In The King's Service
THEY SAY HE CAN SEDUCE ANY WOMAN INTO BED......and now Sir Blaidd Morgan has turned his considerable charms on Lady Becca Throckton. She believes she will never make the perfect bride, yet this Welsh warrior makes her feel desired for the very first time!Sir Blaidd can ill afford a dalliance on this secret mission for his King, but nevertheless Lady Becca inspires a fire in him which cannot be extinguished. And, after a scorching kiss, Blaidd is surprised to find their passion has the feel of forever...
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“Far be it from me to disappoint a lady—in anything.”
He strode toward her, reached out, took her hand and lifted it to his lips. He pressed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, then raised his eyes to regard her. “You, my lady, are the most surprising young woman I have ever met.”
Her cheeks flushing, she tugged her hand away. “Hardly a compliment, sir knight. I’m not impressed.”
He lifted the corners of his mouth in the sort of lazy smile he gave a woman after they had made love. “I assure you, a man likes to be surprised by a woman, and a truly surprising woman is a very rare creature.”
For the briefest of moments her eyes widened with shock, and he wanted to shout with triumph.
But then her eyes flashed with scornful fire. “Creatures?” she demanded. “Is that what women are to you?”
Praise forUSA TODAYbestselling author Margaret Moore
‘Fans who adore Moore’s high sexual tension and realistic action will revel in Mavis and Roland’s journey from lust to love.’
—RT Book Reviews on Bride for a Knight
‘Moore. Moore. Moore. Fans will love her newest medieval romance about a knight in tarnished armour and a damsel in distress. Readers can count on the author for realistic settings, authentic dialogue, lots of action and hot sexual tension.’
—RT Book Reviews on Castle of the Wolf
‘Moore taps in to the culture and mores of Scotland to create a colourful Highland love story.’
—RT Book Reviews on Highland Heiress
‘The talented Moore has penned another exciting Regency.’
—RT Book Reviews on Highland Rogue, London Miss
‘The story is fresh, fun, fast-paced, engaging and passionate, with an added touch of adventure.’
—The Romance Readers’ Connection on The Notorious Knight
Award-winning author MARGARET MOORE has written over fifty romance novels and novellas for Harlequin Mills & Boon, Avon Books and HarperCollins Children’s Books. Her stories have been set in the Dark Ages and medieval Britain, Restoration, Regency and Victorian England and pre–Civil War Massachusetts. Margaret lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and two cats.
She can be found online at margaretmoore.com, margaretmoore.blogspot.com and @MargMooreAuthor on Twitter.
With many thanks to the astute and delightful Melissa Endlich.
Contents
About the Author
Sir Blaidd Morgan, knight of the realm, trusted friend of Henry III, champion of tournaments and reputedly able to whisper a woman into his bed, drew his horse to a halt and wiped his nose with the back of his gloved hand. Water dripped from the soaked hood of his woolen cloak, and his boots were spattered with mud. The scent of damp leaves arose from the wood on his left; on his right, some cows stood in a meadow beneath the shelter of an oak, looking as miserable as he felt. At least now, through the teeming downpour, he could make out a village and a castle just beyond.
“That has to be Throckton Castle, thank God,” he said to his equally drenched squire. “I was beginning to fear that we’d taken the wrong fork a few miles back and would have to bed down in the forest for the night.”
His squire pulled the hood of his cloak farther over his head. “I thought you Welsh were used to the rain.”
“Used to it, aye, Trev, I am, and because of your father’s ideas about training, too. But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
Blaidd and Trevelyan Fitzroy’s fathers were old friends, and Trev’s father, Sir Urien, had trained Blaidd in the arts of war, which included drilling in all kinds of weather.
Sixteen-year-old Trev nodded at the fortress looming in the distance. “I thought Lord Throckton wasn’t an important man, but that’s quite a castle.”
“It’s more impressive than I thought it would be, too,” Blaidd confessed.
On closer inspection—or as close as one could get from this vantage point through the rain—it seemed a massive creation, with inner and outer walls, an impressive gatehouse and a large keep in the center. Blaidd hadn’t seen many castles to rival it, and he wondered if King Henry would be equally as surprised to learn the extent of Lord Throckton’s fortifications, or if he already knew. That might explain the king’s suspicions.
“Not every important man goes to court,” Blaidd noted as he nudged his black gelding, Aderyn Du, to a walk. “Our fathers don’t. It’s likely to have some comfortable accommodation, though, thank God.”
“Do you think Lady Laelia will be as beautiful as they say?” Trev asked.
Blaidd gave his companion a brotherly grin. “Probably not, but there’s no harm in looking.”
“We’ve come all this way because you only want to look?” Trev asked, incredulous.
Blaidd wasn’t about to share the real reason Henry had sent him, so he grinned wider. “What else should a chivalrous knight do but look? I’ve heard enough tales of Lady Laelia’s beauty that I decided it was worth a journey to see if they were true. My mother is truly starting to despair that I’ll never find a wife and settle down.”
