Lord of Deception Trysts and Treachery Book One By Elizabeth Keysian © Copyright 2020 by Elizabeth Keysian Text by Elizabeth Keysian Cover by Wicked Smart Designs Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. is an imprint of Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc. P.O. Box 7968 La Verne CA 91750 Produced in the United States of America First Edition June 2020 Kindle Edition Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited. All Rights Reserved. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. License Notes: This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook, once purchased, may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. 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CEO, Dragonblade Publishing Additional Dragonblade books by Author Elizabeth Keysian Trysts and Treachery Series Lord of Deception (Book 1) Lord of Loyalty (Book 2) Lord of the Forest (Book 3) Lord of Mistrust (Book 4) Lord of the Manor (Book 5) Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Publisher’s Note Additional Dragonblade books by Author Elizabeth Keysian Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Seven Chapter Forty-Eight Chapter Forty-Nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-One Chapter Fifty-Two Chapter Fifty-Three About the Author Chapter One Suffolk, England 1585 Alys Barchard glared at her cousin and waited for the blow to fall. Kate Aspinall was wearing that expression again—a jest was coming, and it would be at her expense. It always was. “So, what think you to a wager?” Kate rested her elbows on the railing of the wooden platform that gave them a view across the knot garden. A wager? A trap, more likely. Alys frowned. “But you know I have nothing to stake.” “Oh, don’t be such a dullard. What about your embroidered pocket, the one you finished the other day? What use have you of that when you’ve naught to put in it?” “It took me all spring to fashion.” Alys meant to wear her hanging pocket as often as possible, to show off her skills as a needlewoman. Not that any men were likely to take an interest in her, forever eclipsed by her beautiful, wealthy cousin. Kate’s eyes narrowed. Aye, here came the pout, the spoiled-child face that usually preceded stinging words. Since the loss of her husband last year, Kate’s faults had magnified a hundredfold. Nonetheless, sympathy curbed Alys’ tongue. “Very well. Let my pocket be my forfeit. What are we wagering on?” She’d have to ensure she won the wager. The sulky look vanished. “It concerns a man.” “Which man?” The only regular male visitors to Selwood Manor were Sir Thomas Kirlham and his friend, Richard Avery, neither of whom Alys liked. “My new gardener.” Kate’s gaze roved across the garden. Alys’ fingers tightened on the railing. “The one your steward picked out at the hiring a sennight since?” “The very one. Is he not a sight to set the hardest heart a-racing?” The new gardener was in full view, but hopefully out of earshot. He was crouched down, snipping some errant stems from a rosebush, his shirt clinging to a broad expanse of muscled back. His heels pressed against tight buttocks, clad in a dusty pair of hose. Alys swallowed. “Mayhap.” “Mayhap? Fie on you, Alys—you have milk in your veins, not blood. He’s the handsomest fellow I’ve seen in a twelvemonth. Do you not see how gracefully he moves?” Of course, she saw, but she wasn’t prepared to own it. Any confidence shared with Kate became common knowledge in an instant. Besides, it mattered not if the man was good-looking—he was but a servant. “So, you admire him. But what part does he play in our wager?” Kate’s smile was sly. “My challenge is this, to see which of us can steal the first kiss from that desirable mouth.” Kiss the gardener? Had Kate taken leave of her senses? The idea sent a shiver skittering up Alys’ backbone. A sinful shiver. Kate grinned as the man got to his feet again and tilted her head towards Alys. “Look at those long legs. I’ll warrant he could sit a horse admirably. Of a certain, he would ride a woman just as well.” By the rood! If she weren’t so beholden to Kate, she’d slap her face for such wickedness. The woman must be taken in hand soon, or she’d drag the great name of Aspinall down into that same mud the gardener now brushed from his hands. As if sensing their perusal, he turned as he stood, and bent a dutiful knee. His brown eyes flickered over them before he politely averted his gaze. Was there a mocking tilt to that firm mouth? Alys shivered again. “You’re playing the fool, Kate. I can’t be party to such impropriety. Let’s go within—the wind is biting.” “What wind?
