Dragon's Dower
Simon Warleigh and his brothers-in-arms had sworn to avenge the murder of their beloved foster father, the Dragon. But upon Simon's return from the Holy Land, the brave knight was falsely accused of treason and stripped of his lands.His only chance to recover his beloved Avington was to marry the daughter of the very man he had vowed to bring to justice!Simon was quickly wed to the beautiful Lady Isabelle, with her mesmerizing violet eyes and a demeanor as cold as the chapel statues. Yet there were glimpses of the fire burning beneath Isabelle's cool exterior. And soon thoughts of revenge turned to thoughts of love as Simon yearned to melt the ice maiden into a woman of flesh and blood.
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“My lord Warleigh, I am not prepared to receive you at this time.”
“Not prepared to receive me? You can not have forgotten that we share this chamber.”
“I have not forgotten. You may come back after my maid has prepared your bed.”
Simon scowled, then shook his head. “Nay, ’twill not serve. This is my chamber and you are my wife. It is not improper for me to be alone with you.” He stepped before her, perusing her slowly. “To do anything I wish with you.”
She sucked in a deep breath, as a rush of something dark and unknown raced through her. Desperately she fought for control at her reaction to him.
“I would not say that you may do as you wish with me, my lord. Wed though we may be, it is not a real marriage.”
“Do I detect a note of disappointment, Isabelle?”
Praise for Catherine Archer’s previous works
Summer’s Bride
“A delightful read!”
—Romance Reviews Today
Winter’s Bride
“…a pleasurable medieval romance with conventional characters and a tried-and-true plot.”
—Romantic Times Magazine
Fire Song
“This finely crafted medieval romance…(is) a tale to savor.”
—Romantic Times Magazine
Lord Sin
“…deftly done and sure to please.”
—Romantic Times Magazine
#591 MY LADY’S TRUST
Julia Justiss
#592 CALL OF THE WHITE WOLF
Carol Finch
#594 GOLD RUSH BRIDE
Debra Lee Brown
Available from Harlequin Historicals and
CATHERINE ARCHER
Rose Among Thorns #136
**Velvet Bond #282
**Velvet Touch #322
Lady Thorn #353
Lord Sin #379
Fire Song #426
*Winter’s Bride #477
*The Bride of Spring #514
*Summer’s Bride #544
*Autumn’s Bride #582
†Dragon’s Dower #593
To my sisters-in-law, Edie, Iris, Lillian and Bev, for their continued interest and support of my writing for all these years. Thank you.
Contents
Prologue
England, 1188
The three boys sat facing one another. The flames of the fire they had lit at the center of their circle burned no hotter than the anger in their eyes.
Simon, who was the oldest by three months, took up his knife and held it over the flames. “I, Simon Warleigh, swear my allegiance and friendship to you, my brothers in arms, for the rest of my life.”
He drew the blade across his palm, barely flinching as it left a long shallow cut that began to bleed immediately. He passed the blade to Jarrod on his right.
The dark boy took the blade, held it over the flames and said, “I, Jarrod Maxwell, swear my allegiance and friendship to you, my brothers in arms, for the rest of my life.” He made no sign as the knife slit his flesh, passing it to his right.
Christian was the youngest by nearly a year. His brown hair was glossy with golden streaks in the fire-light. He took the blade. He looked to his companions, then held the knife over the flames as they had done. His voice was as firm with conviction as theirs had been. “I, Christian Greatham, swear my allegiance and friendship to you, my brothers in arms, for the rest of my life.”
He flicked his tongue out to wet his lower lip, then dragged the knife over his palm with a frown of concentration. He looked up at the other two.
All three stood in unison and they held their dripping palms out over the flames.
Simon spoke with a maturity far beyond his thirteen years. “Brothers we are, bound by the blood we shed and by our love for each other and the man who brought us together. May we never forget The Dragon and the wrong done him.”
“The Dragon,” intoned the other two boys.
Jarrod reached out to clasp Christian’s wrist. Christian did the same to Simon, who closed his own palm around Jarrod’s wrist.
Simon called out to the star-studded sky overhead. “Does it take our whole lives, my lord, we will see the man who wronged you punished.” The pain and sadness in his voice was echoed in the others’ faces.
They stood like that, bound by their love for one another and for the man who had acted as foster father, mentor and teacher to the three of them. The man whom they had been forced to testify against.
Jarrod spoke in a harsh voice. “We should have lied.”
Christian shook his head, his blue eyes dark with misery. “He would not have had us do such a thing, even to save him.”
Simon nodded. “Aye.”
Their foster father had had no idea what would come when he’d told them to tell the truth. Yet Simon knew that none of them would ever rid themselves of the guilt of having given testimony that would incriminate him.
Though Simon had loved his own father deeply neither he nor anyone else who had ever known Wallace Kelsey, known by friends and foe alike as The Dragon, could deny the impact of his character and genuine care for all who came into contact with him. That was, no one but The Dragon’s own brother, Gerard Kelsey.
It was he who, due to his treachery, now bore the title of Earl of Kelsey. It was he who sat in the place of honor in the great hall at Dragonwick.
At that moment Jarrod spoke up, “I have something that I wish to give each of you before we leave here.” He went to his horse and took a velvet bag from his belongings.
