothes she discovered passion. Then she learned Renald's terrible secret and vowed revenge against this man she had wed, this man she loved with all her heart...
As Renald tasted her skin, a shiver of ecstasy passed through him, swelling him to the point of pain....
I haven't read this book so here's a Library Journal Review:
Forced by a forgotten promise to his autocratic grandmother to marry by his 25th birthday, the earl of Saxonhurst consults his servants, flips a coin, and ends up married to gently bred but impoverished Meg Gillingham. He doesn't realize that in her desperation Meg has invoked the powers of an ancient Irish statue to help her out of her difficulties?with sexy, magical, and ultimately dangerous results. A charming, outspoken heroine, a magnetic, unconventional hero, and a diverse cast of well-drawn secondary characters come together in a fast-paced, intriguing plot with a holiday setting that features a touch of evil, a dash of bawdy humor, and enough of Beverley's trademark page-singeing sensuality to satisfy the most demanding reader.
Forced by a forgotten promise to his autocratic grandmother to marry by his 25th birthday, the earl of Saxonhurst consults his servants, flips a coin, and ends up married to gently bred but impoverished Meg Gillingham. He doesn't realize that in her desperation Meg has invoked the powers of an ancient Irish statue to help her out of her difficulties?with sexy, magical, and ultimately dangerous results. A charming, outspoken heroine, a magnetic, unconventional hero, and a diverse cast of well-drawn secondary characters come together in a fast-paced, intriguing plot with a holiday setting that features a touch of evil, a dash of bawdy humor, and enough of Beverley's trademark page-singeing sensuality to satisfy the most demanding reader.
