[Swift 01] • The Traitor's Apprentice

‘A superb blend of history and intrigue… A likeable hero and engaging plot.’ Richard Foreman, author of Turpin’s Assassin.

Late September 1642.

A bloody civil war is tearing the kingdoms apart. But, in Yorkshire, some are striving for a countywide Treaty of Neutrality, in the hope of maintaining peace and order.

Gideon Lennox, once a London lawyer, now serves in Philip Lord’s mercenary company. But Lord is a traitor with a mysterious past. As they occupy the manor house of Wrathby in Ryedale, they are confronted with the suspicious death of a servant - and talk of a curse which has afflicted the Belamy family for generations.

Lord’s new captain, Mags, is plotting to gain greater influence within the company and his popularity with the men begins to cause problems.

As tensions increase, a guest of Lady Belamy is poisoned and Gideon is tasked by Lord with investigating both murders, making himself a target for the killer.

When an attempt is made on the life of the infant baron, Zahara, the enigmatic beauty who travels with Lord and has captured Gideon’s heart, is accused.

In order to save the woman he loves, Gideon has to trust an ally of his enemy.

Zahara's life - and his own - will hang in the balance.

Eleanor Swift-Hook fell in love with the early Stuart era at university. The Mercenary's Blade is the first book in the Lord's Legacy series. She lives in County Durham.

Praise for Eleanor

'Brutal, dark, and brilliant; it kept me gripped from the gruesome opening to the thrilling conclusion.' Jemahl Evans, author of The Last Roundhead.