by Tamara Leigh
“He would say—Grind your failings and losses to rubble beneath your feet.”
He would, after greatly shaming one who fell even slightly short of the mark set higher than most could reach.
“He would say—Be a warrior, Dougray D’Argent.”
He would, though never would he add his surname to his sister-in-law’s baseborn son. Dougray had been treated nearly as well as those of legitimate birth, but ever Hugh left him nameless.
“He would say—Be a man.”
He would, but that last pushed too far, Godfroi D’Argent unmanning Dougray the same as it was said Adela thought him unmanned by his injury. Adela who would wed within hours and lie in another’s arms this night.
Dougray struggled to keep reason intact, but that slender thread snapped.
He cursed, bellowed, threw off a man-at-arms. And was slammed to the floor by the other, straddled, his one and a half arms wrenched together behind his back. Then all the raised voices—angry and beseeching alike—were silenced by a fist to the temple.
Ever Dougray was quick to recover from such blows, whether they dazed or rendered him unconscious, and this was no exception. However, whatever slight hope remained for Adela and him was lost when he roused and found he was being bound to his bed.
When he was released two days later, the woman he loved was another man’s wife and possibly soon to be the mother of another man’s child. That Dougray would not trespass upon. Never would he be the same as the one who made him on his mother. Never would any child of his be nameless.
And never again would he darken the home of the family D’Argent.
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Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of NAMELESS: Book Three in the Age of Conquest series. Watch for its release in Autumn 2019.
For new releases and special promotions, subscribe to Tamara Leigh’s mailing list: www.TamaraLeigh.com
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Aelfled/Aelf: AYL-flehd
Aetheling: AATH-uhl-eeng
Alfrith: AAL-frihth
Balliol: BAY-lee-uhl
Bernia: BUHR-nee-uh
Boudica: BOO-dih-kuh
Campagnon: CAHM-paan-yah
Chanson: SHAHN-sahn
Cyr: SEE-uhr
D’Argent: DAR-zhahnt
Dougray: DOO-gray
Eberhard/Ebbe: EH-buh-hahrt/EH-buh
Em: EHM
Estienne: EHs-tee-ihn
Fortier: FOHR-tee-ay
Fulbert: FOO-behr
Guarin: GAA-rahn
Gytha: JIY-thuh
Hawisa/Isa: HAH-wee-suh/EE-suh
Hugh: HYOO
Jaxon: JAAK-suhn
Lavonne: LUH-vahn
Maël: MAY-luh
Mary Sarah: MAA-ree-SAA-ruh
Nicola: NEE-koh-luh
Ordric: OHR-drihk
Pierre: PEE-ehr
Ravven: RAY-vihn
Raymond: RAY-mohnd
Roger: ROH-zheh
Sigward: SEEG-wuhrd
Theriot: TEH-ree-oh
Wulf: WUULF
Wulfrith: WUUL-frihth
Vitalis: VEE-tah-lihs
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
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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
GLOSSARY
AETHELING: term used to denote royal princes qualified for kinship
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
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
CLEAN READ HISTORICAL ROMANCE
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THE FEUD: A Medieval Romance Series
Baron Of Godsmere: Book One
Baron Of Emberly: Book Two
Baron of Blackwood: Book Three
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LADY: A Medieval Romance Series
Lady At Arms: Book One
Lady Of Eve: Book Two
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BEYOND TIME: A Medieval Time Travel Romance Series
Dreamspell: Book One
Lady Ever After: Book Two
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STAND-ALONE Medieval Romance Novels
Lady Of Fire
Lady Of Conquest
Lady Undaunted
Lady Betrayed
INSPIRATIONAL HISTORICAL ROMANCE
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AGE OF FAITH: A Medieval Romance Series
The Unveiling: Book One
The Yielding: Book Two
The Redeeming: Book Three
The Kindling: Book Four
The Longing: Book Five
The Vexing: Book Six
The Awakening: Book Seven
The Raveling: Book Eight
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AGE OF CONQUEST: A Medieval Romance Series
Merciless: Book One
Fearless: Book Two (Spring 2019)
Nameless: Book Three (Autumn 2019)
INSPIRATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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HEAD OVER HEELS: Stand-Alone Romance Collection
Stealing Adda
Perfecting Kate
Splitting Harriet
Faking Grace
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SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT: A Contemporary Romance Series
Leaving Carolina: Book One
Nowhere, Carolina: Book Two
Restless in Carolina: Book Three
OUT-OF-PRINT GENERAL MARKET REWRITES
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Warrior Bride 1994: Bantam Books (Lady At Arms)
*Virgin Bride 1994: Bantam Books (Lady Of Eve)
Pagan Bride 1995: Bantam Books (Lady Of Fire)
Saxon Bride 1995: Bantam Books (Lady Of Conquest)
Misbegotten 1996: HarperCollins (Lady Undaunted)
Unforgotten 1997: HarperCollins (Lady Ever After)
Blackheart 2001: Dorchester Leisure (Lady Betrayed)
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*Virgin Bride is the sequel to Warrior Bride; Pagan Pride and Saxon Bride are stand-alone novels
For new releases and special promotions, subscribe to Tamara Leigh’s mailing list: 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 places on national bestseller lists.
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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.
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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, Lady of Eve, and Lady of Conquest. In late 2018, she released MERCILESS, the first book in the new AGE OF CONQUEST series unveiling the origins of the Wulfrith family. Psst!—It all began with a woman.
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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.
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Connect with Tamara at her website www.tamaraleigh.com, Facebook, Twitter and [email protected].
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For new releases and special promotions, subscribe to Tamara Leigh’s mailing list: www.tamaraleigh.com