The King's Falcon — Stella Riley

A tale of war and witchcraft ...plots and playhouses ... love and loyalty.
Following his coronation in Scotland, Charles ll leads an army south to reclaim his throne but the dream ends in a crushing defeat at Worcester, leaving no alternative but flight. With little more than the clothes on their backs, Ashley Peverell and Francis Langley manage to reach Paris where Ashley, known to some as The Falcon, resumes his under-cover and unpaid work for the King.
Beautiful, stubborn and street-wise, Athenais de Galzain has risen from the slums of Paris to become the Marais Theatre's leading actress. Unfortunately, this brings her to the attention of the Marquis d'Auxerre - an influential nobleman of unsavoury reputation who is accustomed to taking what he wants.
While the Prince's Fronde flares up anew and turns the city into a battle-ground, Francis is bullied into helping his sister, Celia, obtain a divorce from Eden Maxwell.
Currently working as a cryptographer in the Commonwealth's intelligence service, Eden watches Cromwell creating a king-sized space for himself and begins to question the cause to which he has devoted a decade of his life.
From the first, Ashley and Athenais are drawn together with the unstoppable force of two stars colliding; a force which Ashley, lacking both money and prospects and aware of the frequency with which he's required to risk his life, cannot deny but resolves to conceal. He has only two priorities; his work for Charles ll and his determination to protect Athenais from the Marquis. Both are to test him to the limits.
'The King's Falcon' follows the Cavalier's last crusade and the bitter, poverty-stricken exile that followed it. There is danger, intrigue and romance in this sequel to 'The Black Madonna' and 'Garland of Straw'.

Stella Riley is the 2019 Readers' Favorite Gold Medallist for Historical Romance and proud to have been awarded five B.R.A.G. medallions.
Praise for The King's Falcon ...
“Highly engaging characters with beautifully researched historical detail.”