I am delighted to be hosting an extract from the historical romance, The Raided Heart, by Jennifer C Wilson, today. There is also a great Worldwide Giveaway. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
First, here's a little about the book:
Meg Mathers, the headstrong youngest sibling of a reiving
family on the English-Scottish border, is determined to remain at her childhood
home, caring for the land and village she’s grown up with. When an accident
brings her a broken ankle and six weeks in the resentful company of ambitious
and angry young reiver Will Hetherington, attraction starts to build. Both
begin to realise they might have met their match, and the love of their lives,
but 15th century border living is not that simple, as Meg soon finds herself
betrothed to the weakling son of a tyrannical neighbour, Alexander Gray. When
tragedy strikes, can Meg and Will find their way back to each other, and can
Will finally take his own personal revenge on Gray?
Now, here's a big welcome to Jennifer on the blog today.
Hello, and thank you so much for hosting an excerpt of The
Raided Heart on your blog today – I hope your readers enjoy it!
In this scene, Will encounters Alexander Gray for the first
time since childhood; a difficult thing when this is the man who caused you
such heartache…
The Raided Heart, Excerpt Two
Will was the first to see Alexander Gray, at the head of his
own retinue, riding into the village, coming along the road in the opposite
direction to the men of Long Ridge. Despite the ongoing communications between
Robert and Alexander, the two men had only met briefly once so far, and Will,
thankfully, hadn’t been present. It was over a decade since he had encountered
the man, but he hadn’t changed one bit. He seemed, fittingly, to be entirely
dark, from his shoulder-length black hair, the black material of his outfit,
and even a jet-black horse: entirely at odds with the Mathers brothers’
appearance, in blue and brown jackets over white shirts, their dark-brown hair
kept shorter, neater, making their relationship even more obvious, drawing
attention to their almost-identical noses, and the blue-grey eyes, the same as
Meg’s.
For a moment, Will paused, almost pulled back on Patience’s
reins, then realised that would make him stand out more than if he just carried
on as expected. After all, there was no reason to suggest Gray would recognise
him, or even remember the incident which had been burned into Will’s memory for
almost half his lifetime.
The raiding of his family’s village, the destruction of his
home, the murder of his parents. He could still hear their screams.
Seeing Gray brought it all back, piercing through his mind
as though it had happened only yesterday. At least Cecily would be spared the
shock of it. If Gray ever came to Long Ridge, Will and Tom would make sure
Cecily was pre-warned, and knew what was coming. But that was in the future. At
this moment, Will had to pull himself together and keep control of his temper.
He couldn’t afford to do anything to disrupt Robert’s plans, even if those
plans did include the monster who had killed his family.
“Gray!” It was Judd who spoke first, calling their distant
neighbour over to their group.
“Mathers, what are you here for? Mixed up in this stupid
fight business too? I hope your men weren’t amongst the brawlers?”
“No, not ours, Judd is a witness only,” Robert answered for
them both, as the two brothers turned and steadied their horses. “You?”
“A misjudged accusation states that one of my own, Hal, was
part of the fight. I’m here to convince them otherwise.” Alexander’s fist
tightened on the hilt of his sword. “It should be easy enough. I presume you
didn’t see Hal Robson as part of the pack, Judd?”
Will watched as Judd paused for a moment, glancing subtly at
Robert. Almost imperceptibly, the leader of Long Ridge shrugged. Will kept his
eye on the older brother. An Englishman with a Scottish name, he was as one
with Hal, the randomness of the borders bringing Scots and English far closer
than some would like. But that, it seemed, was where the similarity ended. Judd
believed in fairness and honour, even if it was only amongst thieves.
“I remember clearly what I saw that day, Gray. But luckily
for your man, if he was there, he wasn’t in my eye line.”
“And what of your other men?”
“I was on my own that day. I had ridden into town on
personal business; there was nobody with me.”
Gray nodded, seemingly satisfied with the outcome. Or this
one at least. “Excellent. Let us hope everyone else is as agreeable.”
Will kept his head down as the Cliffside men rode on past,
glad to be insignificant enough not to be noticed. He was just another
youngster, riding in the middle of the pack. There was no reason for Gray to
single him out.
“Was Hal there?” Robert was asking Judd, as soon as Gray was
out of hearing.
Judd shook his head. “He wasn’t in the brawl as far as I
saw. But he was in Hexham that day, that’s for sure. I just hope for their sake
that any other witnesses agree with Gray, or their life won’t be worth living.”
The two brothers watched as Gray paused again in the
distance, having encountered another group arriving along the street. They
winced at the sound of metal on metal, as swords were drawn.
I hope this has whetted your appetite. You can get a copy of the book here: Amazon UK | Amazon US
About the Author
Jennifer C. Wilson is a marine biologist by training, who
developed an equal passion for history and historical fiction whilst stalking
Mary, Queen of Scots on childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard
III). Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east
of England for work reignited her pastime of creative writing, and she has been
filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story
competition, and has been working on a number of projects since, including
co-hosting the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Her Kindred Spirits novels are
published by Crooked Cat Books and her time-slip novella, The Last
Plantagenet?, by Ocelot Press. She lives in North Tyneside, and is very proud
of her approximately 2-inch sea view.
You can read my review of The Last Plantagenet? here
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