Kathleen Kirkwoood’s HIS FAIR LADY- Excellent Medieval Romance!

A murderous assault on the village of Vaux leaves “Ana” an orphan. She alone is rescued from the burning wreckage by a young squire traveling to the Holy Land with knights. He delivers Ana to a peasant couple’s care at a neighboring village. Before departing, he gave her the silver cross from around his neck, engraved with his family’s motto.

After a decade of fighting in the east, Sir Royce de Warrene returns to England a celebrated knight. But he soon discovers the terrible mistake he made on that long-ago night. The orphan girl was no peasant child, but an heiress of noble blood — Lady Juliana Mandeville. King John charges him to find her and restore her to her aging grandfather.

 

This is the story of Sir Royce’s quest and his relationship with now beautiful Ana who, once found, refuses to believe she is not the daughter of the peasants who raised her. He is a noble knight and suffers her antics with good grace. Meantime in England, she meets her grandfather and confronts her real heritage.

 

Kirkwood does an excellent job of presenting the medieval setting, the history of the early 13^th century, and the characters who dwell therein, both real and fictional. I loved her detail and the slowly evolving relationship between Ana and Sir Royce. A really well-told tale.