Lasses, Lords, and Lovers: A Medieval Romance Bundle Read online

  LASSES, LORDS, AND LOVERS

  A Medieval Romance Collection

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  Copyright © 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Printed by Kathryn Le Veque Novels in the United States of America

  Text copyright 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The Falls of Erith

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  Beast

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  Dark Moon

  Dark Steel

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  Lords of East Anglia:

  While Angels Slept

  Godspeed

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  House of de Royans:

  Lord of Winter

  To the Lady Born

  Lords of Eire:

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams

  Blacksword

  The Darkland

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Bay of Fear

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  With Dreams

  The Fallen One

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  The Dragonblade Series:

  Fragments of Grace

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass

  The Savage Curtain

  The Fallen One

  Great Marcher Lords of de Lara

  Lord of the Shadows

  Dragonblade

  House of St. Hever

  Fragments of Grace

  Island of Glass

  Queen of Lost Stars

  Lords of Pembury:

  The Savage Curtain

  Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy

  The Thunder Lord

  The Thunder Warrior

  The Thunder Knight

  The Great Knights of de Moray:

  Shield of Kronos

  The Gorgon

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  Realm of Angels

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  Saxon Lords of Hage:

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  High Warriors of Rohan:

  High Warrior

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  The Executioner Knights:

  By the Unholy Hand

  The Mountain Dark

  Starless

  A Time of End

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Anthology Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  River’s End

  The Fountain

  Sons of Poseidon:

  The Immortal Sea

  Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):

  Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight

  Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque

  The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight

  Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

  Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.

  There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.

  Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.

  For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval World of Le Veque.

  Contents

  The Savage Curtain

  Swords and Shields

  Great Protector

  While Angels Slept

  Bonus excerpt from The Champion

  THE SAVAGE CURTAIN

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  FOREWORD

  The battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the second Scottish War of Independence near Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumbria, England. It is an interesting and particularly brutal chapter of history when the entire city of Berwick, held by the Scots, was under siege by the forces of Edward III. The city’s defenses were placed under the command of Sir Alexander Seton, a Scotsman loyal to the underage King David II, son of Robert the Bruce.

  Although Seton led a strong defense, it was a long and bloody conflict that finally forced the Scots to ask for a temporary truce. King Edward agreed to this providing that Seton supplied hostages. Seton did, one being his own son, Thomas. There are conflicting reports that he actually supplied two sons. There was a deadline on this truce, however, and when the Scots refused to surrender the city at the deadline, Edward began hanging the hostages in full view of the city walls. The first one hanged was young Thomas Seton, said to have been somewhere around fourteen years of age. His father and family watched him die.

  This event, and many others, culminated in the battle of Halidon Hill, which was a decisive English victory. Berwick surrendered the following day
on July 20, 1333.

  This is a tale of a love story set within the chaos of a city fallen. In every hour of darkness, there is still hope.

  CHAPTER ONE

  July 20, 1333 A.D.

  Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England

  Against the black of the moonless sky, the fires lingering from the siege could be seen. The last dying embers of the battle blended into the smoky haze that hung heavy in the air. All was oddly still as the inhabitants of the city returned to what was left of their homes; some were ravaged while others were untouched. The citizens had been out in force for most of the day, helping each other, as the city of Berwick tried to resume a sense of normalcy. But that sense was a long way off.

  The city walls were in shambles, mostly to the west and southwest where the English had been able to gain ground for launching their massive siege engines. They had also come by way of the sea, battering the city from the east. Day and night, the bombardments from King Edward’s forces came strong and steady. There was a seemingly endless supply of Englishmen with which to harass the increasingly weary city. For an entire month, the siege had raged. Now, it was finished.

  The aftermath of the siege and surrender was beyond horrific. There were bodies in the streets and the stench of blood mingled with smoke from the dying fires. The Scots holding the city had long since surrendered, fled or died, and the English now filled the city like a great Anglo tide. They crashed upon Berwick’s threshold on their mighty warhorses, pouring through gaps in the walls or through the burned gates that had stood strong and proud throughout the siege. Like the mighty hand of God, the English had swept back the savage curtain to reveal the battered and dying city beneath.

  At midnight, the smoke from the crushed city was still fresh and pungent. Dogs could be heard barking on occasion or a child crying in the distance but, for the most part, it was eerily still. Edward’s advance forces had already moved into the city to secure the strategic points, one being Berwick Castle on the banks of the River Tweed. The castle had become the central command post as groups of English combed the city to secure it for the arrival of the king.

  And arrive he did, like a conquering Caesar. Edward was not a pampered king; he had been fighting most of his life and was a warrior before he had been a monarch. Astride his massive Belgian charger, he thundered into the city with a retinue of advisors and senior knights, all of them battle born and bred. Carrying torches through the battered streets, they made their way to Berwick Castle.

  Banners flapped in the brisk wind and torches blazed as they thundered down the dark avenues. The castle was well fortified with hundreds of English troops as the king and his entourage arrived and the group made its way into the great hall. Fighting men were everywhere, some sporting impressive battle wounds, as Edward sought the one man in particular that he knew to be heading the room. The Earl of Carlisle, his most faithful subject, had secured not only half the city personally, but the castle as well. Edward’s pale eyes sought out Sir Tate de Lara, the commander of his forces.

  He was not difficult to locate; Tate had seen the king arrive in the hall and was making his way towards him. De Lara was a big man with the dark coloring of his Welsh mother, the illegitimate son of Edward I and uncle to the current king. He met his nephew in the middle of the smoky, dim hall.

  “Sire,” he greeted amiably. “You will be pleased to know that the entire city has been secured. Patrols are reporting in from all corners of the city and I am told all things are well in hand. Berwick is finally ours.”

  Edward seemed older than his twenty-one years; this siege had seen more than its share of hardship and he was already missing some friends in death. He was greatly relieved to see a healthy and sound de Lara, the man he depended on more than any of his other generals. He shook the man’s hand thankfully.

  “Praise God,” Edward muttered, feeling his fatigue but unwilling to show it. “I could have not have done this without you.”

  De Lara smiled wearily. “I had a good deal of help.”

  Edward shook his head at the man’s modesty. “You, as always, are the catalyst for men to show their true strength.” He eyed the group of unfamiliar faces lingering near the hearth; there were women in the mix and he knew them to be hostages. He nodded his head in their direction. “Seton, I presume?”

  De Lara’s storm-cloud colored eyes drifted to the group huddled near the blazing fire. “Indeed,” he replied. “The man and his family. Would you interrogate them tonight or wait until morning? It has been a long day and I am sure you would like to rest.”

  Edward waved him off. “I have waited a long time for this moment and I shall not be put off by something as mundane as my exhaustion,” he began to walk towards the group. “Where is Pembury?”

  De Lara followed. “He went out to secure the posts for the night personally. He should be back momentarily.”

  Edward focused on the hostage group. “Does he know what you and I have discussed?”

  De Lara shook his head with some dissatisfaction. “He knows that he will be made commander of Berwick once the city is secured,” he made sure to speak pointedly to the king. “Beyond that, I thought it best that you tell him his destiny.”

  “I told you to do it.”

  “He will take it better coming from you.”

  Edward glared at de Lara as they came upon the hostages. But it was a brief scowl, unnoticed by the group before him. Edward was quickly composed into the emotionless, somewhat haughty, monarch as his gaze moved amongst the unfamiliar faces. An odd hush fell upon the room as the king finally confronted his opposition face to face.

  “Who is Alexander Seton?” he demanded.

  The man standing in front of the group bobbed his head slightly. “I am he.”

  Edward’s gaze fixed on the man; he was older, as he knew he would be, nearly bald but with a powerful body beneath the tartan and mail. Sir Alexander Seton had led the defenses against the English, holding the city of Berwick for several months before finally being forced by the decisive English victory at Halidon Hill to surrender.

  The king planted himself in front of Seton, continuing his scrutiny; there was a good deal of confusion in his expression as if trying to figure out a great many things. Without warning, Edward balled a fist and struck Seton firmly on the jaw. The older man went reeling as the women in his group shrieked.

  “That was for forcing my hand,” Edward growled, daring the man to come back at him. “You made an agreement, Seton. The city was to surrender at the appointed date and you would still have your son. What possessed you to trade your son’s life for your stubborn pride?”

  Seton rubbed his jaw, eyeing the passionate young king. “You would not understand, my lord.”

  Edward was growing increasingly livid. “He was a child yet he behaved with more honor than those who call themselves adults,” he pointed a finger at Seton. “God damn you for forcing my hand against your brave son. God damn you for sending to death a young man who held out hope until the very end that his father would save him.”

  De Lara was standing next to the king, his jaw ticking faintly as he watched the exchange; young Edward had spent most of his young life running from Roger Mortimer and his mother, so the man well understood a child’s fear and confusion when a parent refused to protect him. It was a painful subject made more painful by the death of Seton’s fourteen year old son, a lad that Edward had come to know during his captivity.

  Seton had pledged his son as a hostage to ensure that the Scots would surrender Berwick should reinforcements not arrive in time, but the deadline came and went, no reinforcements came, yet Seton did not surrender. Edward was forced to execute hostages as punishment. Thomas Seton had died with a rope around his neck and hope in his heart.

  “It did not give my father pleasure to watch my brother die.” A young woman standing behind Seton made herself known. “My father’s hands were tied; his commanders refused to surrender. Even if he wanted to submit to your deadli
ne, he could not have. His men would not have obeyed.”

  Edward’s focus moved from Seton to the woman behind him; she was short of stature with lush dark hair and eyes of the palest blue he had ever seen. She was a strikingly lovely woman even dirty and disheveled as she was. Edward’s attention fixed on the girl.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  Seton turned to look at the girl, his expression bursting with disapproval, but the young woman ignored him and stepped forward.

  “I am the Lady Joselyn de Velt Seton,” she said with courage. “Alexander Seton is my father.”

  “Then Thomas was your brother.”

  She nodded, losing some of her confidence. “Aye,” she nearly whispered. “He was my younger brother.”

  Edward cocked his head slightly. “I was not aware that Seton had two daughters.”

  Joselyn nodded. “Maggie is my younger sister. I am the eldest of the Seton children.”

  The king’s eyebrows lifted. Then he turned to de Lara with a knowing glance. “Joselyn,” he murmured, pronouncing it the way she had; Joe-zalyn. He looked back at the young woman. “How old are you, lady?”

  “I have seen twenty-two years, my lord.”

  “Who is your husband?”

  “I am not married, my lord.”

  Edward was shocked. “No husband?” he repeated, incredulous. “Why not?”

  “She has been at Jedburgh Abbey,” Seton answered for her. “She has been living by the Augustinian code since she was eleven years of age.”

  Edward looked at the man as if he had lost his mind. “That,” he pointed at Joselyn, “has been meant for the cloister? Are you completely stupid, man? She would command a husband of such wealth and stature as you could not dream of.”

  Seton looked at his daughter, who gazed back at him with some fear and, as de Lara thought whilst studying her, some chagrin. Before the conversation gained too much steam, a group of knights entered the hall and distracted the focus. Their voices were loud, the sounds of their weapons and mail reverberating off the old stone walls. Edward and Tate turned to the group, as did everyone else in the room. The muscle of the king’s forced had arrived.

  “Ah, Pembury,” Edward grabbed de Lara by the arm and pulled him away from the Seton clan. He gestured to the group of incoming knights, now beginning to cluster around a massive table of food several feet away. “You will tell him now of his destiny. And mind that you leave out nothing.”