May 1, 2000
Sara of Fernstowe, a 14th-century aristocrat and sometime healer, desperately needs a husband to avenge her father's death and drive away the Scots who continually plague her estate. Unfortunately, her only two suitors are a "noxious hound" and an old man. Boldly, Sara demands a third choice from King Edward III. She wants Sir Richard Strode, his most valiant and honorable knight, whom she has been nursing back from a wound that left him unconscious. The king agrees: if Sara can save the knight, she can have him. When Richard recovers, he's livid at being saddled with a sharp-tongued vixen, but he's loyal to his king, and he proposes a marriage in name only--but soon he visits her bed. When he's kidnapped and held for ransom, Richard realizes the danger to Sara may not come from the Scots at all and resolves to capture her enemy. He never suspects, however, that Sara will cross his plans to set a trap of her own. Though the period detail is lackluster, Stone's (The Wicked Truth) lively writing and the characters' banter will keep readers engaged in this sensual medieval romance.