Dagger's Destiny - Karen Muir

“May my dagger bring you great strength and courage, in a time of need.”

For years those few words, uttered by her mother before her death, meant little to Lady Katherine de Grey. She lived a sheltered life in England, under her father’s protection, far away from outside threats. Never before, had she imagined a moment when she would actually need the dagger to protect her life. But now, with her family murdered and, Rosemont, her beloved castle, taken by force, she remembers her mother’s long-ago words and draws from her blade the power to face an uncertain future.

Tired from years of fighting, Sir Richard Weston sets himself on a new course. He has decided to wed the one woman in England that looks almost exactly like his best friend’s wife. He never counted on rescuing, Lady Katherine de Grey, his childhood friend, or on King Edward ordering him to marry the young lady to keep her out of harm’s way. In a fit of defiance, he vows not to consummate his new marriage. Instead, he sets a course to avenge Katherine’s family, reclaim her home and return to London to petition the king to dissolve their rushed marriage so he will be free to be with the only woman in England who can make him happy.

Thrown together on a dangerous quest for revenge, the newly married couple uncovers a conspiracy against the king that puts their lives in peril. Along the way, Katherine accepts Richard as her champion and recognizes that she has a chance for a new life with a man she can easily call her own. With each caress of her dagger, she empowers herself to fight for her destiny. All she has to do is convince her new husband that the woman he truly desires is already his wife.