In a Treacherous Court

IN A TREACHEROUS COURT SUSANNA HORENBOUT SERIES MICHELLE DIENER Copyright © 2011 by Michelle Diener All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction and all names, people, places and incidents are either used fictitiously or are a product of the author's imagination. Cover Design: 100Covers 2nd Edition by Daisy Crown Press Created with Vellum To my husband and children. ABOUT IN A TREACHEROUS COURT Henry VIII’s most lethal courtier and his newly appointed artist become the only thing keeping him on the throne—and if they survive, neither will ever be the same. John Parker is one of Henry VIII most useful courtiers—utterly merciless and completely loyal. But one small favor for his king will pull Parker into a deadly plot against the throne, one that will test his courage, his resolve, and most especially, his heart. A commission from Henry VIII should have been the crowning achievement of Susanna Horenbout’s career, but before the beautiful and talented artist even sets foot in England, she finds herself in possession of a secret that could change its history. With Parker as her only protection against killers who will stop at nothing to silence her, Susanna has to trust the dangerous, enigmatic courtier. She’s used to fighting in a man’s world, but she never expected to be fighting for her life. CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Free Susanna Horenbout Short Story: Dangerous Sanctuary Author’s Note Also by Michelle Diener About the Author CHAPTER 1 The Chiefe Conditions and Qualities in a Courtier: To be well borne and of a good stocke. Of the Chief Conditions and Qualityes in a Waytyng Gentylwoman: To be well born and of a good house. From: THE COURTYER OF COUNT BALDESSAR Castilio divided into foure bookes. Very necessary and profitatable for yonge Gentilmen and Gentilwomen abiding in Court, Palaice or Place, done into Englyshe by Thomas Hoby. * * * March, 1525 “I am the Keeper of Paradise, Purgatory and Hell.” John Parker spoke through gritted teeth. The shipping clerk who’d questioned his position, his right to be on the quay, backed away, stammering, and Parker got a grip on his annoyance. He wasn’t used to being challenged. Well, not these days. He’d forgotten it brought out his temper. His anger would have been hotter if the clerk had let him through unquestioned, though. The king’s goods needed ample protection. The man had been damned either way. Parker kept track of the clerk as he sidled off and disappeared into the thick mist. Still irritated, he scuffed his boot against a wharf pole and reflected that no good deed goes unpunished. The fog pressed all around, obscuring the merchants waiting along with him for the ship from the Netherlands. Their voices rose and fell in the swirling white, in tandem with the waves against the pier, and he fancied himself in some interminable hell. Only hell would be better. At least it was supposedly hot. This is what arse-licking brought you—a fog-shrouded evening freezing your balls off, waiting to meet some nancy painter who would probably smell of garlic and pick his nose all the way back to London. He thought of the Italian crossbows he’d taken delivery of earlier, the real reason for his business here, and experienced an almost physical pang at being unable to unpack the beauties tonight. The tread of a heavy boot thudded close by, strangely muffled in the thick fog, and Parker turned towards it, his hand going under his cloak to the sword at his belt. He kept silent, listening intently when the footsteps stopped. His senses sharpened, honed from years of watching his own and the king’s back, and he crept forward, soundless as the swirling fog. A face loomed out of the white and Parker closed the distance, the rush of adrenalin in his blood. “Ahhh.” The man started back in terror, his cry of fear harsh and loud. Parker relaxed at the sight of his empty hands held up in surrender. He slid the sword he hadn’t remembered drawing back into its scabbard. “Yes?” It was another clerk, a black-robed, poxy-looking fellow. He rubbed shaking hands against his cloak. “Are you the king’s man?” His voice was like the funereal scrape of a spade over gravel. “Aye.” He was the king’s man, all right. God help him. “I have news of the ship from the Netherlands.” The shipping clerk paused a moment, and to speed him up, Parker began drawing his sword again. “It put in northeast of here,” the clerk gasped. “There has been some trouble.” “What kind of trouble?” Parker tried to keep the weary cynicism from his voice. The clerk shook his head, lifted his shoulders in relief. Most likely thought it better not to know. “They are put in just eight miles up the coast, at Deal.” Parker didn’t need to ask why they hadn’t come in at Dover. He supposed he should be grateful the captain had the sense to keep whatever trouble plagued the king’s ship away from the prying eyes and gossiping tongues of the larger port. He faced northward, caught a glimpse through the mist of a lantern further along the shore, a weak beacon in the bitter-cold dusk. He reached deep within for the strength to care enough to do the king’s business. “I’ll fetch my horse.” * *