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  BRIDES OF IRELAND

  All’s Fair in Love and Ireland

  A Medieval Romance Collection

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Printed by Kathryn Le Veque Novels in the United States of America

  Text copyright 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The Falls of Erith

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  Beast

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  Dark Moon

  Dark Steel

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  Lords of East Anglia:

  While Angels Slept

  Godspeed

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  House of de Royans:

  Lord of Winter

  To the Lady Born

  Lords of Eire:

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams

  Blacksword

  The Darkland

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Bay of Fear

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  With Dreams

  The Fallen One

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  The Dragonblade Series:

  Fragments of Grace

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass

  The Savage Curtain

  The Fallen One

  Great Marcher Lords of de Lara

  Lord of the Shadows

  Dragonblade

  House of St. Hever

  Fragments of Grace

  Island of Glass

  Queen of Lost Stars

  Lords of Pembury:

  The Savage Curtain

  Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy

  The Thunder Lord

  The Thunder Warrior

  The Thunder Knight

  The Great Knights of de Moray:

  Shield of Kronos

  The Gorgon

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Promise

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  Realm of Angels

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  Saxon Lords of Hage:

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  High Warriors of Rohan:

  High Warrior

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  The Executioner Knights:

  By the Unholy Hand

  The Promise (also Noble Knights of de Nerra)

  The Mountain Dark

  Starless

  A Time of End

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Anthology Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  River’s End

  The Fountain

  Sons of Poseidon:

  The Immortal Sea

  Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):

  Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight

  Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque

  The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight

  Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

  Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.

  There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.

  Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.

  For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval World of Le Veque.

  Contents

  High Warrior

  Black Sword

  The Darkland

  Sea Wolfe

  Bonus excerpt from The Centurion

  HIGH WARRIOR

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  Reign of de Winter Series

  High Warriors of MacRohan Series

  Author’s Note

  Welcome to Bric MacRohan’s tale, and what a tale it is!

  Bric, as we’ll see in these pages, is a big Irish knight who is both an invincible and flawed man. There is no one tougher than he is and no one as fearless or fearsome. I’ve written about a lot of fearsome knights – in fact, all of my heroes are quite fearsome in their own right – but Bric has something special about him that just makes him extraordinarily bad-ass. But when men who have that intense command-and-control personality fall, they fall hard because they have no experience otherwise.

  What Bric suffers from, as you will see, is essentially a mild form of PTSD. There are severe forms that affect modern soldiers, but battle fatigue and PTSD have been affecting warriors as long as there have been battles. It was only until modern times that we really came to understand what it was (it was actually diagnosed back in the Regency period), but before that, no one really understood it and considered it cowardice.

  It’s interesting to note that a 14th century knight named Geoffroi de Charny wrote about the
mental instability of knights who have suffered much in battle. But in my research, a Medievalist familiar with de Charny’s work made a distinct point between Medieval warriors and today’s modern soldier – Medieval knights were born into the warrior life, and modern-day soldiers aren’t.

  From a very early age, medieval knights were trained as warriors and saw brutality that few did. Therefore, warring was, literally, the only life they knew, so mental fatigue and all that came about differently for them. They’d never known a “civilian” life, only to be thrust into the brutalities of war like today’s modern soldier is. So, it’s a completely different kind of “battle fatigue” when it comes to the medieval knight and a different mindset for those who observed it.

  The House of de Winter features heavily in this book because Bric is the captain of the guard, so I should explain the family tree because he is also related to them – my novel Lespada is the main de Winter story. So if you haven’t read it, you should. But a little about the de Winter family – Daveigh (pronounced Day-vee) de Winter is head of the House of de Winter at this point. His father, Davyss de Winter the First, is the great-grandson of Denis de Winter (WARWOLFE), descendant of the Visigoths.

  Now, here’s where it becomes a little complicated – Daveigh is Davyss’ eldest son from his first wife. When the first wife passed away, Davyss the First married again and his second wife gave birth to Grayson, who is Davyss de Winter the Second’s father. Daveigh married an Irish woman, and that is how Bric came to serve the House of de Winter – as part of her dowry – but Daveigh and his wife never had any children, which is how Davyss II ended up with the de Winter sword, Lespada. The eldest de Winter male always carries that sword, and Davyss the Second was the next in line after Daveigh passed on.

  Because Davyss the First married a bastard daughter of the Earl of Norfolk, he was given a title upon his marriage – something Hugh Bigod, the earl, had to petition the king for (because barons can only be given lands and titles from the king). A donation to Henry (then-king), and Bigod’s bastard daughter received the title of Baroness Cressingham, a title that Hugh de Winter inherited when he married her, becoming Baron Cressingham.

  All of these titles were passed down from Daveigh to Grayson (who married Katharine, sister of the Earl of Surrey and Simon de Montfort’s lover at the time), and then on to Davyss the Second as the eldest de Winter male. Davyss the Second isn’t born until about fourteen years after our story takes place, but it’s important to understand where the de Winters fit into the politics of England at this time – they are an extremely important war machine with relations to the Earldom of Norfolk. Kind of like Norfolk’s attack dog. And our hero, Bric, is the teeth of that attack dog.

  He is the Ard Trodaí – the High Warrior.

  Since this tale is quite complex (as far as family relations go), there are charts attached, something I don’t normally do. But in this case, it was important. Make sure to read them and their notes – it will help clarify the backstory, and how Bric came to serve the House of de Winter, so you can understand how everyone is related.

  But lastly, let’s not forget about our lady of this tale, the lovely Eiselle (pronounced ee-ZELL). You can see on the family tree how she is related to Dashiell, and the house of du Reims. She’s a little lost at the beginning of this book, but she quickly finds her place, and when Bric falls for her, he falls hard. I love how she came to be his rock, the man who was always the rock for others. These two make quite the passionate and bold pair.

  Lots going on in this book, so hold on tight, expect a surprise appearance of a former Le Veque hero (Sean de Lara from Lord of the Shadows plays a key role in the end), and enjoy the ride!

  Hugs,

  Kathryn

  “Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends…”

  John 13:15

  PROLOGUE

  20 May, Year of Our Lord 1217

  City of Lincoln

  In the dead of night, they moved.

  Thousands of men were skirting the great medieval walls of the city of Lincoln, one of the largest and most strategically important cities in all of England. It was held by the rebels against King John, a man who had died seven months earlier.

  But the rebels were stubborn. They were fewer in number now, since many had defected to support the new king, nine-year-old Henry, because the church had declared its support for the lad. The pope had gone so far as to say that anyone opposing young Henry was now upon a religious crusade to destroy the church itself, which greatly swung many of the rebel warlords into Henry’s fold. No one wanted to be accused of crusading against the church.

  Opposing the king was one thing. Opposing God was quite another.

  But there were those who had been swayed for other reasons, not necessarily a threat from the pope. The great houses of de Lohr, de Vaston, Burton, Forbes, de Royans, and de Winter returned their support to the crown because it was the right thing to do. The young king had good advisors around him, including the stalwart William Marshal, and it was Marshal who had eventually coerced the great warlords back to their support of the crown.

  These were houses that had always supported the crown, and their turn against John had been a difficult decision. The return to Henry, and the hope of a new king, had not been. The decision had been relatively simple.

  A united king meant a united kingdom.

  But there were some holdouts that still felt Henry would simply be carrying on his father’s legacy. It was those stray rebels that were still holding a few cities for the French prince, Louis. And now that Henry was upon the throne, the great warlords who had returned to Henry’s support determined it was time to remove the French and the rebels, once and for all.

  Lincoln was the first target.

  Therefore, in stealth, they moved on a clear night, so clear and bright that the blanket of stars in the sky looked as if they’d been smeared across the heavens. The stars were blending into each other, creating a band of light. An army of thousands marched on Lincoln, staying well out of sight until dawn, when a smaller and heavily-armed group left the main encampment and made their way to the city walls. Payment in gold coins to the rebel sentries on the western gate meant they had entry into the city.

  After that, it was chaos.

  As the sun rose over the dew-kissed fields surrounding the berg of Lincoln, William Marshall sent battle-seasoned knights in through the western gate, each man leading a crack squad of soldiers. Men like Christopher and David de Lohr went in first, leading their experienced squads as they headed to the north side of the city to clean out the rebels who were in charge of the northern gate.

  Other groups led by Gart Forbes, Marcus Burton, and other experienced knights headed straight into the middle of the city to claim the cathedral. The castle, being held by the rebels, would be their last target in the center of the city. They would have to secure the city before they could reclaim the castle.

  The south side of the city was the most heavily occupied by the rebels, and a group of men led by Dashiell du Reims, captain to the Duke of Savernake, and the duke himself, Bentley de Vaston, made their way with extreme stealth along the great wall of the city as they headed towards the south gate. Another very heavily-armed group led by Bric MacRohan and Daveigh de Winter, from the respected de Winter family, headed into the heart of the south end of the city to drive the rebels to Savernake so they could crush their enemy between them.

  Bric was a man on the move. He had about twenty heavily-armed men with him, while his liege had taken thirty. Fifty of the best men the House of de Winter could provide from their army that numbered in the thousands, encamped about ten miles away with the rest of the loyalist armies. They knew they couldn’t breach the city with a massive collective army, for that would only make the people respond with great rebellion. A stealth incursion had been the way to go, catching them off guard and, so far, it had worked.

  Catching the rebels unaware was key.

  Sneak
ing up a dark alley that smelled heavily of urine, Bric could see sentries on the main avenue, watching for any signs of trouble. Sheathing his broadsword, Bric kissed the talisman he always kept around his neck for good fortune. Made from steel and in the shape of a cross, it contained Latin words etched into the metal, words that Bric repeated nearly every time he went into battle. They were words that had kept him alive, all this time. He believed in those words, and they had never failed him.

  A maiorem caritatum nemo habet.

  It was a passage from the bible: A man hath no greater love. It was the beginning of a verse that Bric had always kept close to him, something an old Irish warrior had told him when he’d been young. Keep the word of God with ye, lad, and ye’ll always find yer way home.

  And he tried to do just that even though religion had never held much interest for him. Still, the complete verse was from the Book of John. A man hath no greater love than he lay down his life for his friends.

  It was Bric’s magic spell against death, and he believed it implicitly.

  He believed it even now as he and another knight, his good and close friend Pearce de Dere, snuck up behind the two sentries and slit their throats before they could scream, dragging them back into the alley for a couple of the de Winter soldiers to stow the bodies while the majority of the squad continued.

  There was a thrill to what they were doing, breathing in the familiar stench of danger with every breath. But that was the way Bric liked it. That was the way he functioned best, when his life was on the line every second. It wasn’t that he thrived on the risk of death, but more that he was simply focused on a task to complete, and danger was simply part of it. As Bric often said – he didn’t focus on the danger of his task, only the task to be done. The man had never failed at anything in his life and, in his estimation, he never would. He was calm, cool, and calculated in everything he did.

  And that attitude made him deadlier than most.

  Bric and his squad encountered more rebels near the south gate – in fact, perhaps a hundred or more. Unfortunately, the rebels had already spied Daveigh’s squad and there was a battle going on. When Bric and his men plunged into the skirmish, it turned into a brutal, bloody brawl – heavy weapons were drawn but Bric was the type that would often strike with a fist first, a sword second. He caught men off guard that way, if he could get close enough to them, and he hammered through them easily.