The Huntress (42 page)
Authors: Susan Carroll
“Everyone is glad to see our Lady safely delivered of a healthy boy. But the child will never be the lord of this island. Only a woman has ever ruled this island and thus it will remain. Ariane will still have to find a successor.”
Cat hesitated before adding, “There is a good chance she will choose Meg. The child is so extraordinary.”
She watched Martin, uncertain how he would react to the prospect. But he replied, “I would be very proud if Meg were chosen. It would be a great honor. Cassandra always insisted Meg was destined to become a leader among wise women. Perhaps her prophecy will come true in a way she never imagined.”
“And what of the destiny of Martin le Loup?” Cat asked, striving to keep her voice light as though the answer was of no import to her. “I suppose you will be off on some new adventure, seeking another damsel in distress. Perhaps Lady Danvers will serve your turn. She still seems in great need of rescue.”
“Perhaps she does, but some other man will be obliged to do it. I have quite enough on my hands rescuing you.”
“Me?” Cat snorted. “What do you imagine I need rescuing from?”
“Your stubborn Irish pride. I fear it may prove enough to do us both in.” Martin took a step closer, planting his hands on his hips, his boots square upon the ground. “So you expected me to just go riding off into the sunset? Well, I can be just as stubborn as you. I am going nowhere until you tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“That you love me.”
Cat gasped, making a great show of spluttering with indignation. “Where did you get a damn fool notion like that?”
“From Meg. She said she read it in your eyes.”
“The impertinent little vixen.” To her dismay, Cat felt her cheeks fire so hot, she doubted even the shadows of night would be enough to hide it.
“Tell me!” Martin persisted. “Is it true? Do you love me?”
Cat squared off with him in belligerent fashion, arms akimbo, imitating his stance.
“Mayhap I do. What of it?”
“This,” he growled, seizing her in his arms, crushing his mouth against hers.
Cat struggled to break free before he reduced her to a state of melting helplessness with the fire of his kiss.
“No,” she panted. “You—you need not feel sorry for me just because I was fool enough to go and fall in love with you. I won’t be the object of your chivalry.”
“Chivalry be damned. I am completely besotted with you. Can’t you see that? What sort of wise woman are you?”
“One who has never been all that good at reading eyes.” Cat reared back, trying to search his face, scarce daring to believe. “I am not in the least like Miri Cheney or Jane Danvers. Some sweet gentle beauty that you—you could—”
“Worship from afar?” Martin quirked his brow. “You yourself told me that was not what I needed. What I need, nay, what I want is…”
Martin smiled at her and quoted her own words back to her. “A woman who knows how to get right down there, thick in the muck of life, sweating and fighting beside me, nurturing, loving, and protecting each other to the end of our days.”
“Oh.” Cat swallowed and said gruffly, “Well, I suppose it is possible that woman could be me.”
“More than possible,
petite chatte.
Of complete certainty.”
Martin gathered her back in his arms and this time Cat surrendered to his embrace without a murmur. They simply held each other thus for a long time under the vast canopy of the night sky.
Martin was the first to break the silence, exclaiming suddenly, “It’s gone.”
“What is?”
“The comet.”
Cat lifted her face and peered upward at the moon and stars, the heavens no longer disturbed by any ghostly phenomenon.
She gave Martin an indulgent smile. “You are just now noticing that? The thing disappeared days ago.”
“You mean after plaguing us for all these months, it vanished just like that?” Martin asked in disbelief. “Maybe the comet was a portent of something.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it announced the birth of Ariane’s babe or—or an event even more earthshaking, you agreeing to be my wife.”
Cat tipped up her chin challengingly. “I don’t recall agreeing to that.”
“You will,” Martin replied with a trace of his old arrogance. “Maybe the comet heralded our union, a love that will be the stuff of legends, outlasting the moon, the stars.”
“And maybe it was only a comet.” Cat laughed and dragged his mouth down to hers for another lusty kiss.
Author’s Note
The comet that trails across the sky throughout this novel blazed entirely out of my own imagination. There was no such celestial phenomenon in the summer of 1586 when my story takes place. The emotional impact of the comet and the reactions of my characters are drawn from records of comet sightings throughout history.
Much of this novel deals with one of the many plots against the life of Elizabeth I. The Babington conspiracy was as complex and devious as the mind of the queen’s spy master, Francis Walsingham. For the purposes of fiction, I was obliged to condense and simplify the details of the plot. Martin le Loup’s participation in uncovering the conspiracy and the theft of the portrait are entirely my own creation.
The painting, itself, is not. The conspirators were indeed foolish enough to sit for the portrait which eventually aided in their capture. The Babington portrait is one of those marvelous tidbits of history, far better than anything a writer could invent.
About the Author
S
USAN
C
ARROLL
is an award-winning romance author whose books include
The Bride Finder
and its two sequels,
The Night Drifter
and
Midnight Bride,
as well as
The Painted Veil, Winterbourne,
and most recently,
The Dark Queen
and
The Courtesan.
She lives in Rock Island, Illinois. Visit Susan Carroll’s website at
www.susancarroll.org
.
Also by Susan Carroll
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INTERBOURNE
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AINTED
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RIDE
F
INDER
T
HE
N
IGHT
D
RIFTER
M
IDNIGHT
B
RIDE
T
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Q
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OURTESAN
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ILVER
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OSE
Don’t miss these three captivating novels in the
DARK QUEEN series
by Susan Carroll
The Dark Queen
On sale April 2005
Set in Renaissance France, a time when women of ability are deemed sorceresses; when France is torn by ruthless political intrigues; and all are held in thrall to the sinister ambitions of Queen Catherine de Medici—Ariane Cheney, Lady of the Fair Isle, must risk everything to restore peace to a tormented land.
The Courtesan
On sale August 2005
Skilled in passion, artful in deception, and driven by betrayal, she is the glittering center of the royal court—but Gabrielle Cheney, the most desired woman of Renaissance France, will draw the wrath of a dangerous adversary—the formidable Dark Queen.
The Silver Rose
On sale February 2006
France is a country in turmoil, plagued by famine, disease, and on the brink of a new religious war. In the midst of so much chaos, Miri Cheney must face a far greater evil—a diabolical woman known only as The Silver Rose.
Published by Ballantine Books • Available wherever books are sold
Praise for Susan Carroll’s Dark Queen Series
“An intoxicating brew of poignant romance, turbulent history, and mesmerizing magic.”
—K
AREN
H
ARPER
, author of
The Fyre Mirror
“With a pinch of both the otherworldly and romance to spice up the deep look at the Medici era…Susan Carroll writes a wonderful historical thriller that will have the audience eagerly awaiting [the next] story.”
—The Midwest Book Review
“[A] riveting tale of witchcraft, treachery, and court intrigue.”
—Library Journal,
Starred Review
“Utterly perfect—rich, compelling, and full of surprises. A fabulous, feminist fantasy from a masterful storyteller that’s bound to be one of the best books of the year!”
—E
LIZABETH
G
RAYSON
, author of
Moon in the Water
“Enthralling historical detail, dark and intense emotions and the perfect touches of the paranormal. [Carroll] leaves readers to savor every word of this superbly crafted breathtaking romance.”
—Romantic Times,
Top Pick!
“Ms. Carroll sets the stage well for intrigue and magic spells and draws the reader into her web.”
—The Historical Novels Review
“Readers in the mood for a marriage plot spiced with magic should find that this one does the trick[!]”
—Publishers Weekly
“A definite suspense thriller and a page-turning read.”
—Bookreviewcafé.com
“Delightful…Susan Carroll writes a wonderful historical thriller…”
—Affaire de Coeur
The Huntress
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original
Copyright © 2007 by Susan Carroll
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carroll, Susan.
The huntress : a novel / Susan Carroll.
p. cm.
1. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533–1603—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History—Elizabeth, 1558–1603—Fiction. 3. Queens—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.A7654H86 2007
813' .54—dc22 2007006930
eISBN: 978-0-345-50008-3
v3.0