Kerr Gordon, next in line to be chief of the Gordon Clan, is tasked by Mary, Queen of Scots to bring to bring a gift to her cousin—and jailer—Queen Elizabeth of England. When he arrives at Whitehall Palace to find a courtly woman tied up in the stables, he acts to save her, only to be rebuked for dispatching an assassin before she could hear his confession.
When the handsome Highland warrior who saved her in the stables is accused of treason, Maggie’s instincts tell her that he’s been framed. As they work together to find the true traitors in Queen Elizabeth’s court, the smoldering fire that’s been growing between them erupts into an inferno that threatens to change their worlds forever.
Kerr Gordon is tasked with traveling from his home in Scotland to London to deliver a gift from Mary Stuart to Queen Elizabeth. If he is successful, Mary has offered to support a marriage between Kerr’s sister and a man she loves from a rival clan. The union would also end a long, deadly feud between the two clans.
Margaret Darby is the queens Sacrificial Lamb; she is responsible for making sure anything that would touch the queens body is free of poison. She meticulously tests the items for chemicals before she wears each item to ensure they are not dangerous.
When Kerr arrives at the castle, he stumbles upon Maggie tied to a chair and about to be raped and murdered. He saves her and thus starts their friendship. Together they uncover several plots to kill Queen Elizabeth all the while falling in love!
This was an interesting book to read; I’ve been deep in the Regency era lately and needed a break from the monotony. I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the story…lots of history played out with many real life characters and what castle life was like back then. Even a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming! Kerr was a big old Beta hero and just a teddy bear of a man! He was so sweet and protective of Maggie. Being the Queens ‘sacrificial lamb,’ she is not used to anyone sacrificing for her! It took her sometime to accept that she could find happiness outside of the long held duty she felt to her family and her Queen.
TROPES
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