All rights reserved. This book is dedicated with appreciation to Jennifer Sawyer Fisher, editor extraordinaire. And to romance readers everywhere, because they read for pleasure. Every novel deserves to be closed with a smile. CHAPTER 1 August 1101 With the rhythm of a tolling bell, men pounded stake after stake into the dry summer ground. Others trailed behind, tying ropes to mark off a grassy circle. A court battle, a battle to the death, would draw a fair crowd, and a crowd must be controlled. On the dais, the carpenters’ hammers beat a more urgent rhythm. The platform must be ready soon, ready for the king and his officers. It was a plain structure, without canopy or trimming for no ladies would attend. Today, this field would become a court of law, where men defended their right with their bodies. It would also be a field of execution. Shadowing the grassy circle loomed the White Tower, reminding all that the Norman kings were mighty, and not to be opposed. As proof of it, the recent rebellion had led here, led to this court of death.
