England's Greatest Knights: A Medieval Romance Collection Read online

  England’s Greatest Knights

  A Medieval Romance Bundle

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  © Copyright 1996, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020 by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kindle Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited.

  All Rights Reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook, once purchased, may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or borrow it, or it was not purchased for you and given as a gift for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If this book was purchased on an unauthorized platform, then it is a pirated and/or unauthorized copy and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Do not purchase or accept pirated copies. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

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  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  BlackWolfe

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  StormWolfe

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  The Best Is Yet To Be

  De Wolfe Pack Generations:

  WolfeHeart

  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

  A de Russe Christmas Miracle

  Dark Warrior

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  A Blessed de Lohr Christmas

  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

  The Centurion

  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

  The Dark Lord’s First Christmas

  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

  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 Promise

  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

  The Promise (also Noble Knights of de Nerra)

  A Time of End

  Winter Solace

  Lord of the Shadows

  Lord of the Sky

  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 Serie
s, 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 Thunder Warrior

  The Gorgon

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Fragments of Grace

  The Warrior Poet

  Valiant Chaos

  THE THUNDER WARRIOR

  A Medieval Romance

  By

  Kathryn Le Veque

  Author’s Note

  The Lords of Thunder Trilogy takes place in the year 1258, which was the year that saw Simon de Montfort come to power in his struggle against Henry III. It is a pivotal year in English history and Simon de Montfort was a true visionary on how government should be run. Did you know that an image of him is in the United States House of Congress? He is considered the man who held the first democratic gathering (at least as democratic as Medieval England can get!).

  Maximus’ story takes place during the month of May, the month that Simon de Montfort held what was referred to as the “Mad Parliament”. It’s a fairly complex period in time and there were a lot of measures and provisions leveled against the King by de Montfort and his supporters, but the Mad Parliament was a gathering that really set forth rules against the king that defined the next several years of his reign.

  In this novel, you will hear the characters refer to de Montfort’s “gathering” quite a bit – it’s the Mad Parliament they are referring to. Although I don’t have a scene involving this parliament, as this would really make this book more of a history lesson and less of a romantic novel, the Mad Parliament is an underlying plot set against the love story of Maximus and Lady Courtly Love de Lara.

  There are less politics in this book than in Gallus’ book, THE THUNDER LORD, because Gallus’ book was essentially establishing the foundation of the series and the political upheaval that was going on at the time. This book is much more about Maximus and how a man, so dedicated to war and politics, can fall in love – and fall hard. While Gallus’ book was spread out over four months, Maximus’ is a snapshot of his life during the month of May. It is much different from Gallus’ book but just as exciting and complex, if not more so.

  Happy reading!

  Hugs,

  Kathryn

  PART ONE

  WINDS OF FATE

  May

  “In days of old,

  With men so bold,

  A storm was brewing brightly.

  These men, it was told,

  As knights so bold,

  Were known to tame the lightning”

  ~ 13th century chronicles

  CHAPTER ONE

  Year of our Lord 1258 A.D.

  Reign of Henry III

  Oxford, England

  It was a day of days, a mild spring day that was perfect in every fashion. The sun was brilliant against the deep, blue expanse of sky with nary a cloud to hamper the view. Days like this were rare, neither hot nor cold, but in that perfect temperature that seemed to bring out the best in both man and beast. A breeze, as soft and caressing as a child’s whisper, whistled through the busy and proud town of Oxford.

  The Street of the Merchants was a bustling road that was lined on both sides by close-quarters buildings, stalls and shops that were manned by aggressive salesmen determined to push their wares upon a spend-happy public. Between St. Clement’s Church and the castle stretched the main thoroughfare through the town, and travelers spilled into the Street of the Merchants, just off the main road. This created a crowded bottleneck at the head of the street.

  Four armed knights pushed themselves through the bottleneck and ended up in the crowds shopping along the avenue. The smells from the bakers on the next street wafted heavily in the air, the scent of yeast and of hard, brown crusts making for hungry shoppers at this time in the morning. Near the middle of the avenue near a fabric vendor’s stall, a man playing what looked like a crudely made vielle stood in the tiny gap between two buildings while his daughter, a round girl with a big mouth, sang quite loudly and somewhat off key. All of it, the sights and smells of the day, contributed to the hurried setting.

  “Licorice root, wasn’t it?” one of the knights asked the group. “And spiced wine?”

  The knight in the lead, a very large man with massive shoulders and a crown of dark, wavy hair replied. “Wine with marjoram,” he said. “She was specific. It settles her stomach, as does the licorice.”

  The knight who asked about the licorice root made a face. “Have you ever tasted licorice?” he asked. “It is most foul and turns your tongue black.”

  The knight in the lead turned to look at the licorice-hating knight, who was now sticking his tongue out to demonstrate his aversion. Sir Maximus de Shera, a brawny beast of a man with enormous shoulders and a granite-square jaw, shook his dark brown head at his younger brother’s antics.

  “It does not matter what you or I think of it,” he said. “Jeniver is feeling ill from her pregnancy and Gallus asked us to find her some.”

  Sir Tiberius de Shera put his tongue back in his mouth but he still wasn’t convinced. The very tall, lean, muscular brother was animated to a fault and opinionated until the very end.

  “The spiced wine would do better,” he said. “Moreover, why are we running Gallus’ errands for him? His wife is the one feeling ill. He should be the one to come and fish for stinking roots and rotten wine for her.”

  Maximus grinned. “Will you tell him that to his face?”

  Tiberius shook his head. “Not me,” he said. “Much like you, I do as I am told by our illustrious, older brother. Let us get this over with. I will head down to the end of the avenue and see if I can find an apothecary. You stay here and see if you can locate the wine with all of the dried weeds in it.”

  Maximus merely waved Tiberius on and the man headed down the street with another knight in tow. Maximus cocked an eyebrow.

  “He does not understand,” he said to the knight who had remained with him. “He is not yet old enough to realize that a man will do anything for the woman he loves. He’s not yet had experience with love like that.”

  The knight who had remained with him, a hulking man named Sir Garran de Moray, glanced at Maximus with his onyx-black eyes.

  “You speak as if you have known an affair such as that,” he said. “I did not know that about you, Max.”

  Maximus pulled his muscular rouncey to a halt and dismounted. “It was a long time ago,” he said, muttering, as if he did not want to spare thought to those memories. “I was seventeen years of age and she was fourteen. We were madly in love.”

  “What happened?”

  Maximus grunted. “A de Shera cannot marry below his station,” he said, somewhat sarcastically. “She was the smithy’s daughter. When my father found out, he sent both her and her father away. I heard that she died later that year of a fever. I have always wondered if….”

  He trailed off, disinclined to continue, as he tethered his horse to the nearest post. Garran dismounted beside him, unwilling to push the subject of his young and tragic love. Garran had known Maximus and this was the first time he’d heard such a thing, but he wasn’t surprised. Maximus tended to keep silent on personal matters. He wasn’t one to wear his heart on his sleeve or speak on things even remotely private. Keeping that in mind, Garran pointed to the building in front of them.

  “A wine and spice merchant,” he said, changing the subject. “It is my guess we will be able to find a myriad of things to settle Lady de Shera’s belly. If the wine doesn’t make her drunk enough to forget her ills, then we shall find a spice that will make her giddy enough to not care.”

  Smirking, Maximus moved into the shop with Garran on his heels. Inside, it was dark, cluttered, and smelled of great and exotic lands. Mustard, nutmeg, and cardamom were in great baskets lining the walls, and there were spices from The Levant, Egypt, and darkest Africa. It made him sneeze. The merchant, a fat man dressed in
silks and speaking with an odd accent, tried to sell them all manner of mysterious ingredients, including flakes of gold that were said to ward off the demons of sickness.

  Maximus didn’t want golden medicine. He simply wanted licorice root for his brother’s wife’s nausea. The merchant, however, steered him towards chamomile and assured him that it would soothe an upset belly, so he ended up buying that as well. As the merchant tried to interest him in some dark seeds that looked like bugs, seeds that also promised to ease Lady de Shera’s bellyache, screams could be heard out on the avenue.

  At first, Maximus didn’t pay any attention although Garran did. As Maximus paid the spice vendor for the products he had acquired, Garran went to the door of the stall and casually looked out to see what the fuss was about. He caught sight of it about the same time a massive wave of smoke blew into the spice merchant’s stall, catching Maximus’ attention.

  “What is it?” he said to Garran. “Where is the smoke coming from?”

  Garran’s features were bordering on concern as he pointed to the south. “A building is on fire,” he said. “It looks as if people are trapped.”

  Thanking the merchant, Maximus went to the door, looking in the direction that Garran was indicating. Across the avenue and on the corner of the street where several hostels were located, smoke was billowing out of the first floor of a three-storied building. The entire area was filling up quickly with smoke and people were beginning to panic. A fire such as that, in the cramped quarters of the city, could spread quickly. Already, merchants were starting to pack up their wares with the intention of fleeing. As people began to run away from the fire, Maximus handed his recent purchase back to the merchant for safekeeping as he and Garran headed towards the flames.

  As the knights drew closer, they could see that the first floor of the building was quickly becoming engulfed. A layer of heavy smoke was clogging the avenue and they could see through the haze that there were people on the second and third floors of the building that was burning. There didn’t seem to be any flame on those levels but it was only a matter of time. Smoke was already filling the rooms, swirling from the windows as the people inside began to throw their possessions out the windows. In fact, people were starting to come out of the windows as well.