A Woman of Honour
by Marlow Kelly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Duncan Campbell wakes to discover he is imprisoned with a
woman in his enemy's dungeon in the Highlands of Scotland. The disenchanted
warrior hopes his last few moments on earth will be spent in the arms of the
sweet-voiced Isabel. If only she will cooperate.
Isabel Douglas has no intention of obliging the crude
captive. The penniless noblewoman considers herself too tall and thin to be
desirable. She intends to become a nun. But first, disguised as a boy, she must
deliver an important letter to Scotland's hero in hiding, King Robert the
Bruce.
Together, the pair make a daring escape that plunges them
into the bleak countryside in the middle of winter. In the struggle to survive,
they learn the true strength of their feelings for each other. But when
Duncan's animosity towards the king becomes evident, Isabel must decide between
her heart and her country.
Excerpt:
Duncan Campbell drifted into
consciousness and opened his eyes to absolute blackness. He lay perfectly still
on the cold, dirt floor listening. A small rustle of fabric echoed in the
darkness. He cocked his head, getting a sense of the sound’s location, then
rose to his feet.
“Tell me who you are before I
tear you apart,” he roared, seizing his opponent. Whoever it was didn’t answer,
just silence. A fist punched him on the nose. Pain ricocheted through him, and
he grabbed his face. In the dark, he lost his balance and fell in the dirt,
cradling his head in his hands.
“Oh my, are you all right?” asked
a small voice.
“No, I’m not.”
“You threatened me, and I wanted
to give you fair warning I will fight back if you touch me.”
The lyrical voice stunned him. A
woman? She spoke Gaelic with a strong, lowland accent. He shook off the pain
and asked, “Where am I?”
“Dunstaffnage Castle. Don’t you
remember your capture? I’ve heard of people getting a bump on the head and not
remembering their own name. Is that what happened to you? Did you bump your
head?”
Lord, she was talkative.
“Is it?”
“I remember I was hit from behind
scouting the bast….Are we in the dungeon?” He rose to his feet.
“Yes.”
He grunted. On the bright side he
hadn’t gone blind. On the other hand they were in a dank, windowless cell with
no hope of escape. There wasn’t even a sliver of light coming through the door.
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
After being thrown out of England for refusing to drink tea, Marlow
Kelly made her way to Canada where she found love, a home and a pug named Max.
She also discovered her love of storytelling. Encouraged by her husband, children
and let’s not forget Max, she started putting her ideas to paper. Her need to
write about strong women in crisis drives her stories and her curiosity
regarding the lives and loves of historical figures are the inspiration for her
characters.
Links:
Marlow will be awarding a $25
Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
Comments??
Rachel, thank you for having me on your blog
ReplyDeleteThanks again for hosting such a great giveaway! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it, Elena
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary, it the work of a talented cover artist named Debbie Taylor
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteCollenga, thank you for taking the time to comment.
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