Turned out by his father after a tragic scandal, Lord Michael Knightly has grown into a powerful, but self-made man. With the whispers and stares that still follow him, he would rather be anywhere but London…
Until he meets Lady Aldora, a young woman who mistakes him for his brother, the Marquess of St. James. The connection between Aldora and Michael is immediate and as they come to know one another, Aldora’s feelings for Michael war with her sisterly responsibilities. With her family’s dire situation, a man of Michael’s scandalous past will never do.
Ultimately, Aldora must choose between her responsibilities as a sister and her love for Michael.
“For Love of the Duke”
First Full-Length Book in the “Heart of a Duke” Series by Christi Caldwell
After the tragic death of his wife, Jasper, the 8th Duke of Bainbridge buried himself away in the dark cold walls of his home, Castle Blackwood. When he’s coaxed out of his self-imposed exile to attend the amusements of the Frost Fair, his life is irrevocably changed by his fateful meeting with Lady Katherine Adamson.
With her tight brown ringlets and silly white-ruffled gowns, Lady Katherine Adamson has found her dance card empty for two Seasons. After her father’s passing, Katherine learned the unreliability of men, and is determined to depend on no one, except herself. Until she meets Jasper…
In a desperate bid to avoid a match arranged by her family, Katherine makes the Duke of Bainbridge a shocking proposition—one that he accepts.
Only, as Katherine begins to love Jasper, she finds the arrangement agreed upon is not enough. And Jasper is left to decide if protecting his heart is more important than fighting for Katherine’s love.
“More Than a Duke”
Book 2 in the “Heart of a Duke” Series by Christi Caldwell
Polite Society doesn’t take Lady Anne Adamson seriously. However, Anne isn’t just another pretty young miss. When she discovers her father betrayed her mother’s love and her family descended into poverty, Anne comes up with a plan to marry a respectable, powerful, and honorable gentleman—a man nothing like her philandering father.
Armed with the heart of a duke pendant, fabled to land the wearer a duke’s heart, she decides to enlist the aid of the notorious Harry, 6th Earl of Stanhope. A scoundrel with a scandalous past, he is the last gentleman she’d ever wed…however, his reputation marks him the perfect man to school her in the art of seduction so she might ensnare the illustrious Duke of Crawford.
Harry, the Earl of Stanhope is a jaded, cynical rogue who lives for his own pleasures. Having been thrown over by the only woman he ever loved so she could wed a duke, he’s not at all surprised when Lady Anne approaches him with her scheme to capture another duke’s affection. He’s come to appreciate that all women are in fact greedy, title-grasping, self-indulgent creatures. And with Anne’s history of grating on his every last nerve, she is the last woman he’d ever agree to school in the art of seduction. Only his friendship with the lady’s sister compels him to help.
What begins as a pretend courtship, born of lessons on seduction, becomes something more leaving Anne to decide if she can give her heart to a reckless rogue, and Harry must decide if he’s willing to again trust in a lady’s love.
“The Love of a Rogue”
Book 3 in the “Heart of a Duke” Series by Christi Caldwell
Lady Imogen Moore hasn’t had an easy time of it since she made her Come Out. With her betrothed, a powerful duke breaking it off to wed her sister, she’s become the tons favorite piece of gossip. Never again wanting to experience the pain of a broken heart, she’s resolved to make a match with a polite, respectable gentleman. The last thing she wants is another reckless rogue.
Lord Alex Edgerton has a problem. His brother, tired of Alex’s carousing has charged him with chaperoning their remaining, unwed sister about ton events. Shopping? No, thank you. Attending the theatre? He’d rather be at Forbidden Pleasures with a scantily clad beauty upon his lap. The task of chaperone becomes even more of a bother when his sister drags along her dearest friend, Lady Imogen to social functions. The last thing he wants in his life is a young, innocent English miss.
Except, as Alex and Imogen are thrown together, passions flare and Alex comes to find he not only wants Imogen in his bed, but also in his heart. Yet now he must convince Imogen to risk all, on the heart of a rogue.
“Loved By a Duke”
Book 4 in the “Heart of a Duke” Series by Christi Caldwell
For ten years, Lady Daisy Meadows has been in love with Auric, the Duke of Crawford. Ever since his gallant rescue years earlier, Daisy knew she was destined to be his Duchess. Unfortunately, Auric sees her as his best friend’s sister and nothing more. But perhaps, if she can manage to find the fabled heart of a duke pendant, she will win over the heart of her duke.
Auric, the Duke of Crawford enjoys Daisy’s company. The last thing he is interested in however, is pursuing a romance with a woman he’s known since she was in leading strings. This season, Daisy is turning up in the oddest places and he cannot help but notice that she is no longer a girl. But Auric wouldn’t do something as foolhardy as to fall in love with Daisy. He couldn’t. Not with the guilt he carries over his past sins… Not when he has no right to her heart…But perhaps, just perhaps, she can forgive the past and trust that he’d forever cherish her heart—but will she let him?
“Seduced By a Lady’s Heart”
Book 1 in the “Lords of Honor” Series
You met Lieutenant Lucien Jones in “Forever Betrothed, Never the Bride” when he was a broken soldier returned from fighting Boney’s forces. This is his story of triumph and happily-ever-after!
Lieutenant Lucien Jones, son of a viscount, returned from war, to find his wife and child dead. Blaming his father for the commission that sent him off to fight Boney’s forces, he was content to languish at London Hospital… until offered employment on the Marquess of Drake’s staff. Through his position, Lucien found purpose in life and is content to keep his past buried.
Lady Eloise Yardley has loved Lucien since they were children. Having long ago given up on the dream of him, she married another. Years later, she is a young, lonely widow who does not fit in with the ton. When Lucien’s family enlists her aid to reunite father and son, she leaps at the opportunity to not only aid her former friend, but to also escape London.
Lucien doesn’t know what scheme Eloise has concocted, but knowing her as he does, when she pays a visit to his employer, he knows she’s up to something. The last thing he wants is the temptation that this new, older, mature Eloise presents; a tantalizing reminder of happier times and peace.
Yet Eloise is determined to win Lucien’s love once and for all…if only Lucien can set aside the pain of his past and risk all on a lady’s heart.
Non-Fiction Works by Christi Caldwell
Uninterrupted Joy: Memoir: My Journey through Infertility, Pregnancy, and Special Needs
The following journey was never intended for publication. It was written from a mother, to her unborn child. The words detailed her struggle through infertility and the joy of finally being pregnant. A stunning revelation at her son’s birth opened a world of both fear and discovery. This is the story of one mother’s love and hope and…her quest for uninterrupted joy.
Now, enjoy bonus Chapters from Medieval Romance author Kathryn Le Veque’s upcoming release, SCORPION. Kathryn is the author of over 60 Historical Romance novels. Find this novel, and many others, at all retailers. SCORPION will be released June 12, 2014.
Order on Amazon: Scorpion by Kathryn Le Veque
Prologue
Siege of Tripoli
March, 1289 A.D.
“Watch your head!”
The shout came from behind. The massive English knight with the shaved head instinctively took the hint and ducked low, missing being decapitated by mere inches. In spite of his size, the knight was as agile as a cat; he turned and charged the man who had just tried to remove his head
from his shoulders, plowing a big shoulder into his attacker’s belly.
The Mamluk warrior with the curved kilij sabre went down, flat on his back, and the enormous knight planted his big, heavy, straight-edge broadsword squarely into the man’s chest. It was instant death.
“Kevin, we need to get out of here,” the same knight who had shouted the warning was now grasping the arm of the big, shaved-headed knight. “This is a trap. They lured you here with rumors of an enemy surrender.”
Sir Kevin Hage had realized the same thing his friend had; Tripoli had been under siege for over a month now, a bone-dry city in a dry and mysterious land. Overrun by Mamluks, Turks, Mongols, and more exotic tribes pouring in from the north and east, the last remnants of the Christian brotherhood in the Levant was trying to rid the city of the new legacy of invaders. But they were outnumbered; it had been a seemingly futile effort thus far.
Kevin and his companions, Sir Adonis de Norville and Sir Thomas de Wolfe, men he had grown up with and had now come to serve with in this strange and exotic land, the last crusade of an empire who had all but given up the quest, had been well out of England for over six years. From the snows of Wales to the searing sands of the Levant, it had all been quite an adventure, an adventure that has seen Hage acquire a reputation not only from those he fought with but from those he fought against. A man who fought with no fear, no emotion, and a hint of untapped vengeance. A man the Templars and Hospitallers alike had learned to use as a strike weapon, an assassin. Like a scorpion, Hage was often undetected until it was too late and by then, the target was dead before he realized what had hit him.
By then, it was too late….
Now, it was nearly too late for the man known as the Scorpion. Kevin looked around; they were on the north side of the city, having gained admittance by killing several gate guards at their post protecting a smaller but strategic postern gate that led into the walled city.
The lure of a possible surrender had drawn Kevin and his companions to the gate, as directed by the commander of the order of the Templars that Kevin sometimes fought with. Being English, and not officially a Templar or a Hospitaller, he fought with them when mood suited him, or when they would pay him well enough. Now, this directive he had received to collect surrendering enemy commanders, with a massive payment to boot, was coming to smell of an ambush. Already, their passage into the city had not been easy. Now he was wondering how easy it would be to get out.
“I believe you are correct,” Kevin finally muttered, turning to Adonis; his tall, blond companion was red in the face from sun burn and heat. “De Clemont paid extraordinarily well for me to take on this task; it did not occur to me that it was because he knew he would eventually get his money back when my dead body was brought to him.”
Adonis nodded, his expression edgy, as he motioned over Thomas de Wolfe, who had just dispatched two rather violent Mamluks. When de Wolfe kicked the bodies before stealing all he could carry off of them, he made his way back over to Kevin and Adonis.
“This is a trap,” Thomas said; dark, with hazel eyes and big shoulders, he was one of the sons of the legendary William de Wolfe and possessed all of his father’s great cunning and skill. His gaze was on Kevin. “If we venture further into the city where we have been directed to go, it will mean death for us. All of this… it has been far too planned.”
“We know,” Kevin murmured, looking around to see if any more assassins were about to pop from the shadows of the ancient city. “We must leave and leave quickly.”
Adonis looked around him with the same hunted look that Kevin had. “We cannot return to de Clemont,” he said. “The man put you in this position. If we return to him, then we return to our deaths.”
Kevin knew that. He sighed heavily, wiping the sweat off his bristly scalp. “Not even those we have fought with for six years trust us any longer,” he said. “If they are trying to kill us, then I believe our time here is done.”
Thomas nodded, shoving the coinage he had stolen into the purse in his tunic. “They fear you are no longer under their control,” he said. “You killed de Evereux….”
“He tried to kill me.”
“Even so, rumor spread that you had been hired to kill him by the Mamluks.”
Kevin grunted. “I killed the man because he was an unscrupulous French bastard who tried to steal some coinage from me,” he said as if the entire thing was ridiculous. “When I confronted him, he tried to kill me. I killed him in self-defense.”
Thomas knew that; so did Adonis. “But he was de Clemont’s cousin,” Adonis muttered. “Everyone knew he was an immoral fool but when you killed him, they sided with de Clemont out of fear of the man. One does not side against his leader and live to tell the tale.”
Kevin was well aware. Clearing his throat softly, he looked around the dusty old walls of the antique city, walls the color of sand. Everything here was the color of sand; he hadn’t seen green grass in over six years. At that moment, he realized that he missed it very much. He wanted to go home. He was tired of this place, its dirt and heat and lice. He wanted to see the green grass of home again.
“Then it is done,” he said quietly. “We gather our possessions and we leave. We can do no more here and I refuse to lose my life on these barren sands, stripped of it by men who are unworthy of my legacy.”
Neither Thomas nor Adonis argued with him; they, too, were glad to be leaving these desolate lands. They had only come because of Kevin, a man they had grown up with and a man who, six years ago, had lost the love of his life to another. Kevin had been aimless, directionless, and left with a massive hole in his chest where his heart used to be. At the request of Kevin’s father, Sir Kieran Hage, Thomas and Adonis had stayed with Kevin and, at his side, had eventually found their way to the Holy Land in search of wealth and adventure.
But for Kevin, he was in search of something more, something to fill that big hole in his chest. The lost love had drained him of everything he had ever been capable of feeling and in that state, he became a mercenary for the Christian armies that were still trying to rid the Holy Land of the infidels. But he quickly found that there wasn’t enough money to satisfy him or supply what he was lacking. Therefore, his early days as a mercenary transformed into something else, something dark and dangerous.
Kevin became a man who would take money to kill other men; it didn’t matter who these other men were to him. As long as he was well-paid, he would do any task. Nothing was too great or too difficult. It was in this guise as a paid assassin that Kevin achieved something he never imagined he could. He became Death.
That hole in his chest where love used to linger was now filled by destruction and disappointment in what life had dealt him. The disillusionment of life had changed him, turning his soft heart and kind ways into a darker shadow of his former self. With dark hair shaved to the scalp and a massive tattoo of a scorpion that a Turkish artist has etched onto the left side of his back that had both terrible claws designed so that they were embracing his enormous left shoulder, Kevin Hage was no longer the pious, gentle knight those around him had known and loved. Kevin had died those six years ago and something else had taken his place.
The Scorpion was born.
“O thou noble maid! till I exalt myself to the heights of glory with the thrusts of my spear, and the blows of my sword, I will expose myself to every peril wherever the spears clash in the battle-dust—then shall I be either tossed upon the spear-heads, or be numbered among the noble in my quest for your beloved heart.”
~ 13th Century Arabic Love poem
Chapter One
London
October 1289
“I would like to know how the king even knows of me,” Kevin said. “How on earth could he send word to see me?”
The question hung in the moist sea air. The cog that Kevin, Adonis, and Thomas had taken from Calais had come ashore at the white cliffs of Dover on a surprisingly mild fall day. The gulls hung in the sea breezes overhead as the knights,
and several other passengers, disembarked as close to the shore as possible. Kevin disembarked with his horse, a spectacular white stallion he had purchased in Tyre, bred from the ancient Arabian stock crossed with the heavy boned Belgian warmbloods that the Crusaders had brought with them. The result was a smart, powerfully built, and astonishingly fast animal with a luxuriant dark gray mane and tail.
The horse could swim, too, among his many talents, so Kevin literally had the horse jump off the boat and swim to shore, which he happily did. Since no man other than Kevin could ride the horse much less approach it, Kevin simply followed his horse up onto the shore, grinning as the animal bolted up the rocky shoreline, kicking up his heels, before turning around and returning to his master. Like a dog, he followed Kevin obediently as the man took his baggage off the small skip they had lowered from the side of the cog.
This area of the shoreline was where boats from Calais disembarked so there was the usual amount of boat traffic and officials demanding tariffs. It smelled heavily of musty rocks and salt, the scent of the sea backed up against the cliffs. Bags in hand, Kevin stood before a man bearing the colors of Edward, the king, with the blue and red shield embracing golden royal lions, a messenger who seemed out of place among the salty seamen and aggressive tax collectors. The man had just informed Kevin of the king’s wishes and Kevin was understandably confused.
“Rumor of your return to England precedes you, my lord,” the messenger said. “All of England has heard of the Scorpion and our king, the consummate warrior, respects the reputation you have built for yourself. He wishes to see you for himself.”
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