A Season of Knives

Description

Carlisle, along the border between Scotland and England in 1592, was far from peaceful, but for Sir Robert Carey, the new Deputy Warden, it held some very special charms, generally female in nature. That is why he was thrilled to learn that the outlaw Grahams were plotting to kidnap Lady Elizabeth Widdrington: It gave him an excuse to ride after her to protect her, even if her journey was planned to bring her home to her husband. Carey's act of tarnished chivalry turns sour when he returns to Carlisle to discover that there has been a murder at the garrison, that his servant Barnabus is in the castle dungeon, and that Carey himself is being targeted for arrest for the murder of the paymaster. Unravelling the tangled web of deceit surrounding the murder, Carey becomes enmeshed in a knot of love and greed – striking much too close to home as he considers his own relationship with Elizabeth – that is ever-tightening around the neck of his servant and threatens ruin for himself. But even facing corrupt juries, blackmail, and intimidation, Sir Robert Carey remains certain of one thing: Living this way in the West Marches is still better than what might await him in London at the court of the other Elizabeth in his life: the Queen of England.