By
The Sword
Guardians of the Crown # 1
Guardians of the Crown # 1
By: Alison Stuart
Releasing March 22nd, 2015
Escape Publishing
Blurb
England
1650: In the aftermath of the execution of the King, England totters once more
on the brink of civil war. The country will be divided and lives lost as
Charles II makes a last bid to regain his throne.
Kate
Ashley finds her loyalty to the Parliamentary cause tested when she inherits
responsibility for the estate of the Royalist Thornton family. To protect the
people she cares about, she will need all her wits to restore its fortunes and
fend off the ever-present threat of greedy neighbours.
Jonathan
Thornton, exiled and hunted for his loyalty to the King's cause now returns to
England to garner support for the cause of the young King. Haunted by the
demons of his past, Jonathan risks death at every turn and brings danger to
those who love him. Finding Kate in his family home, he sees in her the hope
for his future, and a chance at a life he doesn’t deserve.
In
the aftermath of the Battle of Worcester, Jonathan must face his nemesis, and
in turn, learn the secret that will change his life forever. But love is
fragile in the face of history, and their lives are manipulated by events out
of their control. What hope can one soldier and one woman hold in times like
these?
Excerpt
(Excerpt
context: Kate and Jonathan are
discussing Kate’s husband, the parliamentarian, Richard Ashley)
Kate
nodded, a faint colour rising in her cheeks. ‘I had a good dowry and Richard
fair prospects.’ She looked up at him, holding his eyes with her clear gaze.
‘And we loved each other.’
Dear
God, this bloody war, Jonathan thought.
‘And if
it were not for the war, you would be living in wedded bliss in Barton Manor,
surrounded by a brood of children,’ he said.
Kate
looked away and he knew his observation had hit home. He reached for her hand
and when she tried to pull away he tightened his grip, forcing her to look up
at him.
‘I’m
sorry, Kate, that was a thoughtless remark. I’m the last person who has any
right to do that.’ He released her hand. ‘From what I knew of Richard, he did
not have the heart of a soldier.’
He knew
more about Richard Ashley than he was prepared to reveal. A scholar, not a
soldier. Richard should be at home at Barton Manor with this woman and their
children. Not dead in the ground at the age of twenty-two.
Kate
looked up at him, her brow creased in puzzlement, and he cursed himself for
revealing too much.
‘What
could you possibly have known of him? The Thorntons have been estranged from
the Ashleys for over thirty years.’ This time he bit his tongue and when he
didn’t reply she continued. ‘To answer
your question, Richard may not have gone willingly to the war but he fought
bravely against the terrible odds in the North. He followed Sir Thomas Fairfax
into hell during those early years.’
Jonathan
nodded. ‘Fairfax’s men had it hard in those early years.’ He paused. ‘Was he
with Fairfax that day at Marston Moor?’
‘Of
course,’ Kate replied. ‘Were you there? Is it possible you faced Richard?’
Of
course Jonathan had been there with Prince Rupert’s cavalry. It had been a
bloodbath. Marston Moor had put in train
a series of tragic events in his own life that had nothing to do with the
battle.
He
swallowed and gave a barely perceptible nod. ‘I was on the other flank with
Rupert.’
‘What did
it matter?’ A rare flash of anger rose in Kate. ‘You wouldn’t have known
Richard if you had met on the battlefield.’
Yes I
would, he thought.
‘That is
the tragedy of a civil war, Kate.’
She
didn’t seem to notice that he had used her given name. Her eyes blazed with
anger and misery. ‘They brought him home to die. It was a horrible death.’ Her
voice cracked.
She
lowered her head and took several deep shuddering breaths that wracked her
body.
Without
thinking, Jonathan lifted his hand to her face, tilting her chin so she looked
at him. Her eyes swam with unshed tears. Tears he had caused.
‘So many
deaths. Too many, Kate. Believe me, it’s not always easy to be the survivor. I
may not be dead but I have lost all that is important to me. It’s a hollow
victory over death.’
So many
deaths...Marston Moor and afterwards, Oxford. He had run at life, stumbled into
the path of innocent people, and he had survived while they had died.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/02/by-sword-guardians-of-crown-1-by-alison.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6061851-by-the-sword?from_search=true
Alison Stuart fell in love with the
English Civil War when her father read her The King’s General by Daphne Du
Maurier. She has been writing stories set in this period since her teenage
years but it was not until 2007 that the first edition of BY THE SWORD was
published. It went on to win the 2008 EPIC Award for Best Historical
Romance. Alison has now published 6 full
length novels and a collection of her short stories. When she is not writing she is travelling and
has dragged her family around the sites of every major battle of the English
Civil War.
Alison lives in Melbourne, Australia.
She is a lapsed lawyer who has worked in the military and fire service, with an
obvious obsession for men in uniform, which may explain a predisposition to
soldier heroes.
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2 comments:
Thank you for hosting me :-) It's a fascinating period of history and, hopefully, a change from all those rakes!
Thank you for hosting today!
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