‘Clare?’
Arthur’s thoughts were so clear he might as well have spoken them aloud. This was not the cramped loft in the Running Fox. The dormitory here was spacious. There was no excuse for them to be sleeping within reach of each other. Unless …
To remove any doubts as to her desires, Clare dropped her comb and held out her hand. ‘I think we shall both do very well. It’s beautifully warm by the chimney.’
Arthur dropped his cloak and sword on the pallet and sat down beside her. He set the lamp to one side. ‘Clare …’ His voice was thick. Reaching out, he picked up a strand of her hair and wound it round his fingers. His eyes went black. ‘It’s good to see your hair again. Those veils.’ he shook his head ‘… I prefer you without them.’
Clare set her hand on a broad shoulder and gave a little tug. Their lips met. The contact remained gentle until Arthur turned more fully towards her and gathered her to him. Clare closed her eyes and pressed against him, opening her mouth to his tongue. His masculine, earthy fragrance surrounded her.
His breathing ragged, he pulled back. Clare felt a soft touch on her cheek. He was shaking his head.
‘Clare, I am here to protect you, not ravish you.’
‘And if I want to be ravished?’
DUTY, HONOUR, TRUTH, VALOUR
The tenets of the Knights of Champagne will be sorely tested in this exciting Medieval mini-series by
Carol Townend
The pounding of hooves, the cold snap of air, a knight’s colours flying high across the roaring crowd—nothing rivals a tourney. The chance to prove his worth is at the beating heart of any knight.
And tournaments bring other dangers too. Scoundrels, thieves, murderers and worse are all drawn towards a town bursting with deep pockets, flowing wine and wanton women.
Only these three knights stand in their way. But what of the women who stand beside them?
Find out in Carol Townend’s Knights of Champagne Three Swordsmen for Three Ladies
LADY ISOBEL’S CHAMPION Already available
Book Three Coming soon
Unveiling Lady Clare
Carol Townend
Carol Townend has been making up stories since she was a child. Whenever she comes across a tumbledown building, be it castle or cottage, she can’t help conjuring up the lives of the people who once lived there. Her Yorkshire forebears were friendly with the Brontë sisters. Perhaps their influence lingers …
Carol’s love of ancient and medieval history took her to London University, where she read History, and her first novel (published by Mills & Boon®) won the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Award. Currently she lives near Kew Gardens, with her husband and daughter. Visit her website at www.caroltownend.co.uk
Previous novels by the same author:
THE NOVICE BRIDE
AN HONOURABLE ROGUE
HIS CAPTIVE LADY
RUNAWAY LADY, CONQUERING LORD
HER BANISHED LORD
BOUND TO THE BARBARIAN* CHAINED TO THE BARBARIAN* BETROTHED TO THE BARBARIAN* LADY ISOBEL’S CHAMPION **
*Palace Brides trilogy
**Knights of Champagne
Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
AUTHOR NOTE
Arthurian myths and legends have been popular for hundreds of years. Dashing knights worship beautiful ladies, fight for honour—and sometimes lose honour! Some of the earliest versions of these stories were written in the twelfth century by an influential poet called Chrétien de Troyes. Troyes was the walled city in the French county of Champagne, where Chrétien lived and worked. His patron, Countess Marie of Champagne, was a princess—daughter of King Louis of France, and the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine. Countess Marie’s splendid artistic court in Troyes rivalled Queen Eleanor’s in Poitiers.
The books in my Knights of Champagne mini-series are not an attempt to rework the Arthurian myths and legends; they are original romances set around the Troyes court. I wanted to tell the stories of some of the lords and ladies who might have inspired Chrétien—and I was keen to give the women a more active role, since Chrétien’s ladies tend to be too passive for today’s reader.
Apart from a brief glimpse of Count Henry and Countess Marie, my characters are all fictional. I have used the layout of the medieval city to create my Troyes, but these books are first and foremost fictional.
DEDICATION
To Kate Tremayne with love and thanks
for years of friendship and writerly chat.
Contents