Aldwin
Treynarde, a squire who shot Lord Geoffrey de Lanceau with
a crossbow bolt after being deceived by Baron Sedgewick,
is ordered to retrieve a stolen ruby pendant before it falls
into the Baron and Veronique’s hands. Haunted by his
guilt over being manipulated by the baron years ago, Aldwin
wants to prove his worth to his lord. If he excels in his
duty, he might even be awarded knighthood. Such an honor
would also help redeem himself to his respected parents
who, ashamed by his reckless near-murder of de Lanceau,
told him never to return home.
Lady Leona
Ransley, in an effort to help her depressed father, only
wants to hand over the pendant, collect the reward, and
vanish. When she arranges a meeting in a seedy tavern, she
never expected to face Aldwin, who almost caused her death
twelve years ago when they disturbed a bee’s nest during
a childhood game. Although Aldwin does not recognize her,
he is reminded of Leona and is haunted by his belief that
she died from the bee stings from that day twelve years prior.
Believing that the woman before him is a courtesan and has
information on the conspirators’ whereabouts, he takes
Leona hostage and spirits her away, meaning to deliver her
and the pendant to de Lanceau.
She, however, fights
him at every chance. He desires his warrior captive more
than any noble woman he has ever met,
and when he discovers who she really is, he knows he has one
last chance to protect his lady’s life. Only by resolving
what happened between them and by fighting side by side can
Aldwin and Leona defeat the conspirators and surrender to
their greatest temptation—love.
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