To Remain Vigilant - Liz Armstrong Sevchuk

England, circa 1400: Lauded by bards and envied by champions, Sir Harry Percy strides the earth with brash, graceful energy-and at the sound of his bootsteps, kings tremble. Nicknamed Hotspur for his audacity and unceasing vigilance (as if his spurs never cool), he advocates justice and opposes royal corruption as boldly as he wages war. His courage and integrity win the hearts of a nation and love of a spirited woman. But his actions give rise to troubling questions: Is a king above the law, or subject to it, like everyone? Does a knight owe fealty to a ruler, or to the realm itself? And should he be faithful to the Crown if it means he must be unfaithful to his conscience? The answers could shape destiny. Unnerved, successive kings denounce Harry's idealism as treason and determine to stop him. Thus the lines are drawn...

As Sir Harry Percy patrols England's rugged North, even the Scots, his frequent adversaries, admire his audacity and courage. Claiming his ceaseless vigilance means his spurs never cool, they call him Hotspur. Yet when Harry questions royal corruption, Richard II bestows another name: traitor.

Escaping death, Harry joins Duke Henry Bolingbroke, whose fortune Richard stole and who leads a campaign to improve Richard's governance. Soon, though, Henry, too, acts despotic, ordering executions without fair trials and plotting to seize power directly. Alarmed, Harry exacts a vow from him to not oust Richard. But Henry violates his oath, inciting a mob to force Parliament to make him King Henry IV. Harry boycotts Henry's coronation but, realizing he serves the nation regardless of who wears the crown, later returns to duty, with Henry's backing.

Will their reconciliation last? And can Harry's newfound love with an ex-abbess protect him not only from threats on the borders but those in dark palace corners? Never has his motto, Esperance-Hope-mattered more!