Book Title: The Fugitive’s Sword
Series: Lord’s Learning
Author: Eleanor Swift-Hook
Publication Date: 8th October 2024
Publisher: Schiavona Books (author’s own imprint)
Pages: 305
Genre: Historical Adventure
The Fugitive’s Sword
by Eleanor Swift-Hook
Blurb:
Autumn 1624
Europe is deeply embroiled in what will become the Thirty Years' War.
A young Philip Lord, once favoured at King James' court, has vanished without a trace, under the shadow of treason.
Outside the besieged city of Breda, Captain Matthew Rider faces the brutal reality of wintering his cavalry in the siege lines, until he crosses paths with Filippo Schiavono, a young man whose courage and skill could change everything.
Kate, Lady Catherine de Bouqulement, arrives in London prepared to navigate the dangerous politics of King James' court to ensure troops are sent to her mistress, the exiled Queen of Bohemia.
Within Breda’s walls, a foundling named Jorrit unwittingly stumbles into a lethal conspiracy when Schiavono hires him, supposedly to help sell smuggled tobacco. But Schiavono’s plans go awry and they are compelled to flee the city, only to be captured at sea.
If Schiavono is unable to prove his loyalty and ruthlessness to a savage Dunkirker privateer captain, both he and Jorrit will face certain death.
Meanwhile, in London, Kate is forced to fight her own battle against those seeking to coerce her into their schemes and finds herself trapped in a terrifying and deadly power struggle.
Driven by violence, treachery, and the sea's merciless tides, their fates collide.
Buy Links:
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Author Bio:
Eleanor Swift-Hook enjoys the mysteries of history and fell in love with the early Stuart era at university when she re-enacted battles and living history events with the English Civil War Society. Since then, she has had an ongoing fascination with the social, military and political events that unfolded during the Thirty Years’ War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
The Soldier's Stand, book two in Lord's Learning and the sequel to The Fugitive's Sword, is now available for preorder and will be released on 25 February, 2025.
She lives in County Durham and loves writing stories woven into the historical backdrop of those dramatic times.
Author Links:
Website: www.eleanorswifthook.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/emswifthook/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LordsLegacySeries
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Eleanor-Swift-Hook/author/B0BKTP1CMG
Book Excerpt:
Whitehall, 1 January 1624/5
The first of January was the day set for the duke’s departure. He could not leave without participating in the ritual of gift giving that belonged to that day and the court celebrated in lavish style. Kate was not too surprised to find herself and Lucy invited to attend the farewell gathering.
It was held in Whitehall and a select proportion of the court was in attendance to honour the duke. Kate was glad to keep herself in the background whilst the duke, wearing his newly bestowed Order of the Garter with its diamond studded ribbon and heavy gold medal, was feted and praised.
The king was absent, but word spread that in addition to the Garter he had granted the duke a sizable pension. Prince Charles gave a short but stirring speech about his sister’s champion and announced his personal gift of three thousand pounds. After that there seemed to Kate to be a flurry reminiscent of an auction at which various nobles pledged sums to the duke’s support.
Of course, Buckingham was there with his duchess and his mother, but Kate kept an eye on them and ensured she was always inaccessible at any moment when one of them might have tried to speak with her. She knew that would be no defence against a specific request to attend upon them, so she devoted herself to conversation with the least controversial of the ladies present and tried hard to avoid notice.
Near the end of the event, Kate was congratulating herself on navigating through the shoals successfully and looking for Lucy so they would be ready for the final formalities, when she found her path barred by a young man with a high forehead, plump cheeks and long wavy hair which hung on each side of his face.
Mountjoy Blount.
“Lady Catherine, it is as if you have descended from the clouds. Such beauty.”
Kate had been wearing a polite smile throughout and now it froze in place.
Blount seemed not to notice any change in her and grasped her hand making a bow over it whilst bringing the fingers to his lips.
“His grace the Duke of Buckingham,” he went on as he straightened up, “sent me to escort you to him.”
One might want to scream and pull away. One might want to run, pushing through the thicket of velvet and taffeta clad bodies. One might want to simply refuse. But one could not, of course.
Kate drew a steadying breath and allowed herself to be drawn across the room, aware that most there marked their passage with speculation. Her eyes briefly found Lucy and their gazes locked before Kate was swept past.
Blount led her away from the main gathering and into a side chamber, where Buckingham stood in the secluded and exclusive company of Prince Charles, the Earls of Essex and Warwick and three other gentlemen who Kate supposed were also related to Mountjoy Blount. The Duchess of Buckingham and her mother-in-law sat together away to one side.
Focusing on the prince, Kate offered as deep and gracious a curtsy as she could achieve. Beside her, still holding her arm, Blount offered as deep an obeisance.
From somewhere to one side Kate heard a voice which she recognised as belonging to Buckingham’s mother.
“Oh, they do look so good together, do you not think?”
As Kate rose from her curtsy it was Prince Charles who spoke, not Buckingham. His doe like eyes held her gaze and he smiled almost shyly.
“L-Lady Catherine, it has been brought to my attention that you have been left without the support of a husband in the management of your lands and I would not see you forced to such straits for any longer than is necessary. I know you have given many years of devoted service to my dear sister, but I am sure she would not grudge you the comfort of your own home, your own husband and your own family.”
As he spoke Kate’s throat closed up and she knew there would be nothing she could do to stop the colour draining from her face. She could not have uttered a word in that moment had her life depended upon it.
Buckingham was wearing a supercilious smile and nodding as the prince spoke.
“Highness,” he said swiftly, “I would recommend our good friend Mountjoy Blount, the son of the late Baron Mountjoy, who is most willing to take up the care and responsibility of Lady Catherine and her lands.”
Kate’s thoughts were beating as rapidly as her heart. The prince had no power to compel this, only the king could do that and surely he would not allow— Then she stopped and into her mind came the number of occasions the king was known to have been bent from his chosen course by Buckingham. More and more often in recent times.
“Is that so?” the prince asked Blount, who bowed his head in response.
“It would be my honour, my privilege and my delight, highness” Blount said.
At least, a little mocking voice in the corner of Kate’s mind whispered, he is not lying about that.
“And do you consent to this, Lady Catherine?” the prince asked.
“Of course she does, highness,” Buckingham said smoothly. “Lady Catherine is an intelligent young woman. She knows what is in her best interests.” His gaze shifted to Kate, and she shivered.
He had placed her in an impossible position. The only escape routes open to her were lined with social condemnation, royal opprobrium and the risk of drawing both onto Lucy, not to mention severely damaging the cause that mattered most to them both.
She had no choice.
None at all.
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Thank you so much for hosting Eleanor Swift-Hook today, with an enticing excerpt from her new novel, The Fugitive's Sword.
Take care,
Cathie xo
The Coffee Pot Book Club