Affairs of the Heart

Affairs

of the

Heart

Maxine Douglas

AFFAIRS OF THE
HEART

Excerpts Copyright © 2014 Maxine
Douglas

Cover by Honey Jans

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in

writing from the publishers and/or
author.

The characters and events portrayed in
this book are fictitious.

Any similarity to real persons, living
or dead, or events, is

coincidental and not intended by the
author.

DEDICATION

To all my publishers who have ever had faith
and fallen in love with my heroes and heroines.

To my husband and best-friend for giving space
when I needed it and for always being there to celebrate or cry
with me.

To my friends and family for their continued
support.

To my readers who have left their ordinary
world for a few minutes to venture into mine.

Thank you for falling in love with my heroes
and heroines.

I love all of you!.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

AKnightToRemember

BloodTies

RingsOfParadise

RoadAngel

TheQueen

NashvilleRisingStar

MeetMaxine

Reviews

W
orks In Progress

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MuseItUp
Publishing

Bristol Ren
Faire
(Kenosha, Wisconsin)

The Queen Mary
Hotel
(Long Beach, CA)

Manassas National
Battlefield
aka Bull Run
(Virginia)

Antietam National
Battlefield
(Maryland)

Lynn
Crain

Honey
Jans

Sherry
Derr-Wille

Gary Van Kauwenbergh

A
KNIGHT TO REMEMBER

Historical Time Travel by Maxine Douglas

England, 15th
Century

“
Black Knight, pledge thy
loyalty and love to me and no other!” Queen Isabel Trenowyth
demanded.

“
I cannot, Your Grace,”
the Black Knight replied, ignoring her haughty tone while holding
back his jet-black Andalusian from prancing too close to the queen
and her court. “My heart belongs to another.”

“
Another? Thou wearest the
colors of this kingdom.
My
kingdom.” Isabel snorted, her proud face suffused
with rage. “Thy heart canst belong to no other in this time or in
any other time.”

“
Thou speakest the truth.
I wear the black and gold colors of Heartsease as a knight by my
own pledge, sworn to protect the castle walls and its people,
nothing more, Your Grace. I cannot give my heart to one who on a
whim hast so many knights on bended knee.” The Black Knight backed
his snorting stallion a little farther from the anger of Queen
Isabel. He’d vowed to protect Heartsease and its lands for longer
than the queen’s reign; he’d never promised to be her
lover.

“
Of course, there are
other willing knights of Heartsease who would give me the pleasure
I request. It is what thou hast refused me all these years which I
seek. I have offered thee everything, and now thee shall have
nothing.” Isabel waved him off like a finished piece of meat. “The
tournament shall continue.”

A sneer marred her otherwise beautiful
face. “Ruin him, Sir Thomas!” Queen Isabel commanded of the Black
Knight’s opponent.

Sir Thomas backed his gray mount away
from Queen Isabel until he reined in solidly beside the Black
Knight. The line had been drawn, and the Black Knight knew Isabel
would not take lightly a refusal from two of her
knights.

“
My Queen, I cannot. I
have given my life to protect the people of thy kingdom. Heartsease
is the place of my birth and that of my family before me. Our
alliance to thy father before his death is long and unquestionable.
It will continue as such. On this day, I refuse to take the Black
Knight’s life to ease thy pride and bruised heart,” Sir Thomas
replied, loudly enough for half of Heartsease to hear
him.

“
Thomas, thy protection of
me is admirable but not needed,” the Black Knight rebutted under
his arnet to his childhood friend and then turned to the queen. Her
furor over Thomas’s refusal was evident and so would be her
vengeance. He couldn’t allow Thomas to face her wrath. “I refuse
Sir Thomas’s protection and challenge him to
Joust a’ Plaisance
.”

Queen Isabel thought for a moment
before coolly signaling for the Chief Marshall to approach her. A
wicked smile crossed her lips as she whispered into his ear. A look
of dismay soon turned to pleasure as the Chief Marshall faced the
Black Knight and Sir Thomas.

“
These are the queen’s
terms of the challenge set forth. If the Black Knight loses, he
will remove the coat of arms signifying his alliance with
Heartsease and be banished from these lands for all time. If he
should be the victor, then Sir Thomas will be stripped of
knighthood and work the land as his father before him. In addition,
the Black Knight shall do the queen’s bidding day and night as
Queen Isabel so chooses.”

A hush fell over the list as all in
attendance waited for the Black Knight’s answer to the cruel
request. If he accepted this challenge and lost, he’d be forced to
leave his homeland forever. This was the place of his birth and the
birth of his beloved Catherine. His victory would bring shame upon
Thomas and his family and devastate them, and he’d be at Isabel’s
mercy for the rest of his days. Either way, he was doomed. The
queen left him without a true choice.

The Black Knight backed his black
steed, turned, and then trotted around the list toward William, his
young squire. Passing along the rail, he paused long enough to take
up the lace-andpurple-ribboned offering from Catherine, the
beautiful daughter of Heartsease’s dressmaker. He leaned in toward
the raven-haired, blue-eyed young woman, his heart already hers.
She smiled and tied the token around his lance, making him her
champion.

“
How can I help but not
fail, Catherine,” he whispered to the lovely but plainly dressed
maiden.

“
I know not, but thou wilt
find a way to right this wrong,” she said, a trusting smile
brightening her worried face. Touched by her faith in him, he rode
off to the east end of the list, doom flittering down his spine.
The only honorable way out would be to lose, even though it went
against his nature, and he could possibly lose Catherine as
well.

“
Sir Reynold?” William
queried.

He gave his squire a confidant smile,
seeing the fear in the boy’s eyes. “I will not allow the queen to
dictate my life any longer, my young friend. If I must leave my
home and country to save Thomas’s family name, I will.” Reynold
dismounted and handed the reins to William.

“
The queen would rather
see thee dead, sir,” William commented, leading the stallion
alongside Reynold toward their tent.

“
Beware what thou sayest,
young William. In this court, even the ground hast ears,” Reynold
cautioned his bold squire, placing a hand on the young man’s
shoulder. “Lest thou take care in those words, or it could be thee
riding Abraxas and carrying a lance against thy father instead of
me.”

“
What of my cousin?”
William tethered Abraxas to a post outside their tent. “What will
become of Catherine if thou art no longer here to protect
her?”

“
Catherine knows I’d not
bring shame on thy family name. I will find a home and send for her
when the time is right.” Reynold walked into his tent to prepare
for his joust against Thomas, his blood brother and childhood
friend. “Wherefore Isabel hast chosen this course now is beyond my
knowledge, Will. Her jealousy runs deeper since her father’s
death.”

“
Some say that Isabel hast
consulted the stones. They say the stones have foreseen thy failure
and disappearance from Heartsease, Reynold,” Will said in a hushed
tone, as if afraid to be heard by anyone but himself. “Father is
fearful that Isabel plays with the darkness of life to rid thee of
thine. Her witch is powerful in the black arts.”

Reynold handed his arnet to Will,
shook his head, and took a deep breath. It confirmed his own
thoughts. “I have heard the same words whispered behind tankards of
ale. It is more than my life she yearns to rid me of, it is my will
to refuse her advances and physical pleasures.”

* * * *

Reynold pulled himself into the saddle
and waited for Will to hand him his shield and cronel-tipped lance.
Much was at stake in this event. At the other end of the list, his
oldest and closest friend waited for their time at the
joust.

They all had grown up together—Thomas
Astley, Catherine, Isabel, and he. Thomas was the son of a farmer,
and his cousin, Catherine, was the dressmaker’s middle daughter who
was more of a tomboy than a girl. As a child, Isabel hadn’t known
the difference in their positions in life. Her father, King David,
had allowed her to play with the children of Heartsease. She’d been
a big-hearted girl, filled with passion and love. Reynold had been
the king’s eyes and ears even as a boy, up until the king’s death
when Isabel was but an enthusiastic girl of sixteen. Something
inside her changed that day—something dark and evil.