Fire and Ice

Six months after the defeat of King Harald at Senlac Hill near Hastings, the English and Danes are still resisting Norman rule. For the beautiful Juliana and her family residing in sleepy Bertone (Barton) life would never be the same again.

Sir Richard de Gant has sent his men to take the small Lincolnshire town by force. Juliana witnesses her father’s death when he perishes at the point of a Norman sword after being provoked by their outrageous demands. Juliana and her mother remain in the Hall and when Sir Richard makes his way to the town and claims it as his own, he also claims Juliana as his prize.

Only weeks later, a mercenary in the Norman army, Ulfric, and his Norse companion, Thorvald, arrive to claim Bertone. Ulfric has been given the title to the lands by the King himself. From that moment de Gant is a sworn enemy of the family and of Ulfric, especially when he also claims Juliana and offers her and her mother sanctuary in the Hall under his protection.

Juliana is relieved to be free of the threat of de Gant but Ulfric is clever and single-minded in his attempts to win her as his lady. Erik, who has been betrothed to Juliana since birth, also has a claim on her, but it is de Gant whose infatuation forces him to take drastic action and abduct Juliana from her home with dire results.