Her Christmas Knight. Nicole Locke

      

      A knight to protect her—this Yuletide

      By order of the English king, Alice of Swaffham searches London nobility for the traitor dealing information to the Scots. Little does she know that the mysterious spy she seeks is the man she once loved and thought she’d lost forever...

      If Hugh of Shoebury felt unworthy of Alice before, as the Half-Thistle spy he can never claim her heart. Now he must fight to keep not only his dark secrets—and Alice—safe from a vengeful king...but also his burning longing for her at bay!

      ‘Do you want to dance?’

      Alice stopped tapping her foot and turned to Hugh, who had caught her unawares.

      His appearance was startling to her every sense. It still seemed impossible that he had returned to Swaffham. And after all this time it should have been impossible to be so affected by him. And yet she was.

      Tonight his clothes were as fine as any nobleman’s. But none of them softened the hard slant of his jaw or his piercing storm-filled gaze.

      ‘Which dance?’ Her eyes strayed to the lock of hair that fell loose and soft over his forehead.

      There was a quirk to his lips. ‘The one that is beginning now.’

      Aware of eyes on their exchange, Alice carefully chose her words. ‘Yes, I would like to dance.’

      ‘Then let us begin,’ Hugh said, taking her hand in a sure grip.

      His palm pressed to hers and their hands entwined, his callused fingertips brushing her wrist. He drew her closer as they joined the other dancers, holding her for longer than the dance provided. It was a dance she knew well, but for the first time somehow she didn’t know it at all.

       Author Note

      Finally Hugh’s story is being told! How can he possibly be the hero of Book Six, when he first appeared in The Knight’s Broken Promise, which was Book One in the Lovers and Legends series? Well, I’m not writing these stories chronologically. In fact, as stand-alones, they can be read in any order.

      But that doesn’t explain why it took me this long, so I’ll tell you. Hugh’s past is so tormented that his story was difficult to write. Add in the fact that at the end of Book One he was committing treason, and I wondered what heroine could possibly understand him?

      That’s when I found Alice, who has been valiantly trying to save Hugh since she was six years old. The only problem? Alice has the King of England threatening her life...

      Her Christmas Knight

      Nicole Locke

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      NICOLE LOCKE discovered her first romance novels in her grandmother’s closet, where they were secretly hidden. Convinced that books that were hidden must be better than those that weren’t, Nicole greedily read them. It was only natural for her to start writing them—but now not so secretly.

      Books by Nicole Locke

      Mills & Boon Historical Romance

      Lovers and Legends

      The Knight’s Broken Promise

      Her Enemy Highlander

      The Highland Laird’s Bride

      In Debt to the Enemy Lord

      The Knight’s Scarred Maiden

      Her Christmas Knight

      Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.

      To my brother.

      Thank you for teaching me the value of kindness, the virtue of perseverance and the worthy ability to tie my shoes. You’re the absolute best.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Author Note

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

       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

       Epilogue

       Extract