Behind the Chain Mail: Legendary Bastards of the Crown (A Look Behind the Series Book 1) Read online

  Behind the Chain Mail (A Look Behind the Series)

  Legendary Bastards of the Crown

  Elizabeth Rose

  RoseScribe Media Inc.

  Copyright © 2018 by Elizabeth Rose Krejcik

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual organizations or persons living or deceased is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the author’s written permission.

  Cover created by Elizabeth Rose Krejcik

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Contents

  A note from Elizabeth Rose

  Birth of the Bastard Triplets

  Destiny’s Kiss

  Ross Douglas

  Lady Annalyse Granville

  Excerpt from Destiny’s Kiss

  Restless Sea Lord

  Rowen the Restless

  Lady Cordelia de Clare

  Excerpt from Restless Sea Lord

  Spoiler Herald

  Spoiler

  Ruthless Knight

  Rook the Ruthless

  Lady Calliope Duval

  Excerpt from Ruthless Knight

  Reckless Highlander

  Reed the Reckless

  Maggie Gordon

  Excerpt from Reckless Highlander

  More to come!

  Map

  Family Tree

  The Gift

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  From the Author

  About Elizabeth

  Also by Elizabeth Rose

  Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of the making of a novel? I am a lover of the Turner Classics Movies and find it fascinating to hear the announcer give tidbits of information about the actors before the movie, or tell what happened on set or even why the films were made at all. That got me to thinking about my own novels and I decided to share insights that have to do with the writing of my characters, the settings, the situations, and just about anything that gives a deeper look behind the writing of a series.

  Come along on this adventure as I relay inside information about all that went into the making of The Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series. I have also included excerpts from each of the books as well as a map and family tree. At the end, you will find a brand new short story that includes some of the characters from the series and is only found here.

  Enjoy,

  Elizabeth Rose

  If you are familiar with my work, I am sure you will realize I like to put twins into the equation quite often while writing a series. In medieval times, twins were considered a curse, not a blessing. People were very superstitious back then. The first twin didn’t get such a bad rap as the second one born. Still, they were considered spawned by the devil. It was believed that anyone who had twins would be cursed and have bad things happen to them.

  Well, how fun is that to write about in a novel? I love sprinkling in superstition, curses, customs, traditions, and even a little magic once in a while.

  Let me tell you how the idea of triplets came to me. I wanted to write a trilogy about three brothers but I wanted it to be a little different. I started thinking about all the superstitions of medieval times and how much trouble that could cause a person back then. That made me think, if someone had triplets, their life could be a living hell. And what if the parents were people of importance? Or what if they were illegitimate babies? That’s when I knew I had to write about bastards of the king! I don’t know off hand of any romance novels that tackle the challenge of triplets, let alone bastard triplets of a king, so, of course, I decided I had to do it.

  I love to push the envelope while plotting my stories because I don’t want anyone ever to be bored while reading my books. Honestly, I don’t want to be bored writing them either. There is always the “what if” factor while plotting a novel. Since I have written about twins in my Tarnished Saints, Legacy of the Blade, Tangled Tales, and Daughters of the Dagger Series already, I decided to switch things up a bit. And so, the bastard triplets, Rowen, Rook, and Reed were born.

  I wrote the prequel to the series that is called Destiny’s Kiss a while before the series started. In retrospect, I see now that I should not have named the bastards’ stepfather Ross, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Only because it is one more name starting with the letter “R”. In the Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series there are a lot of “Rs” flying around everywhere! (Live and learn, right?)

  Since I was on an “R” kick at the time, I ended up calling my heroes, Rowen the Restless, Rook the Ruthless, and Reed the Reckless. I gave them all different colored hair to help keep them straight.

  Since I have a background in art and create almost all of my own covers, I was able to take the same cover model but just change the color of his hair, making it black, blond and even red! Plus, since the bastard triplets all have bright blue eyes, I enhanced the cover model’s eyes as well.

  I was honored to meet my cover model/actor, Michael Foster, in person at a conference. He embodies the image of the bastard triplets to a “T”. (In a good way of course.) Michael, for those of you who don’t know him, is a big guy. He stands about six-foot-six, towering over everyone. But being as big as he is, he is also a kind and honorable man and has a terrific sense of humor. It was so fun to meet him. Since making the bastards six-foot-six would have been ridiculous for the middle ages, I scaled their height down a little.

  Each of the bastard triplets has his own story and all three of them have different personalities and lessons to learn. They each have some serious flaws as well. I love writing heroes that are a little rough around the edges. But, of course, then they meet the heroines and their lives change.

  All right, I am getting ahead of myself so let me back it up a bit and start at the very beginning of the series.

  Destiny’s Kiss is the prequel of the Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series. As in most of my prequels, I have to admit the novellas don’t always have a happily-ever-after ending. Or at least, not right away. But in my opinion, prequels don’t need to be the token romance. They are setups for the stories to follow. The more emotional the prequel is, the more issues my characters need to go through later on in their individual stories.

  In the prequel of this series, even though my hero and heroine, Ross and Annalyse end up together at the end, some bad things as well as some good things happen to them. (Hint: You will find out more about Annalyse and Ross at the end of Reckless Highlander, Book 3.)

  Destiny’s Kiss takes place at Christmastime. Woven into the plot is also the legend of kissing under the mistletoe – or the kissing bough as it was called in medieval times. Made of wire and shaped into a sphere, the ball was decorated with pine branches, holly, mistletoe and even fruit and candles.

  The kissing bough dates back to the days of ancient Greece where mistletoe was associated with fertility. It was believed that to receive a kiss under it would bring about good luck in conceiving a child, or in finding the right person to marry.

  In ancient Rome at Christmastime, a kiss could be bestowed upon one’s enemy and a truce was called. As time went on, it became a reason for flirtation with the opposite sex. It was bad luck for anyone to refuse a kiss under the kissing bough. And once a kiss was stolen, one of the berries from the kissing bough was plucked. When all the berries were gone, the
kissing was over I guess.

  Ross Douglas is a feisty Scot, five-foot-seven inches tall and has green eyes and flaming red hair. He starts out being less than honorable in plotting against the king, wanting to make him pay for something that happened in the past. Ross has vengeance in his heart. And little does he know how his plan is going to work out better – and also worse – than he expected.

  Annalyse and Ross are both victims of their own thoughts. Neither of them knows how to forgive and because of this they are thrown into a situation that forces them to look inside and change their ways in a life or death situation.

  I paired these two together because of the fact they were so much alike. I figured they were going to have to stop being so selfish and start thinking about someone other than themselves. Fate deals them a shocking hand and something neither of them had foreseen in their future. When I got done with them, they were thinking about everyone else instead of themselves!

  It wasn’t at all surprising to me that Edward wanted the bastards killed once he found out they were cursed triplets. A king would do whatever he could to protect himself and to keep bad things from happening to him. Edward had too much at stake to risk it all just for a few bastard sons. Now, if they were his legitimate heirs, he might have made a different choice entirely.

  Kings had mistresses and bastards all the time back then. That wasn’t a surprise at all. Their wives often knew about it and had to bite their tongues. Some of the medieval kings had up to a dozen illegitimate children!

  Annalyse Granville has long, blond hair and bright, green eyes. She is tall for a woman, being about five-foot-seven. In medieval times, women were on average only about five-foot-two. Men were not that tall either, only averaging about five-foot-eight. Of course, there were exceptions such as King Edward I known as Longshanks because of his extreme height of six-foot-two. The people back then must have thought he was a giant.

  Lady Annalyse Granville, being the second-born twin, has been treated unfairly because of the fear of superstition. She’s been sent away to be raised in a convent while her sister, Gabrielle, the first born, has been treated like a noble. Gabrielle has caught King Edward III’s eye and they have fallen in love. She is his mistress. Gabrielle becomes pregnant with the king’s bastard (or bastards in this case) and summons her twin sister to be with her when she gives birth.

  Annalyse was an interesting character to write because she has a lot of anger as well as despair in her heart. She despises the fact her father has sent her to a convent while he kept her twin sister there to live at Hetherpool Castle. Annalyse envies her sister who is the favored daughter of the family. In Annalyse’s opinion, Gabrielle has it all. She has wealth and riches and is pregnant with the king’s baby. Annalyse, on the other hand, has lived a life of poverty, fasting and praying. She is only allowed to wear simple, drab clothes and has never had an indulgence of any kind, let alone a kiss from a handsome man. But those jealous feelings will be put to the test when something happens to her sister and she is placed in a position she never expects.

  Even amongst all the emptiness Annalyse feels, things start looking up one Christmas as soon as a Scotsman named Ross Douglas kisses her under the kissing bough.

  Looking up to the kissing bough hanging right above her head, Annalyse’s heartbeat resounded in her ears so loudly she was sure others could hear it, too. Never had she thought she’d ever be standing under a kissing bough and the idea excited her. The bough was a ball interwoven with twigs and fir tree greenery, decorated with an apple, candles, and berries. The abundance of holly decorating it would surely bring good luck.

  Then she saw the ivy above her head and a knot formed in her stomach. Everyone knew ivy was supposed to be kept outdoors and not brought across the threshold because that meant death. Then again, perhaps that was naught more than a silly superstition. Dangling precariously from the bottom of the kissing bough was a fresh sprig of green mistletoe with several small, white berries. This was something she’d never seen at the abbey. The church didn’t allow mistletoe within its holy walls since it was associated with pagan customs and Druids.

  Once again, Annalyse felt as if she were doing something naughty by standing here. Not just because of the traditions, but because her sister needed her and she was purposely stalling. Gabrielle, being the first-born twin, had experienced kisses under the mistletoe many times in her life. Annalyse decided now it was her turn. She couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Even though Gabrielle was heavy with child and her message sounded urgent, she would have to wait just a little longer.

  “Och, my lady, I didna even see ye standin’ there.”

  Annalyse’s eyes dropped from the kissing bough to see a Scot with a tankard in his hand heading in her direction. His broad chest was large and foreboding, while his hair boasted the color of the fiery hot flames of hell. Not that she’d know what the flames of hell looked like, since she’d been raised by nuns and attended church several times a day. If the nuns hadn’t been superstitious, they would have accepted her into the Order. But they didn’t want The Almighty scowling down at them for bringing a cursed second-born twin into their Order and so she remained an outcast even in the eyes of God.

  The Scot’s craggy brows lifted and she saw a playful twinkle in his dangerous green eyes. Scots were to be feared and this one looked to be an abundance of trouble. He smiled at her. That told her he didn’t know who she was or he’d be keeping his distance. With a saffron leine half-open she could see the hairs on his chest peeking out from between the leather laces of his tunic. A dark green plaid wrapped around his waist and was thrown over one shoulder and pinned with a metal badge.

  She didn’t dare even to breathe. Never had she ever been so close to one of these savages before and wondered if she were in danger. After all, the Scots were enemies of the English. What could this man possibly be doing in her father’s castle? Her gaze shot around the room as she desperately scanned the area, looking for her sister. Gabrielle was nowhere to be seen, only ladies and knights standing under more kissing boughs. The women giggled and the men pulled them into their arms and kissed them in front of everyone. This wasn’t what she expected to find at all and it would do naught to help her out of this awkward position.

  “I suppose ye’re waitin’ for a kiss as well, my lady. Well, I willna disappoint ye.”

  Before she had a chance to object, the Scotsman pulled her up against his chest with one hand while he cradled his drink in the other.

  “I – I think you –” She never had a chance to finish her sentence because his mouth covered hers with a big, wet kiss.

  Once again, superstition made people believe holly was good luck and ivy brought indoors meant someone was going to die. Okay, I purposely mentioned that part in the book about having ivy indoors because it was a harbinger of what was going to happen by the end of the book.

  Book 1

  Now, we move on to the stories of the bastard brothers. That is, the triplets that were born from the union of Lady Gabrielle and King Edward III.

  Book 1 is about Rowen the Restless. I already had the prequel to the series written at the time, but I felt I needed to show the pivotal point in the brothers’ lives that embedded hatred for the king into their hearts.

  Therefore, the story opens with a prologue where we see the boys at twelve years of age. Now remember, they have no idea they are the sons of King Edward. They think their parents are Annalyse and Ross. But then Ross slips up and lets the cat out of the bag during Burnt Candlemas. (Sorry if you haven’t yet read the prequel to know this, but I had to tell you this in order to continue.)

  I want to explain a little about Burnt Candlemas as well. This was a time when the English were invading the Scottish coast, pillaging, killing and burning everything. A lot of people died during this horrible time. The Scots, not wanting to let the English get a hold of their land, or to leave behind food for the English to eat, started burning their own homes and possessions before they fled.


  The triplets now know the truth about who they are. They leave on their own, being angry with Ross and Annalyse for lying to them all these years. They hate King Edward for wanting them dead and decide they want to do something about it.

  Remember, they are still children. They are also in the midst of an attack from the English army, so there isn’t much they can do but hide to save their lives at this point.

  But, of course, in my usual style, I decide to throw in a few more obstacles. I added some pirates to the mix who end up abducting Rowen and raising him as a pirate as well. All three boys end up being separated.

  Rowen is six-foot- two, has bright, blue eyes and long, blond hair.

  Rowen is my pirate, as I’ve said. This wasn’t the first time I wrote about a pirate and neither will it be the last. In Lady of the Mist – Book 4 of my Legacy of the Blade Series, I have a heroine who is a pirate. Actually, there are quite a few pirates in that series.

  I researched medieval ships for these books as well as when I wrote my Barons of the Cinque Ports Series. Usually when you think of pirates, you think of the Jolly Roger flag and a ship with tons of sails that is heading through Caribbean waters. Well, that isn’t the way it was since these are medieval pirates in England. Let me tell you, it isn’t easy to find research on English pirates or even ships during the 14th century. The Jolly Roger, skull and crossbones on a black flag, wasn’t even used until the 18th century.