Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson
Synopsis:
1310, Berwick-upon-Tweed, England – Edward II knights Frederick Kohl for his bravery fighting the Scots. But Sir Frederick is not the man the king believes him to be; instead, it is his sister, Christina, who assumes her dead brother’s identity and receives his spurs.
Still posing as Frederick, Christina escorts Lady Cecily, a young noblewoman joining Queen Isabella’s court at Westminster Palace, to London. Unexpectedly, Christina and Cecily fall in love. Their joy is short-lived, as their future together is seemingly impossible.
The wife of one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the city is Christina’s bitter enemy. Katharine Volker, whose lascivious advances Christina rejects, goads her into voyaging from her London home to the Baltic waters of her birthplace. Christina journeys not to engage in trade, as one would expect of a master merchant. She sails for a far more deadly purpose--to exact revenge on the pirates who killed her father and brother.
What will transpire in London during her absence and is there any hope for her lasting happiness with Cecily?
#LGBTQ
Excerpt
Chapter 1
An Unexpected Departure
London, October, 1310
Christina stood at her chamber window, staring down into the moonlit courtyard. Instinctively, her eyes
moved across and registered each detail below, even as her mind was consumed by thoughts tumbling in
her brain like flotsam on an angry sea. The frigid temperature outside created whorls of icy tracery on the
inside of the thick, translucent glass; she ran her fingertips over the scars on her left forearm that the
frostwork somewhat resembled. The room had steadily chilled since the fire in the hearth had burnt itself
out hours before, causing gooseflesh on her naked skin. Yet, she remained so deeply engrossed in her
thoughts, Christina hardly noticed the cold.
Could it really have been only a year ago that I was a simple girl, playing games with my friends and
trying my best to avoid doing chores around the house? she marveled. How much my life has changed since
then. But it’s not really my own life I lead now, is it?
Not since the pirates attacked us at sea and Frederick was lost; that was when Christina ceased to be.
Now, I exist as Frederick, and this house, my fortune, even a knighthood, all really belong to him. So very
little can I claim for myself.
Christina’s melancholy was interrupted by the sudden sensation of soft warmth pressed firmly against
her back and buttocks. A pair of arms slowly extended around her middle, ending in two delicate hands that
clasped gently together. A light kiss upon her shoulder-blade next, followed by the slight pressure of the
other woman’s cheek.
Christina slowly turned in the embrace until she stood looking downward into the upturned eyes of Lady
Cecily Baldewyne. Christina extended her arms around Cecily’s back and gripped her closer, forcing
Cecily’s full breasts to press firmly against her own. Christina lowered her head until their lips nearly
touched, hesitating long enough to inhale her lover’s sweet breath before giving in to their shared desire for
a passionate kiss.
When their mouths parted, Christina asked, “Did I wake you, my love? It is still several hours before the
dawn.”
“No, my rising was my own doing. I must return to my own bedchamber now.”
“No. Stay with me. Please,” Christina pleaded, her mind a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts.
Cecily’s full red lips parted into a wide grin, revealing her even, white teeth. She playfully pushed
Christina from her, breaking their embrace. In an instant, she skipped away, gracefully scooping her white
linen chemise from the floor.
Before exiting through the bedroom door, she looked back at Christina with fluttering doe-eyes.
“You can’t be having the household staff believing their master makes a habit of bedding every saucy
wench who comes to visit him. What kind of an example would you be setting?”
Although she spoke in a jocular manner, Christina perceived the other woman’s words were only said
half-jokingly. She watched as Cecily sniggered and nimbly held the chemise above her head, letting it fall
over her sanguine curls before it dropped down over her voluptuous body. She laughed merrily then, raising her fingers to her lips and blowing a kiss toward Christina before dancing through the doorway and
disappearing into the antechamber. A second or two later, Christina heard the outer door quietly open and
close, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Her feelings of self-loss had dissipated, however.
Although Frederick may claim credit for most of what I possess, Cecily’s affection is a thing that is truly
mine and mine alone, she declared fiercely to herself, with a welling certainty so strong she felt as if her
heart were about to explode.
There was another realization that niggled at her though, this one so painful she tried to refuse its entrance
into her foremost thoughts. Instead, she strode purposefully to bed and luxuriated between the sheets of
Rennes linen still warm from the heat of Cecily’s body. She buried her nose into the bottom sheet and
inhaled deeply, virtually intoxicated by the mixed scent of musk and rosewater she would forthwith
associate with thoughts of her lover. Delaying no further, Christina pulled the fur-lined coverlet up beneath
her chin and tried to will herself to sleep.
After an interminable period of tossing and turning, she admitted defeat.
It is not just from my bedchamber Cecily must depart, but from my life as well. Today, I am dutybound
to escort her to the Palace of Westminster as I had agreed. Once she is in service to the queen, she will
have no time or opportunity for the likes of me!
Christina felt a palpable ache course through her core.
For weeks we voyaged southward from Berwick, inseparable within the close confines of the ship. Yet,
nary a word passed between us beyond the limits of polite friendship. How was I to know she had come to
love me? Am I so thick-headed I could not perceive her feelings? Even more, that I could not recognize my
own love for her? Now, what good is this knowledge when she is expected at Westminster this very day?
These thoughts raced over and over in her mind, like a swift stream turning a heavy mill wheel. Yet,
even after hours of consideration, she was no closer to a viable course of action to stay Cecily’s departure.
Sitting up, she was surprised to notice the first vestiges of a dreary dawn creeping through her window.
Christina moved to her antechamber and quickly dressed, beginning as always with the tiresome task of
wrapping a length of linen repeatedly about her chest to bind the swell of her small breasts. She had nearly
pulled on her boots when the door to the passageway began to open. Hoping it to be a returning Cecily,
Christina was disappointed to see the slight form of Mary, one of the chambermaids, instead making her
way purposefully into the room with an earthenware jug of fresh water, which she set on the dressing table
before kneeling beside the fireplace to spark tinder for the morning fire.
“I won’t be needing a fire this morning, Mary. I have plans to leave presently and to be out for the rest
of the day,” Christina directed as she moved forward from the deep shadows near the wall into the feeble light.
Book trailer:
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Links to the other books in this series.
Book I
https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Chattel-Man-Her-Master/dp/0578444313
Book II
https://www.amazon.com/Her-Perilous-Game-Lee-Swanson/dp/1736243608
Book III
https://www.amazon.com/Her-Dangerous-Journey-Home-Swanson/dp/1736243624
