Whispers At Court

Whispers At Court
Blythe Gifford

They Make an Unlikely Alliance… Lady Cecily scorns the French hostages held at court. Treated as honoured guests, the men play at love games – and Cecily fears that her mistress, the Princess, might be disgraced.War-weary chevalier Marc de Marcel wants only to return home. Uncertain whether his ransom will ever be paid, he makes an unlikely alliance with enticing fire and ice Cecily. He’ll help her keep the Princess safe from ruin if she’ll help him escape. A pact which could lead them into a scandal all their own…Royal Weddings: a Hint of Scandal This Way Comes!

You are cordially invited to Blythe Gifford’s

Royal Weddings

A hint of scandal this way comes!

Anne of Stamford and Lady Cecily serve two of the highest ladies in the land. And with their close proximity to the royal family they are privy to some of the greatest scandals the royal court has ever known!

As Anne and Cecily’s worlds threaten to come crashing down two men enter their lives—dashing, gorgeous, and bringing with them more danger than ever before. Suddenly these two strong women must face a new challenge: resisting the power of seduction!

Follow Anne of Stamford’s story in

Secrets at Court Already available

And read Cecily, Countess of Losford’s story in

Whispers at Court June 2015

AUTHOR NOTE (#ulink_5fc60b9e-689c-554d-94d8-7321e90e703f)

Historically, for most children of royal birth, the course of true love not only ‘never did run smooth’, it was not expected to run at all. A royal wedding was typically more like the signing of a treaty than a celebration of love.

But King Edward III, who ruled England for most of the fourteenth century, had a soft spot in his heart for his oldest daughter. And her romance with a French prisoner of war—or hostage—is one of the most astonishing love stories of the medieval era.

Today, the very word ‘hostage’ brings shivers of fear. But during the medieval war between England and France an elaborate set of rules—both economic and chivalric—guided the taking of prisoners in battle. A hostage was held until a ransom was paid, but he was treated according to his noble station and expected to conduct himself accordingly. In return, some of the French knights held in the court of the English King were entertained (dare I say?) ‘royally’.

Cecily, Countess of Losford, has no sympathy for the French hostages—men she blames for her father’s death—and she disapproves of the Princess’s flirtation with one of them. In an effort to stop ‘whispers at Court’, she forms an unlikely alliance with Marc de Marcel, a French hostage who learned long ago that for too many of his fellows, ‘honour’ is no more than a word. As Cecily and Marc try to keep the English Princess and the French Lord apart the two of them become dangerously close—until finally each must choose between the demands of honour and the desires of the heart.

Whispers at Court

Blythe Gifford

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

After many years in public relations, advertising and marketing, BLYTHE GIFFORD started writing seriously after a corporate lay-off. Ten years later she became an overnight success when she sold her RWA Golden Heart finalist manuscript to Mills & Boon. Her books, set primarily in medieval England or early Tudor Scotland, usually feature a direct connection to historical royalty.

She loves to have visitors at blythegifford.com (http://blythegifford.com), ‘likes’ at facebook.com/BlytheGifford (http://facebook.com/BlytheGifford) and Tweets at twitter.com/BlytheGifford (http://twitter.com/BlytheGifford)

For my readers, with all my thanks.

A special wave to the Chicago Divas,

who happily listened to me whine, and to Keena Kincaid,

Terri Brisbin, Amanda Berry, Robin Owens and Kim Law, whose brainstorming triggered a solution.

Contents

Cover (#u17bf55ed-3e4d-51e0-9ef9-4477fa6cfda3)

Introduction (#u789bf3e1-1fcc-56ca-b429-690fdca26b8d)

AUTHOR NOTE (#u686e4f3c-d3ae-5bea-968d-bd9491bf1867)

Title Page (#u080fccc0-e8c0-57cf-a398-158402a20720)

About the Author (#uf89112f2-3624-55c5-8f6e-1d815b488913)

Dedication (#u127877d0-aab5-560d-8151-ff8a39395209)

Acknowledgments (#u2a461bad-8ee7-51c6-aec5-2e80b7378fc5)

Chapter One (#u992bea39-4a83-5273-9d19-5e77b9a67ac8)

Chapter Two (#u53cdc118-37d4-56ff-a9c6-5b997b7048b8)

Chapter Three (#u0f4c6504-b967-54f6-a1ee-cb698bfa74d6)

Chapter Four (#u01422d91-0c18-5929-af13-eff4ec7ab442)

Chapter Five (#u7919926f-7190-5e48-9da7-563ab98baf90)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)