As the child bride of an elderly husband, Lady Julianna of Moncrieff learned little of men and nothing of pleasure. So when the newly widowed lady finds herself thrown into the company of the mocking and elegant Nicholas Strangefellow, a maddening court jester sent by King Henry III to entertain at her mother's wedding, Julianna is more than wary; she is determined to keep her distance. But it doesn't take long for the mysterious Nicholas to weave his wickedly sensual spell around her. And only when it is too late will Julianna discover what sort of man he really is...a coolly calculating spy out to steal a sacred relic—and her own innocent heart. Yet Nicholas is in for a shock of his own. For never did the king's fool imagine that he would become a fool for love...until the moment comes when he must choose between desire and betrayal.
Author
Anne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better. Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett. She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines. When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting. Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
