His father will stop at nothing to keep the royal bloodline "pure" --even murder. But his sins have nearly destroyed Prince Philip and the future of his reign.
 
Forced into a political marriage, Philip tells his bride, "I will not lie to you, I will not be unfaithful to you, and I will not love you. My heart is pledged to another and I am not a man to break an oath."
 
His one true love is a lowly serving girl. When Philip refuses to set her aside in order to form a politically beneficial marriage, his father has the girl tried on false charges and executed. He then forces Philip to marry the beautiful and nobly born Lady Rosalynde. Devastated and embittered by his loss and his father's betrayal, Philip is determined to never love again . . . not his father, not his wife, not his God. Although Rosalynde adores him, he withholds his heart from her, refusing to let even death end his devotion to the love he lost. Despite his coldness towards her, Rosalynde is determined to love him and teach him to love her -- as determined as the God he has turned his back on. As civil war rages throughout the realm, Philip faces a greater struggle within himself. Will he open his heart to love again or let his pride destroy him and his kingdom?
 
DeAnna Julie Dodson is the author of The Chastelayne Trilogy: "In Honor Bound," "By Love Redeemed" and "To Grace Surrendered" and the contemporary mysteries, "Letters in the Attic," "The Key in the Attic," "The Diary in the Attic" and "The Legacy in the Attic." Writing as Julianna Deering, she is author of the 1930s Drew Farthering Mystery series which includes "Rules of Murder" and "Death by the Book".
 
Author: Deanna Julie Dodson
Published 1997
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