More than a Wizard
Page 23
A bastard from a line of bastards, Talbot St. Maur won his colors at the battle of Hastings. His quick wits and loyalty have recently won him a small manor on the Welsh border, and he is ordered by his liege lord Evraud Legatte and the earl FitzOsbern to marry quickly, preferably a Saxon woman who will help bring peace to his holding of Stansbury. When he encounters Glynis at the wedding celebration, he is immediately attracted to her—until he realizes that she is the niece of Tauville, who hates the St. Maur line.
Thrown together when Glynis is provoked into insulting the Normans, Talbot intervenes to prevent her uncle’s abuse. She is intrigued by this enemy who shows her tenderness. His kiss awakens passion she did not know existed. She discovers he is a man of honor who keeps his word, a direct contrast to the Normans who wrested her home from her. Yet she and Talbot part without any expectation of meeting again.
Lord Legatte, however, manipulates circumstances to bring himself and his knights to Tauville’s manor. When Glynis and Talbot come together, the spark ignited at the celebration flames up to consume them both. Before a full day has passed, Glynis’ virtue is in question, and Talbot offers to marry her.
Coerced by her uncle’s bargain, Glynis must accept Talbot’s proposal. Talbot knows she would have refused, but he is determined to win her commitment to him. A strong-willed wife like Glynis will help him build the manor he won into the stronghold it must be. He seduces her with pleasure on their wedding night and believes his battle to win her heart is half-over.
Yet troubles await them when they reach the manor. Poison removed the former knight who held it; the murderers plan to remove Talbot as well. Most of Stansbury’s people are suspicious and stubbornly unhelpful; a few actively plot against their new lord. When they discover the new lady St. Maur is Saxon and her servant tells them that her lady hates Normans, they believe Glynis could help them with their rebellion.
Torn between her vow of revenge against all Normans and her growing love for Talbot, her wish to help her fellow Saxons and the sensuality her husband stirs in her, Glynis does not know what to do. Will she help overthrow Talbot and put the man who pleasures her in the cold, cold ground? Or will she side with the Norman who nightly seduces her? Will she stand with her own people against their conquerors? Or will she admit that she has fallen in love with her husband?
It’s a war of passions, and she may lose, no matter which side she takes.
A medieval romance.
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