by Tamara Leigh
“Lady Robine,” said he who did not dislike her as much as his brother.
“Lady?” scorned the other, and when he shifted his gaze lower, she understood why he questioned that. She who was now a woman held the doll of a girl.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of DAUNTLESS, the eighth and final book in the Age of Conquest series. Watch for its release Summer/Autumn 2021.
For new releases and special promotions, subscribe to Tamara Leigh’s mailing list: www.TamaraLeigh.com
AGE OF CONQUEST PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Abelard: AA-buh-lahrd
Aelfled/Aelf: AYL-flehd
Aethelflaed: EH-thul-flehd
Aetheling: AA-thuh-leeng
Aiken: AY-kihn
Alditha: AHL-dee-thuh
Alfrith: AAL-frihth
Alvilda: ahl-VEEL-duh
Ardith: AHR-dihth
Asbjorn: AHS-bee-yohrn
Asketil: AAS-kuh-tihl
Balliol: BAY-lee-uhl
Bayard: BAY-ahr
Bernia: BUHR-nee-uh
Bjorn: BEE-yohrn
Boudica: BOO-dih-kuh
Boursier: BUUR-see-ay
Campagnon: KAHM-paan-yah
Canute: Kuh-NOOT
Chanson: SHAHN-sahn
Christophe: KRIHS-tahf
Ciel: SEE-ehl
Colban: KOHL-buhn
Cyr: SEE-uhr
D’Argent: DAR-zhahnt
Daryl: DAA-rihl
Deda: DAY-duh
Diarmad: DIHR-maad
Dougray: DOO-gray
Dubh: DOOV
Dunfermline: duhn-FUHRM-luhn
Eadwine: EED-wiyn
Ebbe: EH-buh
Eberhard: EH-buh-hahrt
Edelwine: EH-duhl-wihn
Edwin: EHD-wihn
Elan: EE-lahn
Ely: EE-lee
Em: EHM
Emma: EHM-uh
Estienne: EHs-tee-ihn
Fortier: FOHR-tee-ay
Fulbert: FOO-behr
Gerald: JEHR-uhld
Gloucester: GLAH-stuhr
Gloucestershire: GLAH-stuhr-shuhr
Godfroi: GAWD-frwah
Godwine: GAHD-wihn
Gospatric: GAHS-paa-trihk
Grandmesnil: GRAHN-may-neel
Guarin: GAA-rahn
Guy: GEE
Gwain: GWAYN
Gytha: JIY-thuh
Hawisa/Isa: HAH-wee-suh/EE-suh
Hendrie: HEHN-dree
Herba: UHR-buh
Hereward: HEHR-uh-wuhrd
Hugh: HYOO
Ingvar: EENG-Vah
Is ceol mo chroí thú: Ihs kyohl muh kree hoo (you are the music of my heart)
Ivo: EE-voh
Jacques: ZHAAK
Jaxon: JAAK-suhn
Lavonne: LUH-vahn
Leicestershire: LEH-stuhr-shuur
Leofe: LEE-ohf
Liath: LEE-uh
Maël: MAY-luh
Maëlys: MAY-lees
Maerleswein: MAYRL-swiyn
Marguerite: MAH-guh-reet
Mary Sarah: MAA-ree-SAA-ruh
Maxen: MAAK-suhn
Mercia: MUHR-see-uh
Merle: MUHRL-uh
Michel: MEE-shehl
Mo ghaol: muh gihl (my love)
Mo shíorghrá: muh HEER-grah (my eternal love)
Nicola: NEE-koh-luh
Ordric: OHR-drihk
Pepin: PEH-pihn
Pierre: PEE-ehr
Ravven: RAY-vihn
Raymond: RAY-mohnd
Rhiannyn: REE-aan-uhn
Richard: REE-shahrd
Rixende: RIHKS-ahnd
Robine: rah-BEEN
Roche: ROHSH
Roger: ROH-zheh
Roul: ROO-l
Sévère: SAY-vehr
Séverine: SAY-vuh-reen
Sigward: SEEG-wuhrd
Stephen: STAY-fahn
Stigand: STIY-guhnd
Sweyn: SVIHN
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat: Tah muh kree ihsh-tihg uhn aat (my heart is in you)
Taillebois: TIY-uh-bwah
Tha gaol agam ort: Haa gihl ah kuhm ohrsht (I love you)
Theriot: TEH-ree-oh
Theta: THEH-tuh
Thurstan: THUR-stuhn
Torquay: tohr-KEE
Turfida: TUHR-fee-duh
Turold: TOO-rohld
Vilda: VEEL-duh
Vitalis: VEE-tah-lihs
Warenne: WOHR-ihn
Wulf: WUULF
Wulfrith: WUUL-frihth
Wynflaed: WIHN-flehd
Zedekiah: ZEH-duh-KIY-uh
PRONUNCIATION KEY
VOWELS
aa: arrow, castle
ay: chain, lady
ah: fought, sod
aw: flaw, paw
eh: bet, leg
ee: king, league
ih: hilt, missive
iy: knight, write
oh: coat, noble
oi: boy, coin
oo: fool, rule
ow: cow, brown
uh: sun, up
uu: book, hood
y: yearn, yield
CONSONANTS
b: bailey, club
ch: charge, trencher
d: dagger, hard
f: first, staff
g: gauntlet, stag
h: heart, hilt
j: jest, siege
k: coffer, pike
l: lance, vassal
m: moat, pommel
n: noble, postern
ng: ring, song
p: pike, lip
r: rain, far
s: spur, pass
sh: chivalry, shield
t: tame, moat
th: thistle, death
t~h: that, feather
v: vassal, missive
w: water, wife
wh: where, whisper
z: zip, haze
zh: treasure, vision
AGE OF CONQUEST GLOSSARY
ANDREDESWALD: forest that covered areas of Sussex and Surrey in England
ANGLO-SAXON: people of the Angles (Denmark) and Saxons (northern Germany) of which the population of 11th century England was mostly comprised
BLIAUT: medieval gown
BRAIES: men’s underwear
CASTELLAN: commander of a castle
CHAUSSES: men’s close-fitting leg coverings
CHEMISE: loose-fitting undergarment or nightdress
CHEVALIER: a knight of France
COIF: hood-shaped cap made of cloth or chain mail
DEMESNE: home and adjoining lands held by a lord
DONJON: tower at center of a castle serving as a lord’s living area
DOTTER: meaning “daughter”; attached to a woman’s name to identify her by whose daughter she is
EMBRASURE: opening in a wall often used by archers
FEALTY: tenant or vassal’s sworn loyalty to a lord
FORTNIGHT: two weeks
FREE MAN: person not a slave or serf
GARDEROBE: enclosed toilet
GIRDLE: belt worn upon which purses or weaponry might be attached
HILT: grip or handle of a sword or dagger
HOUSECARLE: elite warrior who was a lord’s personal bodyguard
KNAVE: dishonest or unprincipled man
LEAGUE: equivalent to approximately three miles
LIEGE: superior or lord
MAIL: garments of armor made of linked metal rings
MISCREANT: badly behaving person
MISSIVE: letter
MOAT: defensive ditch, dry or filled with water
MORROW: tomorrow; the next day
MOTTE: mound of earth
NITHING: derogatory term for someone without honor
NOBLE: one of high birth
NORMAN: people whose origins lay in Normandy on the continent
NORMANDY: principality of northern France founded in the early tenth century by the viking Rollo
PARCHMENT: treated animal skin used for writing
&nbs
p; PELL: used for combat training, a vertical post set in the ground against which a sword was beat
PIKE: long wooden shaft with a sharp steel or iron head
POLTROON: utter coward
POMMEL: counterbalance weight at the end of a sword hilt or a knob located at the fore of a saddle
PORTCULLIS: metal or wood gate lowered to block a passage
POSTERN GATE: rear door in a wall, often concealed to allow occupants to arrive and depart inconspicuously
QUINTAIN: post used for lance training to which a dummy and sandbag are attached; the latter swings around and hits the unsuccessful tilter
SALLY PORT: small hidden entrance and exit in a fortification
SAXON: Germanic people, many of whom conquered and settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries
SENNIGHT: one week
SHIRE: division of land; England was divided into earldoms, next shires, then hundreds
THANE: in Anglo-Saxon England, a member of the nobility or landed aristocracy who owed military and administrative duty to an overlord, above all the king; owned at least five hides of land
TRENCHER: large piece of stale bread used as a bowl for food
VASSAL: one who holds land from a lord and owes fealty
Also by Tamara Leigh
AVAILABLE IN EBOOK, PAPERBACK, AND AUDIOBOOK
INSPIRATIONAL HISTORICAL ROMANCE
AGE OF CONQUEST: 11th CENTURY MEDIEVAL SERIES
MERCILESS: Book One ~ Amazon
FEARLESS: Book Two ~ Amazon
NAMELESS: Book Three ~ Amazon
HEARTLESS: Book Four ~ Amazon
RECKLESS: Book Five ~ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo
BOUNDLESS: Book Six ~ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo
LAWLESS: Book Seven ~ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo
DAUNTLESS: Book Eight ~ Amazon (Autumn 2021)
AGE OF FAITH: 12th CENTURY MEDIEVAL SERIES
THE UNVEILING: Book One ~ Amazon
THE YIELDING: Book Two ~ Amazon
THE REDEEMING: Book Three ~ Amazon
THE KINDLING: Book Four ~ Amazon
THE LONGING: Book Five ~ Amazon
THE VEXING: Book Six ~ Amazon
THE AWAKENING: Book Seven ~ Amazon
THE RAVELING: Book Eight ~ Amazon
THE FEUD: MEDIEVAL SERIES
BARON OF GODSMERE: Book One ~ Amazon
BARON OF EMBERLY: Book Two ~ Amazon
BARON OF BLACKWOOD: Book Three ~ Amazon
LADY: MEDIEVAL SERIES
LADY AT ARMS: Book One ~ Amazon
LADY OF EVE: Book Two ~ Amazon
BEYOND TIME: MEDIEVAL TIME TRAVEL SERIES
DREAMSPELL: Book One ~ Amazon
LADY EVER AFTER: Book Two ~ Amazon
STAND-ALONE MEDIEVAL NOVELS
LADY OF FIRE ~ Amazon
LADY OF CONQUEST ~ Amazon
LADY UNDAUNTED ~ Amazon
LADY BETRAYED ~ Amazon
INSPIRATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
HEAD OVER HEELS COLLECTION: STAND-ALONE NOVELS
STEALING ADDA ~ Amazon
PERFECTING KATE ~ Amazon
SPLITTING HARRIET ~ Amazon
FAKING GRACE ~ Amazon
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT SERIES
LEAVING CAROLINA: Book One ~ Amazon
NOWHERE CAROLINA: Book Two ~ Amazon
RESTLESS IN CAROLINA: Book Three ~ Amazon
OUT-OF-PRINT GENERAL MARKET TITLES
Bantam/HarperCollins/Dorchester
WARRIOR BRIDE 1994 (Lady At Arms rewrite)
VIRGIN BRIDE 1994 (Lady Of Eve rewrite)
PAGAN BRIDE 1995 (Lady Of Fire rewrite)
SAXON BRIDE 1995 (Lady Of Conquest rewrite)
MISBEGOTTEN 1996 (Lady Undaunted rewrite)
UNFORGOTTEN 1997 (Lady Ever After rewrite)
BLACKHEART 2001 (Lady Betrayed rewrite)
www.tamaraleigh.com
About the Author
Tamara Leigh signed a 4-book contract with Bantam Books in 1993, her debut medieval romance was nominated for a RITA award, and successive books with Bantam, HarperCollins, and Dorchester earned awards and appeared on national bestseller lists.
In 2006, the first of Tamara’s inspirational contemporary romances was published, followed by six more with Multnomah and RandomHouse. Perfecting Kate was optioned for a movie, Splitting Harriet won an ACFW Book of the Year award, and Faking Grace was nominated for a RITA award.
In 2012, Tamara returned to the historical romance genre with the release of Dreamspell and the bestselling Age of Faith and The Feud series. Among her #1 bestsellers are her general market romances rewritten as clean and inspirational reads, including Lady at Arms and Lady of Conquest. In late 2018, she released MERCILESS, the first book in the new AGE OF CONQUEST series, to be followed by seven more unveiling the origins of the Wulfrith family. PSST!—It All Began With a Woman. Watch for DAUNTLESS, the eighth and final book in Autumn 2021.
Tamara lives near Nashville with her husband, a German Shepherd who has never met a squeaky toy she can’t destroy, and a feisty Morkie who keeps her company during long writing stints.
Connect with Tamara at her website www.tamaraleigh.com, Facebook, Twitter and [email protected].
For new releases and special promotions, subscribe to Tamara Leigh’s mailing list: www.tamaraleigh.com