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:
12 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for having me as a guest on your site.
I enjoy getting to know about the story.
Thank you, Nikirenee. I hope you liked it.
Good excerpt....funny that she punched him and knocked him down...what a way to introduce yourself
I like the excerpt
Duncan`s very intimidating and he frightened her, but I think he`s man enough to get over it.
Thanks for your comment, Maria
Thanks for your comment, Elena
Love the humor in the excerpt. Sounds like my kind of book!
Thank you Laura.
A great excerpt!!
Thanks Mary
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