Bound to the Warrior. Barbara Phinney
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A Heart Unconquered
Widowed Saxon Lady Ediva Dunmow will do anything to protect her people—even marry one of the invading Norman knights. The king sees it as a way to keep Ediva, her lands and her tenants subdued. But Ediva’s embittered heart, still healing from the abuse of her first husband, will not yield so easily.
Marriage never held any appeal for Adrien de Ries. Yet it is his king’s will, and perhaps his Lord’s, too—though he finds his faith tested daily by Ediva’s staunch refusal to trust him. As a knight, Adrien survived many battles, but the fight to win Ediva’s heart may be his most challenging—and rewarding.
“You’re crying.”
Blinking, Ediva lifted one small hand to her cheek.
Adrien sat down beside her. He took up her hand and held it quietly. “I have seen you on the parapet. You’d mentioned that you dreamed of running away.”
“I thought about escaping to the forest. I wondered how long I could survive there.”
“Why didn’t you try?”
She looked at him, her eyes softened by tears. “If I left, my husband would have turned his rage on my people.”
“Ganute is gone, Ediva.” Adrien squeezed her hand firmly. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“And you, Adrien? You’re a soldier, with violence in your blood.”
’Twas true. In the past, he’d justified his nature and work well enough and not given it another thought.
Until now, sitting beside Ediva with her questioning eyes and her pain so deep he feared no one could heal her.
At a loss, all he could do was lift her hand to his lips and kiss it.
BARBARA PHINNEY
was born in England and raised in Canada. She has traveled throughout her life, loving to explore the various countries and cultures of the world. After she retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, Barbara turned her hand to romance writing. The thrill of adventure and the love of happy endings, coupled with a too-active imagination, have merged to help her create this and other wonderful stories. Barbara spends her days writing, building her dream home with her husband and enjoying their fast-growing children.
Bound to the Warrior
Barbara Phinney
Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
—1 John 4:8
To my writer friends, the Domino Divas, and all the Love Inspired authors. Thank you for your support and encouragement. This book is for you.
Contents
Prologue
November 1066 A.D.
Ediva Dunmow had been told she was blessed to have her husband’s body returned. For at Duke William’s order, the English who’d died at Hastings were to remain on Senlac Hill.
But the only reason she had sent Geoffrey, her steward, for the body was to prove the vile man had actually died.
Now, as she stood over her husband’s grave, the wind turned raw and rain threatened. The villagers and tenants had just paid their last respects to their fallen lord and then gathered to hear her speak. Anxious for security, they needed to know that Duke William’s army wouldn’t ride into Essex to kill them all, a punishment perhaps for Ediva retrieving Ganute’s body.
And perhaps they, too, needed to know that Ganute was truly dead and gone. He may have reserved a special brutality for Ediva, but he’d been cruel to all. And his cousin Olin, now standing beside her, showed hints of the same temper.
Enough was enough.
Stiff-shouldered, Ediva lifted her hand and the murmurings fell silent. Her veil and long, blond braids billowed in the strong breeze, as did her cloak. But she stood resolute, refusing the wind its due. “I will protect you. I will allow no one—not even Duke William himself—to plunder this land.”
Cold, chapped faces showed disbelief like the trees showed bare branches.
“I will!” She pulled in a breath, and then, finding her cloak cumbersome, threw it off. It sailed off like a crispy leaf, and with a cry, Margaret, her maid, rushed to retrieve it.
“How