The Queen's Christmas Summons
‘Royal courts are glittering places. But there can be many dangers there.’The words of Juan, the shipwrecked Spanish sailor who Lady Alys Drury nursed back to health, echo in her mind as she puts on another courtly smile.Then Alys locks eyes with a handsome man amid the splendour of Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas court—Juan is posing as courtier John Huntley! Alys is hurt at Juan’s deception until she learns he’s an undercover spy for the crown… Even amid the murky machinations of the court, can true love still conquer all?
Читать The Queen's Christmas Summons онлайн беплатно
“Royal courts are glittering places. But there can be many dangers there.”
The words of Juan, the shipwrecked Spanish sailor Lady Alys Drury nursed back to health, echo in her mind as she puts on another courtly smile.
Then Alys locks eyes with a handsome man amid the splendor of Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas court—Juan is posing as courtier John Huntley! Alys is hurt at Juan’s deception until she learns he’s an undercover spy for the crown... Amid the murky machinations of the court, can true love still conquer all?
‘McCabe sweeps readers into the world of the Elizabethan theatre, delighting us with a lively tale and artfully drawing on the era’s backdrop of bawdy plays, wild actors and thrilling adventure.’
—RT Book Reviews on The Taming of the Rogue
‘Including a darling little girl, meddling relatives and a bit of suspense, McCabe’s story charms readers.’
—RT Book Reviews on Running from Scandal
‘McCabe highlights an unusual and fascinating piece of history whilst never losing sight of the romance or adventure.’
—RT Book Reviews on The Demure Miss Manning
Alys put on her courtly smile, prepared to meet another of Ellen’s peacock friends—and the smile froze before it could form.
It had not been an illusion, a fleeting trick of her tired mind. It was him—Juan. Right there before her when she had been so sure she would never see him again—could never see him again. She shivered and fell back a step, suddenly feeling so very cold.
He did not quite look like her Juan, bearded and ragged from the sea. He was just as tall, but his shoulders were broader, and he wore no beard to hide the elegant angles of his sculpted face, his high cheekbones and sharp jawline, his sensual lips. He wore courtly clothes of purple velvet trimmed with silver, a high, narrow ruff at his throat. But his eyes—those brilliant summer-green eyes she had once so cherished—widened when his glance fell on her.
AMANDA MCCABE wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen—a vast epic, starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class. She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA®, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers’ Best, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, one dog and one cat.
Books by Amanda McCabe
Mills & Boon Historical Romance
and Mills & Boon Historical Undone! eBooks
Bancrofts of Barton Park
The Runaway Countess
Running from Scandal Running into Temptation (Undone!)
Linked by Character
A Notorious WomanA Sinful AllianceHigh Seas StowawayShipwrecked and Seduced (Undone!)
Stand-Alone Novels
Betrayed by His Kiss
The Demure Miss Manning The Queen’s Christmas Summons
More Mills & Boon Historical Undone! eBooks by Amanda McCabe
To Court, Capture and Conquer
Girl in the Beaded Mask Unlacing the Lady in Waiting One Wicked Christmas An Improper Duchess A Very Tudor Christmas
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
For Kyle, for three lovely years—so far
Contents
Richmond Palace—1576
‘You must stay right here, Alys, and not move. Do you understand?’
Lady Alys Drury stared up at her father. Usually, around her, he was always smiling, always gentle, but today he looked most stern. In fact, she did not understand. In all her eight years, her father had never seemed so grave. The man who was always laughing and boisterous, ready to sweep her up in his arms and twirl her around, could not be seen. Ever since they journeyed here, to this strange place, a royal palace, her parents had been silent.
After long days on a boat and more hours on bumpy horseback, riding pillion with her mother, they had arrived here. Alys wasn’t sure what was happening, but she knew she did not like this place, with its soaring towers and many windows, which seemed to conceal hundreds of eyes looking down at her.
‘Yes, Papa, I understand,’ she answered. ‘Will we be able to go home soon?’
He gave her a strained smile. ‘God willing, my little butterfly.’ He quickly kissed her brow and turned to hurry away up a flight of stone steps. He vanished through a doorway, guarded by men in green velvet embroidered with sparkling gold and bearing swords. Alys was left alone in the sunny, strange garden.
She turned in a slow circle, taking in her fantastical surroundings. It was like something in the fairy stories her nursemaid liked to tell, with tall hedge walls surrounding secret outdoor chambers and strictly square beds of flowers and herbs.
