AUTHOR’S NOTE
I’ve got to say… I love me some Sherry!
Finally – his story is here. And his leading lady? None other than Christin de Lohr.
This book is set between the last chapter and the epilogue for Starless, Book 3 in the Executioner Knights series, and what a story it is. The Executioner Knights series is growing by leaps and bounds, with so many awesome knights who are part of William Marshal’s spy ring. I originally wrote about the spy ring in the novel The Whispering Night, and then in Lord of the Shadows, so it’s been a lot of fun to expand on that particular aspect of England’s political underground.
If you’re wondering why my original spy from The Whispering Night, Garren le Mon, isn’t in any of these books, the reason is simple – at the end of his story, he fled to France, so he’s over in Gascony while all of these adventures are going on.
But back to the tale – for those of you keeping track of the de Winter aspect of this series as it ties into another novel, High Warrior, I have to explain something – we have two Daveigh de Winters. The first Daveigh was mentioned in the novel High Warrior, and I only mention this because the hero of that novel, Bric MacRohan, has also made appearances in the Executioner Knights series.
Bric serves Daveigh de Winter of Narborough Castle, while Daveigh’s uncle, also Daveigh de Winter (and the brother of Daveigh’s father, Davyss de Winter the First) is the garrison commander at Norwich Castle and the father of Lady Delesse de Winter, who was mentioned in Godspeed as having broken Dashiell du Reims’ heart. We met Delesse, briefly, in The Mountain Dark, Book 2 in the Executioner Knights series. For those keeping track, Davyss de Winter – hero of Lespada – is the son of Grayson de Winter, half-brother of Daveigh de Winter of Narborough Castle. They both share the same father, Davyss I.
Confusing, I know, but those de Winters really aren’t original when it comes to names. They’re all named after each other – Davyss, Hugh, Grayson, and Daveigh. That’s what you’ll see the most of. In fact, a heroine in the Reign of de Winter series even comments on it. You can actually find the House of de Winter family tree on my website.
Back to the House of de Lohr – I’ve never fully outlined the children of Christopher and Dustin, but we know they had a bunch of them. The first time I gave a full accounting was in A Blessed de Lohr Christmas, so here it is again:
The children of Christopher and Dustin:
Peter (Christopher’s son with Lady Amanda)
Christin
Brielle
Curtis
Richard
Myles
Rebecca
Douglas
Westley
Olivia Charlotte (the future Honey de Shera)
Now, aside from the de Lohr family, lots going on in this story. William Marshal has spent the past few years in and out of England, mostly in Ireland, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that he and John were at odds, and also because some English lords were trying to take over his Irish properties. In this story, he’s only recently returned home again, back to serve John.
Something else to note – this takes place about four years before Lord of the Shadows, and Sean de Lara once again plays a fairly major role in this book. I’ve loved writing the Executioner Knights series and one of the reasons is because we get to see Sean in action over the years and why he was called Lord of the Shadows. We also get to see some poignant scenes between Sean and his brother, Kevin.
No pronunciation guides in this book because there are no odd names (surprising, I know!). Castles such as Norwich are real, but Lioncross is fictional. This is such a fun story, so enjoy it. I know I did!
Hugs,
HIC FINIS DAT DEUS (GOD ENDS HERE)
Year of Our Lord 1211
Ramsbury Castle
Seat of the Duke of Savernake
The target was on the move.
This night was the culmination of intelligence, of rumors and whispers. A miasma of information had swirled for months like the fogs that often settled in during the winter – thick, like stew, masking the ingredients therein. It was the night when the information had finally become clear and spies from William Marshal’s stable would catch the double agent who had been carefully cultivated, lured into believing this was the night when all of France’s dreams would come true.
William Marshal’s men had been clever. The agent was an English nobleman, one Lord Prescombe, with ties to the French king. He’d pretended to ally himself with William Marshal, offering his army and money to help the English king, John, regain his properties in Normandy. John had lost Normandy some time ago but had spent the past year building up money and ammunition in order to take an invasion force over the channel and gain back what he believed was rightfully his.
But the French king, Philip, wanted those plans.
To catch the French spy, this night of nights had been created.
It was a feast that would live in legend for years to come. The Duke of Savernake, Edward de Vaston, was a great supporter of William Marshal and the host of the event. The Savernake army was one of the largest armies in Southern England with the exception of the Earl of Canterbury’s army. David de Lohr, the Earl of Canterbury, shared the distinction along with his brother, Christopher, of having one of the largest and best-equipped armies in all of England.
Armies that William Marshal depended heavily upon.
In fact, both Christopher and David de Lohr were at the great feast tonight, meant to celebrate the marriage of the heiress to the de Vaston dukedom, Lily, to a somewhat minor but wealthy nobleman named Clayton le Cairon. That was the premise, anyway. The truth was that Lily and Clayton had married the month before, so this celebration was conveniently late.
But it had been a perfect excuse for William Marshal to call together his network of spies in the hunt for the French spy. Along with Christopher and David de Lohr, other notable agents included Alexander de Sherrington, known as Sherry to his friends. If there was ever a perfect agent, Alexander was it. The man was the perfect combination of knightly skill, experience, and intelligence. He was also the most deadly assassin in The Marshal’s arsenal, a man who preferred to work alone but was no less comfortable leading a contingent, which he was now.
A contingent of some of William’s finest agents.
Also at the top of that contingent were Maxton of Loxbeare, Kress de Rhydian, and Achilles de Dere, the original Executioner Knights, men with great and vast reputations that had been established in The Levant with Richard’s Crusade. All three men had settled down and married since their return to England, and Achilles had brought his wife, Susanna, who had been an agent for William Marshal before marriage and motherhood had taken priority.
Even as William looked over the enormous great hall of Ramsbury Castle, he found satisfaction in knowing Susanna was once again primed for action. She was one of his best. In fact, she was playing the proper wife even as her husband and his friends were pretending to become drunk. William saw Susanna remove Achilles’ drink on more than one occasion, which gave William a good laugh. Achilles was a big, fearsome knight, but it was clear who was in charge of that relationship.
Along with Maxton, Kress, and Achilles was Dashiell du Reims, the commander of the army for the Duke of Savernake and an agent for William when he was needed. He sat at the same feasting table with the original Executioner Knights, and Susanna, along with Bric MacRohan, the commander for the Narborough Castle’s de Winter armies. Bric was Irish to the bone and one of the most frightening, most deadly men William had ever known.