Roundheads and Cavaliers Series by Stella Riley

An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.Following his coronation in Scotland, Charles ll leads an army south to reclaim his throne but the dream ends in a crushing defeat at Worcester, leaving no other choice but flight. With little more than the clothes on their backs, Ashley Peverell and Francis Langley manage to reach Paris where Ashley resumes his covert and unpaid work for the King... moreAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.Following his coronation in Scotland, Charles ll leads an army south to reclaim his throne but the dream ends in a crushing defeat at Worcester, leaving no other choice but flight. With little more than the clothes on their backs, Ashley Peverell and Francis Langley manage to reach Paris where Ashley resumes his covert and unpaid work for the King.Beautiful, stubborn and street-wise, Athenais de Galzain has risen from the slums of Paris to become the Marais Theatre's leading actress. Unfortunately, this brings her to the attention of the Marquis d'Auxerre—an influential nobleman of unsavoury reputation who is accustomed to taking what he wants.While a recurrence of the Prince's Fronde turns the city into a battle-ground, Francis is bullied by his sister, Celia, into helping her obtain a divorce from Eden Maxwell. Working as a cryptographer in the Commonwealth's intelligence service, Eden watches Oliver Cromwell creating a king-sized space for himself and begins to question the cause to which he has devoted a decade of his life.From the first, Ashley and Athenais are drawn together with the unstoppable force of two stars colliding; a force which Ashley, lacking both money and prospects and conscious of the frequency with which he is required to risk his life, cannot deny but resolves to conceal. He has only two priorities; his work for Charles ll and his determination to protect Athenais from the Marquis. Both are to test him to the limits.The King's Falcon follows the Cavaliers' last crusade and the bitter, poverty-stricken exile that followed it, whilst also taking us back-stage at the Theatre du Marais. There is danger, intrigue and passion in this sequel to The Black Madonna and Garland of Straw. less

Still tied to his desk in the Intelligence Office, Colonel Eden Maxwell has become increasingly disenchanted with both Oliver Cromwell and his own daily existence; and with the advent of new Royalist conspiracies, he despairs of ever getting away. Then a brick hurled through the window of a small workshop sets in motion a new and unexpected chain of events... moreStill tied to his desk in the Intelligence Office, Colonel Eden Maxwell has become increasingly disenchanted with both Oliver Cromwell and his own daily existence; and with the advent of new Royalist conspiracies, he despairs of ever getting away. Then a brick hurled through the window of a small workshop sets in motion a new and unexpected chain of events. After all, who would want to hurt Lydia Neville – a young widow, giving work and self-respect to maimed war veterans considered unemployable elsewhere? But when the assaults in Duck Lane escalate, threatening the life and remaining limbs of some of Eden’s former troopers, finding the culprit becomes a personal crusade. At their first meeting, Lydia finds Colonel Maxwell annoying; by their second, having discovered that he had arrested and questioned her brother in connection with the Ship Tavern Plot, she mistrusts his motives. On the other hand, it swiftly becomes plain that she needs his help … and has difficulty resisting his smile. Solving the increasingly hazardous mystery surrounding Lydia is not Eden’s only task. Between plots to assassinate the Lord Protector and a rising in Scotland, he must also mend the fences within his own family and get to know his son. Life suddenly goes from mind-numbing boredom to frenetic complexity. With reckless Cavaliers lurking around every corner and a government still struggling to find its way, Lords of Misrule is set against a time of national discontent and general failure. But readers of the previous books in the series can look forward to catching up with old friends as well as meeting new ones … while, against all the odds, Eden and Lydia find danger and reward in equal measure. less