Meriel Fuller - The Damsel's Defiance

Talvas! He stood with his back to her, dragging his soggy tunic over his head, followed swiftly by his undershirt. He began to dry himself with the rough linen square that Geoffrey held out to him. Emmeline watched, transfixed by the beautiful physique before her. Fully clothed, Talvas made an imposing figure, but stripped to the waist in her friend’s kitchen he was devastating! She traced the strong, indented column of his spine, banded on either side by well-honed plates of muscle: evidence of hard, physical labor. There was nothing soft about him, no inch of spare flesh. Emmeline’s eyes ran down his spine until she reached the point where his damp skin, gleaming in the firelight, indented and met the top of his braies.

She pushed her face into her hands, as if by trying to obscure the vision before her she could stamp out her reaction, scrub out these unwanted feelings!

The Damsel’s Defiance

Harlequin ®Historical

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The inspiration for my story of Talvas and Emmeline originated from reading about a period in English history known as The Anarchy: a grueling civil war in the middle of the twelfth century between the empress Maud, daughter of King Henry I, and Stephen, her cousin.

Promised the English throne by her father, Maud was beaten to it by Stephen. History cites that Maud, who lived with her second husband in France, traveled to England some four years after Stephen became king. However, having researched her character, I like to think that she would have been more impatient to seize the throne as soon as her father died, and this gave me the background for my story.

In medieval times it was not unusual for widows to continue their husbands’ businesses, and here my character Emmeline fits in perfectly. Strong-willed and fiercely independent, she is determined to claw back her dead father’s business, effectively ruined by her husband.

Talvas also does not choose the conventional path. Despite being raised by noble parents, and trained in the chivalric ways of a knight, he prefers the wildness and unpredictability of the sea to a more sedate life as lord of the manor. Reckless and a risk-taker, he finds a life onboard a ship suits him perfectly.

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The Damsel’s Defiance #264

lives in a quiet corner of rural Devon, England, with her husband and two children. Her early career was in advertising, with a bit of creative writing on the side. Now, with a family to look after, writing has become her passion. A keen interest in literature, the arts and history, particularly the early medieval period, makes writing historical novels a pleasure for Meriel. The Devon countryside, a landscape rich in medieval sites, holds many clues to the past and has made her research a special treat.

#951 THE DISGRACEFUL MR. RAVENHURST—Louise Allen

Dowdy cousin Elinor’s family connections are extremely useful, but Theo Ravenhurst is convinced her drab exterior disguises a passionate nature. He’ll give Elinor the adventure she’s been yearning for—and in the process discover she has talents beyond his wildest imagination!

The latest tantalizing installment of Louise Allen’s

Those Scandalous Ravenhursts!

#952 MOUNTAIN WILD—Stacey Kayne

In the snow-dusted mountains of Wyoming, a blizzard brings a blond-haired cowboy and a blue-eyed mountain woman close. The two isolated souls, Garret Daines and Maggie Grace, share a common enemy. The bond they forge to overcome the threat against them is unbreakable—and when the storm is over, a connection lingers that is as wild as the mountains, yet seductively tender….

A love worth fighting for

#953 A WICKED LIAISON—Christine Merrill

A gentleman by day, Anthony de Portnay Smythe steals secrets for the government by night. When Constance Townley finds a man in her bedroom, her first instinct is to call for help. But the stranger gracefully takes his leave—with a kiss for good measure! Constance knows it won’t be the last she sees of this intriguing rogue….

Conventional lady…uncommon thief!

#954 THE CONQUEROR’S LADY—Terri Brisbin

Giles Fitzhenry is a born warrior. Lady Fayth is a Saxon heiress, forced to marry this Breton conqueror. Though she yearns to be rid of him, a deep desire ignites each time she holds her new husband’s piercing gaze. Giles has conquered all: title, lands and respect. But the ultimate battle is for his new lady’s love—and her utter surrender.

The warrior’s unwilling wife…

#263 SEDUCING MISS LOCKWOOD—Helen Dickson

Juliet Lockwood will work in notorious society rake Lord Lansdowne’s house—though rumors say a different woman warms his bed each night. But Dominic is a man of principle—doe-eyed innocents are not for him. Yet this new addition to his household is pure, forbidden temptation….

Seduced by the rake

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Barfleur, France—AD 1135

Emmeline pulled her thick woollen mantle more closely about her slim frame, shivering, checking that the voluminous hood covered her head adequately. Her mother had clucked her tongue disapprovingly at her daughter’s shimmering unbound hair, muttering something about the ‘whores of the dockside’ as Emmeline left the cottage. But Emmeline had not the time to care for such vanity, although she wished she had found the time to slip on an extra woollen chemise. She had to see whether La Belle Saumur had finally made it across the Channel.

The north-east wind coming in from the sea and up the mouth of the river to where she stood on the wooden revetment whistled under her hem-line and cut into her bones, causing her weak ankle to ache with more persistence than usual. She paid it little heed as she focused on her father’s ship. Her ship. La Belle Saumur lay some distance out to sea, beyond the point where the beacon stood marking the entrance to the river channel. Dieu merci! God had decided to spare her after all. A huge sense of relief burst through her: the ship represented her family’s livelihood, a means by which to stay free and independent of any master…or husband. She just wished her mother saw it that way, rather than trying to force her into a marriage that she neither needed nor wanted.

Squinting her eyes against the weak morning sun that had begun to push through the mist, she watched as two men on board lowered the anchor, testing the rope to make sure that it pulled taut into the water—La Belle Saumur had obviously just arrived. The big, square canvas sail flapped uselessly in the wind; the crew, having released the fore and aft stays, had not yet managed to roll the bulky sail up to the yard arm. The long hull rode low, indicating the amount of cargo on board, but the three or four lighter ships she had just dispatched from the slipway had now reached the vessel and were starting to unload. The tide was too low at this time of day for the heavily laden ship to enter the mouth of the river. The shipmaster, Captain Lecherche, would have to wait a few good hours before the vessel could be towed in to a safer, more sheltered harbour.