Legacy of Blood

By Diana Dickinson

 

Book One: The Dishonoured Wife

Although she has never met him, young Eleanor de Buci is pleased when her father arranges for her to marry Henri de Metz, heir to the powerful Breton Lord of Radenoc. When Eleanor travels to his remote castle in the far west, however, her hopes for happiness are continually thwarted. Hating the Norman invaders, the Breton folk cling to pagan rituals and superstitions whilst scratching a bare living in a bleak and barren wilderness. Even before Eleanor encounters her ruthless brother-in-law, she must battle with their resentment and fear. Little suspecting that she will find treachery and corruption flourishing within her own household, when she meets Armand, Eleanor discovers that duty is no match for passion.

Set in Brittany in the early twelfth century, the first book of the Legacy of Blood trilogy introduces the reader to a tough medieval world.

 

Book Two: The Rightful Heir

Raoul de Metz is bored with his grandmother’s oppressive concern for his safety. Stifled by his narrow life in Valsemé Castle in Normandy, he longs for freedom and adventure. When he encounters a band of Breton minstrels, Raoul seizes his opportunity to escape. His sheltered childhood proves to be an inadequate preparation for the challenges and temptations that await him on the road, however – not least in the Enchanted Forest of Brocéliande. Dreaming still of knighthood and glory, when Raoul seizes his chance to join King Louis’s Crusade, he does not suspect that his acting talents will prove even more useful in the deserts of Arabia than they had in the castles of Normandy.

Must Raoul succumb to the tragic fate foreseen for him by a Breton witch, or can he find a chance to regain his stolen inheritance?

 

Book Three: Armand’s Daughter

The final book of the trilogy returns to Radenoc, the isolated castle on the western coast of Brittany. Catherine, Armand’s daughter, watches in fear as Raoul, the charming young minstrel whose life she has saved, escapes from the castle - and from her life. Left with no-one to protect her, Catherine tries her best to thwart the plots that her father and his Arab servant are hatching. Inevitably, as she matures into a desirable young woman, she realises that they will use her to further their designs – whatever her own views on the matter.

Having discovered the mortal sins that Armand was prepared to commit in order to gain power, Catherine concludes that no-one can be as ruthless or immoral as her father - but this is before her brother Gilles becomes baron. When news arrives of a Norman lord leading an invading army, should Catherine oppose him – or welcome him with open arms?