Brides of Karadok

He had already made up his mind about her...then she changed it. Thrice wedded, but never bedded, Mathilde Martindale has long lived in the shadow of her indomitable mother, and meekly done as she was told. Until one day she decides to become the mistress of her “own” destiny and leave the royal court to find her path. Married by proxy, Lord Martindale has never even met his bride of three years. Wed as part of a peace treaty, he bitterly resents the mercenary wife who cares only for wealth and prestige. And then he meets her.

Lenora Montmayne leads a charmed life as the most beautiful woman at King Wymer's court, surrounded by admirers. And then disaster strikes. The red pox sweeps the summer palace at Caer-Lyones and Lenora's fair face falls victim to its ravages. Without her looks, what does Lenora have left to her? If ever there was a knight the crowd loves to hate, it's Garman Orde. Even his own family despises him. Then one night a heavily veiled lady offers him an extraordinary bargain. And he finds out that Lenora Montmayne was never just a pretty face. Contains mature themes.

Princess Una harbors no illusions about her claims to Karadok's throne. The last of her ill-fated line, she is just grateful she emerged from the dark days of war with her head still on her shoulders. After three years under house arrest, she is keen to start her own life afresh, hopefully in relative obscurity. What she does not realize is the extraordinary scheme the King has devised to find her a suitable bridegroom. Armand de Bussell is a rogue who shirks his duties and does as he pleases. How anyone could think of him as “fit for a princess” is a mystery to him. He neither wants nor needs a wife in his life. At least...that's what he always thought before he met the Blechmarsh princess. Contains mature themes.

Aimee Ankatel, youngest daughter to the richest merchant in all Karadok only has eyes for the heavily scarred Lord Kentigern. A ferocious competitor, her heart beats louder when she watches him compete in the field. Not one of the handsome knights of Karadok draws her admiration like he does. When her father lends funds to the Crown and promises her a glittering match with a nobleman, she daydreams of making the ill-fated knight fall in love with her. After all, if Aimee's Father buys back Kentigern's lands and castle for a dowry, surely that would make her an acceptable bride to him? Any idealistic dreams of youth Kentigern once had were lost long ago in battle, when he was disfigured and blinded in one eye. His destiny was a cruel one, his homelands confiscated for his part in the Northern uprising, he ekes out a lonely nomadic existence, travelling from one tournament to another. Never would he have dreamed that all he had once lost could be put in his hand again by some upstart merchant wanting a stud and a title for his pretty daughter. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined a reversal of fortune that included a wife like Aimee.

Never did Sabina Burrell imagine that foiling a plot against her sister would lead to her having to wed the arrogant Sir Jeffree de Crecy. She has never met such a loathsome man, and that included her late husband. Proud Sir Jeffree, raised in the expectation of succeeding to his uncle's title, is appalled to become ensnared in a scheme to discredit his uncle's intended bride. The whole thing is beneath his dignity, as is the shameless young widow who denounces him in front of everyone and makes him look a fool! Jeffree will do anything to salvage his honour, even if it means wedding a woman he despises. Revenge will be sweet indeed, ensuring Sabina pays for what she did. What he does not anticipate, is that his own long-prized vow of chastity will be so very sorely tried….