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Harvest House Publishers - Lori Wick

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188 pages

English

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Lori Wick's bestselling series The Kensington Chronicles (more than 375,000 copies sold) has a fresh, new look sure to please her longtime fans and draw a new generation of readers. Set in the 1800s, this series captures the adventure, wealth, and romance of the British empire.When the king commands Bracken to marry, high-spirited Megan is chosen to fulfill the edict. Unskilled in the ways of love, Bracken finds Megan captivating, yet cannot seem to voice his feelings until he almost loses her forever.

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Romance

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers
Date de parution	01 janvier 2004
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736931557
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0480€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

LORI WICK
THE
Knight
AND THE
Dove

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota
THE KNIGHT AND THE DOVE
Copyright 1995 by Lori Wick Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wick, Lori. The knight and the dove / Lori Wick.
p. cm. - (Kensington chronicles)
ISBN 978-0-7369-1324-9 (pbk.)
1. Great Britain-History-Henry VIII, 1509-1547-Fiction. 2. Man-woman relationships- England-Fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Wick, Lori. Kensington chronicles.
PS3573.1237K58 1995
813 .54-dc20
94-29332

CIP
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
09 10 11 12 13 14 15 / ##-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my pastor and his wife, Phil and Denise Caminiti. I praise God for your faithfulness, encouragement, and willingness to be used by Him. This dedication comes with my love.
About the Author
L ORI W ICK is a multifaceted author of Christian fiction. As comfortable writing period stories as she is penning contemporary works, Loris books (6 million in print) vary widely in location and time period. Lori s faithful fans consistently put her series and stand-alone works on the bestseller lists. Lori and her husband, Bob, live with their swiftly growing family in the Midwest.
To read about other Lori Wick novels, visit www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Contents
About the Author
The Kensington Chronicles
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twnety-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twnety-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
The Kensington Chronicles
D URING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, the palace at Kensington represented the noble heritage of Britain s young queen and the simple elegance of a never-to-be-forgotten era. The Victorian Age was the pinnacle of England s dreams, a time of sweeping adventure and gentle love. It is during this time, when hope was bright with promise, that this series began.
But now travel back 300 years, to an enchanting time when knights and chivalry and heraldry reigned, and King Henry s Tudor England set the stage for all that was to come.
Prologue
W INDSOR C ASTLE
1531
W HAT OF V INCENT OF S TONE L AKE? He s a loyal lord.
Yes, my liege, he is, James Nayland, chief adviser to King Henry VIII, spoke in agreement. Vincent is most devoted. He s one of your dukes.
I know my own lords, Nayland! Henry s voice turned with irritation. Does Vincent have sons?
Only daughters. Two.
Henry scowled at Nayland as though it were the other man s fault and then frowned at nothing in particular, his gaze on some distant spot. He was silent for just moments, however, his powerful mind moving in consideration.
Tell me of Bracken, Nayland. Bracken of Hawkings Crest.
Word has come to me that young Bracken has just returned from a trip to see his mother. She lives in the north country.
He hasn t taken a wife, has he? Henry s scowl was back in place.
No, your grace. He s hardworking, engrossed in the running of his keep. I do not believe that such a thing has crossed his mind.
A viscount, is he? Henry s mind moved swiftly again, and Nay-land knew better than to even smile over Henry s earlier comment that he knew his own lords.
No, my lord, he said stoically. He s an earl.
Vincent s daughter Henry speared his aide with another glance. Marigold has been to court, but what of the other? Is she older or younger?
Younger. Megan must be 17 by now.
Vincent would lay down his life for me, Henry said without boast. I m sure of this.
As would Bracken, I believe, Nayland inserted gently.
Yes, the king agreed. He has proven himself loyal, but as you said, he is young. I think a union is in order.
Nayland smiled. If Henry felt it would be advantageous to the throne, he would marry an infant to a man gray with age.
Send word, first to Vincent and then to Bracken, Henry commanded. The choice of the bride is to be Vincent s, but we won t rush things. I want Bracken content as well. Tell both Vincent and the young earl they have a year. No, make it six months.
As you wish, Nayland spoke humbly while making notes.
They did not discuss the marriage or Vincent of Stone Lake again. But Bracken of Hawkings Crest was the subject for long minutes to follow.
One
W HO WAS THAT, V INCENT ?
The lord of Stone Lake Castle turned slowly to see his wife enter the room but did not immediately answer her. Studying her a moment, he thought her beauty timeless; she was as lovely today as she d been as a bride. But he also knew that her beauty sank no deeper than her skin. His eyes narrowed when he thought of the storm the king s news would induce.
Vincent! Annora s voice was no longer softly curious but harsh with irritation. Is something the matter? Who was that man?
A messenger from Henry, Vincent told her.
Annora s eyes widened. Is the news bad?
I fear you will think so.
Annora s eyes narrowed with anger. She had not bothered with a wimple, so she now swung her head, causing her mane of thick, blonde hair to fall from one shoulder.
What nonsense do you speak?
Only that Henry wishes our family to unite with that of Hawkings Crest. He has ordered that our neighbor should marry one of our daughters.
Annora was well and truly horrified. Surely not Marigold?
Vincent shrugged. She is the eldest.
I don t care! Annora s voice was turning shrill. I will never allow her to settle for an earl. We ll keep Marigold hidden. If he never sees her, he can t choose-
I am to choose, Vincent cut in.
Well, it s settled then, Annora said with a laugh that turned from relief to cruelty. You ll have to send for Megan.
Vincent took a breath. I will speak to Marigold first.
This time Annora laughed in true amusement. She ll never agree. I ll fetch her myself and you can ask her.
You mean she s here? Vincent s brow lowered. I thought she d gone to London.
No, she s not leaving until tomorrow. I ll go now and send her to you.
No.
Annora halted in her walk from the great hall and turned slowly back to her spouse. Vincent had to keep from flinching over the hatred he saw in her eyes, but his mind was resolute. He knew that all chance of convincing Marigold to marry would be lost if her mother spoke to her first.
You will remain here, and we will speak to her together.
Annora took a seat, but Vincent could see that she was furious. He knew she might not speak to him for days or possibly weeks, but he was determined to have his own way this time.
Minutes later a servant was sent to fetch the elder of Vincent s daughters. Her parents settled down to wait in frigid silence.
Marigold never hurried unless it pleased her to do so, and Vincent hated to be kept waiting. Having taken lessons from her mother for the past 19 years, Marigold was an expert at irritating her father. More than 20 minutes passed before she made an appearance, but Vincent was still calm-in truth, he was filled with an amused anticipation. He knew his daughter to be deceitful above all women, and for the first time he rather looked forward to the creative excuse she was sure to give for not coming on time.
Sure enough, Marigold s look when she entered the great hall was one of regret. Her eyes were wide with remorse, her lovely face apologetic, sweet even.
I was told just this moment that you wanted me, she said softly. Her humbleness was so real that Vincent could only shake his head. To those who did not really know Marigold, she seemed so sweet. Vincent did know her, however, and wasted no time informing her of the situation.
King Henry has ordered that our household be joined to that of Hawkings Crest, he spoke without preamble. You will be married to Bracken.

All humility fell away. Marigold s face became a mask of hatred and disgust, turning her normally lovely features into a repulsive sneer.
Never, she nearly hissed. I am not ready to wed, and when I am, I will never settle for an earl.
Her words so echoed those of her mother that Vincent mentally gave up. However, Marigold was not through.
You may wish to play lackey to the king, but not I. I d rather die than be married to that oaf at Hawkings Crest, and if you don t have the spine to tell Henry then I will!
It s just as I told you, Vincent, Annora cut in, her voice so like Marigold s. You ll have to send for Megan.
Yes! Marigold caught onto the idea. Send for Meg. She ll do anything for you, even sacrifice herself for the king.
Marigold suddenly turned to her mother. I ve changed my mind. I m leaving for London today. She turned back to her father. You must think me a fool to even suggest such an arrangement. Well, I m not. I m leaving now. I can t stand the thought of one more day in the same castle with you!
Vincent stood still as both his wife and daughter, so similar in temperament and looks, swept from the room. He should have known that it was useless. Annora had done an admirable job on Marigold s mind all these years, but at least he d tried.
Send for Meg.
The words still rang in his ears. He could see that he had little choice. At least Henry had given him six months. With a plan forming in his mind, he rang for his scribe. He would reply to his king, as well as send for Megan, but by the tim