Dark Steel

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by Le Veque, Kathryn




  Dark Steel

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  A Dark Sons Novel

  © Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc.

  Kindle Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Cover by Kim Killion

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited.

  All Rights Reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook, once purchased, may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or borrow it, or it was not purchased for you and given as a gift for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If this book was purchased on an unauthorized platform, then it is a pirated and/or unauthorized copy and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Do not purchase or accept pirated copies. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Medieval Romance:

  De Wolfe Pack Series:

  Warwolfe

  The Wolfe

  Nighthawk

  ShadowWolfe

  DarkWolfe

  A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas

  Serpent

  A Wolfe Among Dragons

  Scorpion

  Dark Destroyer

  The Lion of the North

  Walls of Babylon

  The de Russe Legacy:

  The Falls of Erith

  Lord of War: Black Angel

  The Iron Knight

  Beast

  The Dark One: Dark Knight

  The White Lord of Wellesbourne

  Dark Moon

  Dark Steel

  The de Lohr Dynasty:

  While Angels Slept

  Rise of the Defender

  Steelheart

  Shadowmoor

  Silversword

  Spectre of the Sword

  Unending Love

  Archangel

  Lords of East Anglia:

  While Angels Slept

  Godspeed

  Great Lords of le Bec:

  Great Protector

  House of de Royans:

  Lord of Winter

  To the Lady Born

  Lords of Eire:

  Echoes of Ancient Dreams

  Blacksword

  The Darkland

  Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:

  The Whispering Night

  Netherworld

  Battle Lords of de Velt:

  The Dark Lord

  Devil’s Dominion

  Bay of Fear

  Reign of the House of de Winter:

  Lespada

  Swords and Shields

  De Reyne Domination:

  Guardian of Darkness

  With Dreams

  The Fallen One

  House of d’Vant:

  Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)

  The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)

  The Dragonblade Series:

  Fragments of Grace

  Dragonblade

  Island of Glass

  The Savage Curtain

  The Fallen One

  Great Marcher Lords of de Lara

  Lord of the Shadows

  Dragonblade

  House of St. Hever

  Fragments of Grace

  Island of Glass

  Queen of Lost Stars

  Lords of Pembury:

  The Savage Curtain

  Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy

  The Thunder Lord

  The Thunder Warrior

  The Thunder Knight

  The Great Knights of de Moray:

  Shield of Kronos

  The Gorgon

  The House of De Nerra:

  The Falls of Erith

  Vestiges of Valor

  Realm of Angels

  Highland Warriors of Munro:

  The Red Lion

  Deep Into Darkness

  The House of de Garr:

  Lord of Light

  Realm of Angels

  Saxon Lords of Hage:

  The Crusader

  Kingdom Come

  High Warriors of Rohan:

  High Warrior

  The House of Ashbourne:

  Upon a Midnight Dream

  The House of D’Aurilliac:

  Valiant Chaos

  The House of De Dere:

  Of Love and Legend

  St. John and de Gare Clans:

  The Warrior Poet

  The House of de Bretagne:

  The Questing

  The House of Summerlin:

  The Legend

  The Kingdom of Hendocia:

  Kingdom by the Sea

  Contemporary Romance:

  Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:

  Valley of the Shadow

  The Eden Factor

  Canyon of the Sphinx

  The American Heroes Anthology Series:

  The Lucius Robe

  Fires of Autumn

  Evenshade

  Sea of Dreams

  Purgatory

  Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:

  Lady of Heaven

  Darkling, I Listen

  In the Dreaming Hour

  River’s End

  The Fountain

  Sons of Poseidon:

  The Immortal Sea

  Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):

  Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight

  Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque

  The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight

  Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque

  Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.

  There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.

  Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.

  For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval World of Le Veque.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Kathryn Le Veque Novels

  Author’s Note

  Children of Gaston and Remington de Russe

  The Shrewsbury (Salop) Battle Horn

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  A
uthor’s Note

  Welcome to Dane Stoneley de Russe’s story!

  When I first wrote about Dane, it was as a secondary character, and the son of the heroine, in THE DARK ONE: DARK KNIGHT. Dane was a precocious but adorable seven year old, constantly getting himself (and others) into trouble. Therefore, I had to think about Dane before I started writing about him as an adult – what kind of man did he grow up to be?

  The answer was: a good one.

  With Remington as his mother, and Gaston as his stepfather, he couldn’t help but grow up properly guided. He’s grown up into a thoughtful, career-oriented knight. But Dane’s problem? He’s trusting. Sometimes too trusting.

  While Dane’s brother, Trenton (Dark Moon), grew up into a hardened assassin, Dane didn’t go in that direction. He’s a virtuous, chivalrous man, but he has a flaw – he lets his emotions get the better of him sometimes. Sometimes he acts before he thinks (and we saw that when he was a boy). He never outgrew it.

  Enter Grier de Lara.

  Smart, and rather naïve, she has the same trusting manner that Dane has, but she has a bitter streak in her as well. You’ll discover that. It was such a joy to write about this pair and I hope that joy shows. Now, there are a few Welsh references in this book, as it’s set on the Welsh Marches, so I’ve once again provided a pronunciation key to help as you go along:

  Idloes: EEED-loys (much like the pronunciation of Eloi, from H.G. Wells “The Time Machine”)

  Grier: Greer

  Eolande: Yo-LAWND (her nickname is Landy, which is pronounced LAWNDY)

  Moria (as in the Mother Abbess): Moriah/Mariah

  That’s about all of the “odd” pronunciations in this novel, so read on and hopefully enjoy Dane’s story. It’s a very fast and thrilling adventure, so hold on for a swift ride!

  Love,

  Children of Gaston and Remington de Russe

  Trenton (Gaston’s first marriage to Mari-Elle de Russe) married to Lysabel Wellesbourne

  Dane (Remington’s first marriage to Guy Stoneley) married to Grier de Lara

  Adeliza (married, has issue)

  Arica (married, has issue)

  Cortland (Cort)

  Matthieu (married, has issue)

  Boden

  Gage

  Gilliana

  The Shrewsbury (Salop) Battle Horn

  (Folk song, author unknown, melody unknown.

  Thought to have been composed in the 14th century)

  In days gone by

  A rallying cry,

  Meant for one and all.

  As brave men would fight,

  Deep into the night,

  For the safety of those at Salop.

  Heeding this cry,

  A devil’s son,

  Became a duke of Salop.

  A man so true,

  No who knew,

  The pain he suffered through.

  A lady fair,

  No man would care,

  To call upon her heart.

  But the devil’s duke,

  Beyond rebuke,

  Loved her as none would dare.

  (chorus repeat)

  In days gone by

  A rallying cry,

  Meant for one and all.

  As brave men would fight,

  Deep into the night,

  For the safety of those at Salop.

  For the lady and her Duke of Salop.

  De Russe motto: Et est spes est virtus

  “In Valor there is Hope”

  Shrewsbury Motto: Tantum in me, Deus, et rex fortis dominabitur

  “Only God and the King shall rule me”

  PROLOGUE

  1519 A.D., October

  Battle of Erwood Castle

  Welsh Marches

  The Shrewsbury horn had blared.

  “Dane! Behind you!”

  Sir Dane de Russe heard his brother’s cry, bending in with the plaintive cry of the battle horn, and he ducked low and tried to spin away from whatever was coming up behind him. But he wasn’t fast enough, nor was his body pressed low enough. A blow from a shield, the broadside shoved at him, caught him on the head and shoulder, and down he went over the side of the embankment.

  Sliding, spinning, out of control, the weight from the armor he wore carried him down the side of the slippery slope. It was pouring buckets, the angry pewter sky above sending a deluge down to the earth as the Shrewsbury army and an angry Welsh army faced off at the base of Erwood Castle.

  Water and mud ended up in Dane’s mouth as, halfway down the slope, he finally rammed a dagger into the hillside like an anchor so he wouldn’t slide all the way down into the moat. Down there, men were up to their waists in muck, struggling to not only stay alive, but struggling to kill the men who were trying to kill them in return.

  It was sheer madness.

  But it was worse up above. At the top of the embankment, where there was a partially destroyed wall, men were fighting with swords and pikes. But when they lost those, fists were flying. As a result, some of the battle had turned into a massive fist fight, and men were sliding down the slope and into the moat on a regular basis to the point that there was more fighting going on in the moat than on land. Dane didn’t want to make it into that moat; once men went in, they were stuck.

  They were dead.

  Overhead, the sky lit up with thunder and lightning, creating a brilliant display, but in the mud lands of Erwood, no one noticed. They were all trying to keep alive, caught up in their own battles as the Duke of Shrewsbury’s army tried to regain control of Erwood, a small but vital outpost along the Welsh Marches in the very southern fringes of Shrewsbury’s territory that was disputed between the English and the Welsh. Shrewsbury claimed it, and had for decades, but a resurgence of Welsh rebellion, very unusual in this day and age, was trying to gain it back.

  And that was why the English were here, sliding down slippery slopes and ending up in a moat of mud and blood. Dane had managed to avoid most of it so far. As he reached the top of the embankment, he paused, catching his breath and looking out over the great mass of fighting, dying men. It was beyond chaotic, and he found himself reflecting on how he’d come to this moment in time, fighting on the Welsh Marches for a slip of a castle that everyone wanted.

  Truthfully, he didn’t want to be here.

  But he had little choice.

  Dane had assumed control of one of his father’s outposts along the Marches not quite a year ago, and what a glorious year it had been. Blackmore Castle had become his, along with the lordship, and for the first time in his life, Dane had been in complete control of something that was his very own.

  Not that he minded serving his father, the Duke of Warminster. In fact, he’d loved serving his father as the captain of his army, but a man wanted more in life than to be subservient to a parent. His father knew that, as did his mother, so when Gaston de Russe had purchased Blackmore Castle from the king, he’d given it to Dane with the provision that Dane remain loyal to the Dukedom of Warminster.

  That hadn’t been a difficult task.

  Taking a younger brother with him, Dane and Boden de Russe had set out for Blackmore Castle with four hundred de Russe troops and another knight, William Wellesbourne. It had been a great adventure for the de Russe brothers, and the Wellesbourne knight, but when they got to their destination, they’d discovered Blackmore Castle to be a rather dilapidated bunch of stones.

  Still, it didn’t matter; to Dane, it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and a scant year later, Blackmore was mostly rebuilt thanks to hard work and de Russe money. Dane had built friendships and alliances among the border lords, including the elderly Duke of Shrewsbury, which was how he found himself here.

  Aye… he remembered well how he got to Erwood.

  Shrewsbury.

  Old Garreth de Lara, Duke of Shrewsbury and Lord of the Trinity Castles, knew Dane’s father and had taken an immediate liking to Dane. Shrewsbury wasn’t far from Blackmore, only a half-day’s ride, and Garret
h came to visit Dane and Boden and William nearly every other week. He brought men with him, men he’d given to Dane to plump up his army of four hundred into an army of seven hundred, and he’d brought gifts and horses and food with him. He even brought his captain, Sir Dastan du Reims, a god of a man who had women falling all over him in spite of the fact that he was married. They would all sit together at night, feasting and telling stories. Garreth loved Dastan, but he loved Dane more. He showered the man with gifts.

  It was as if Dane had a rich uncle who had suddenly died and left him everything.

  Only Shrewsbury wasn’t dead, and being that he was in good health, he wasn’t even close to meeting death. He was simply a lonely old man with no sons and an only daughter who was off in a convent somewhere. He took great delight in Dane and his brother, and in William Wellesbourne, whose family was so close to the House of de Russe that he was considered family, too.

  Family…

  That part of his family was here, fighting in this mess, and thoughts of William and Boden shook Dane from his reflections. Those two were around here, somewhere, as was the duke, and Dane was coming to think he needed to locate the pair sooner rather than later. With all of the chaos going on, he wanted to make sure they were well.

  He wanted to make sure Garreth was well, too.

  The old duke had no business in a battle but because it was his property, he had insisted on coming. Dastan had tried to stop him, as had Dane, but Garreth wouldn’t be dissuaded. He had a contingent of bodyguards that he kept with him. But for Dane’s own peace of mind, he wanted to make sure the old warrior was in one piece. The battle had been particularly brutal, especially with the Welsh involved, so something told him to find Garreth and ensure the man’s safety even though he was fairly certain Dastan hadn’t let the old duke out of his sight. Still, Dane might even be able to talk him into returning to camp, but something told him that wasn’t a possibility.

  Heaving himself up from the muddy slope, Dane went on the hunt. Almost immediately, he could see Boden over by the keep. His brother was whole and sound, shouting to some Shrewsbury men, so Dane didn’t worry any more about him. Now, he turned his attention to the twin baileys, faced with a writhing mass of men.

  One man found, two to go.

 

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