Redeeming The Rogue Knight. Elisabeth HobbesЧитать онлайн книгу.
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The spy who sought refuge...
When injured spy Sir Roger Danby comes asking for shelter at her inn, Lucy Carew is wary. He may be strikingly handsome, but the disgraced single mother has learned the hard way with men like him. Against her better judgement, she gives him refuge.
Sir Roger has never been at the mercy of a woman before, and he’s never met one as mysterious and bewitching as Lucy. He hasn’t come looking for redemption, but Lucy is a woman who could reach in and touch his closely guarded heart...
His eyes were soft and his lips slightly parted.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb as his fingers slipped behind her head, drawing her towards him. He was going to kiss her. And she intended to let him.
Roger’s mouth sought hers. Lucy tilted her head until it was within reach. His kiss was eager, his lips hungry for hers. The scent of him flooded her limbs…the taste of him made her grow weak. She gave herself over to the pleasure, allowing him to guide her in pace and pressure until her head spun.
Roger broke away first. He held her gaze in a moment of stillness. The world contained only them.
‘After I won I started thinking about my future—and yours. You don’t have to live the way you do. There is another way.’
He pushed a lock of hair behind Lucy’s ear in a gesture that was at once intimate yet proprietorial. He smiled.
‘I want you to become my mistress.’
We first met Roger Danby in The Blacksmith’s Wife, which ended with the disreputable knight heading to York for one last tournament and then planning to go abroad, determined to make his fortune after realising too late the value of the woman he had spurned. His story was going to end there, but readers kept telling me that they wanted to know what had happened to him. I too became curious to see how this knight who had jousting ‘groupies’—to use a slightly anachronistic term—dropping at his feet coped when he didn’t have his flashy armour, his fine horse and his noble connections to tempt them.
Brewing was once a female task, with many women making a living as ale-wives, selling from their houses. When I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on ‘The Changing Role of Inns and Ale houses in English Rural Society’ I never suspected I would get to use the information for writing a book!
Lucy brews so frequently because back then beer and ale—there is a difference—did not last. An anonymous source from Saxon times wrote: ‘After two days only the bravest or silliest men of the village would drink the ale, but usually it was only fit for pigs.’ I planned to brew some myself, but decided against it—partly because I suspected I’d end up very drunk or very ill, and partly because an acquaintance told me I’d need a much bigger bucket!
As always, this story has a theme song. Roger chose ‘I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)’ by Meat Loaf.
Redeeming the Rogue Knight
Elisabeth Hobbes
ELISABETH HOBBES grew up in York, where she spent most of her teenage years wandering around the city looking for a handsome Roman or Viking to sweep her off her feet. Elisabeth’s hobbies include skiing, Arabic dance and fencing—none of which has made it into a story yet. When she isn’t writing she spends her time reading, and is a pro at cooking while holding a book! Elisabeth lives in Cheshire with her husband, two children, and three cats with ridiculous names.
Books by Elisabeth Hobbes
Mills & Boon Historical Romance
Falling for Her Captor
A Wager for the Widow
The Saxon Outlaw’s Revenge
Linked by Character
The Blacksmith’s Wife
Redeeming the Rogue Knight
Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.
To Mark, housebreaker and hacksaw wielder for damsels in distress! I owe you a pint!
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