PROLOGUE May 1, 1669
Michel ran breathlessly down the long corridor, his bare feet echoing against the gleaming marble floor. Late again. His hands shook as he worked to button up the clean tunic and blue and green waistcoat Henry managed to thrust into his hands as he bolted past him down the hall. Father would be furious. That alone made him pick up his pace and make for the grand staircase, taking them two at a time.
“Hurry, Henry! Father will have my head!” Michel hissed over his shoulder, heading for the dining hall at a dead run.
The palatial estate had been built near five centuries before as a lasting testament to the Montbron wealth. Only the best artisans and craftsman from both sides of the Rhine had been allowed to work on the hulking mass. It sat on a picturesque stretch of land surrounded by lush green hills and boasted long corridors, and opulent halls of dark wood paneling and marble floors. Not that he would ever inherit any of it. Not as the third son and the black sheep of the family. Not when he could never do anything right in Father’s eyes. So unless he married well, which he had no plans to do, he’d be tossed onto the streets once his eldest brother and Comte, Jean Pierre inherited, if not sooner. He needed to ensure he could take care of himself once that happened.
He took to studying for the university entrance exams in the hopes of attending the Academie in the fall. His tutor felt he had a good enough head on his shoulders and he excelled in a number of subjects including botany, geography, and mathematics. Surely with the proper credentials, he could secure a teaching post somewhere or even tutor for a prominent family to avoid falling destitute. Knowing Father, he would not feel inclined to leave him the customary stipend to support himself.
He cut through the front parlor heading for the Grand Salon and flung open the adjoining doors to the well-appointed library buttoning himself into his clothes as he ran, parsing through possible excuses in his head.
“Come on, Henry!” he urged just steps from the dining hall.
“Here, my lord!” A red faced Henry caught up to him and thrust his hose and shoes into his hands. Michel wasted no time slipping them on as Henry struggled to retie his cravat.
“Have the lord and lady arrived at the table yet?” Michel asked under his breath. The family had been playing host for more than a week to a distant uncle and aunt visiting from Geneva. Though having company was tedious, their presence this eve would serve him well given this latest mishap. Father would be reluctant to make a fuss in good company.
“My lord, they left this afternoon,” his manservant said apologetically, picking out a piece of straw from his hair.
“What?” Michel balked as images of a shirtless and sweaty Daniel shoveling shit from the stables and grooming the horses darkened his cheeks with guilt. He’d hidden himself away amongst the bales of hay in the loft and watched hungrily and pleasured himself as Daniel worked below. He awoke hours later with a cold, sticky mess in his breeches and the sound of the dinner bell resounding from the main house. Henry nearly went into conniptions when he found him just outside his bedroom still dressed in his afternoon garments.
“Apparently, Lord Fontainebleau was called away on business,” Henry added as he attempted to comb out the remnants of hay from Michel’s hair and properly re-tie his blue silk ribbon.
The Quartermaster & The Marquis’ Son Description:
**5 STARS!** ~ “A.E. Kendall did an amazing job in creating a story and developing characters that will stick with you for the long haul.” ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews
Hot, daring pirates. A brash young nobleman….
Michel Laurent du Montbron is the 3rd son of the Marquis d’ Sevigne-Chambord. Pampered and a little naive, he runs off to Jamaica to join his brother. But just days shy of starting his new life, his ship is violently overrun by pirates and he is taken captive by Galen, the marauders’ ruggedly handsome quartermaster. With his entire world turned upside down, Michel struggles to survive amongst the Brethren of the Coast, the men who rule the Caribbean seas. But contrary to appearances, Michel is no damsel in distress and he manages to hold his own. Before long, he finds himself falling hard for the handsome yet mysterious Galen. But Galen is an angry and hardened man with a past and secrets of his own. For the last three years, he’s been hell bent on seeking revenge for wrongs done to him in the past. Will Galen be able to return Michel’s affections or will his single-minded obsession for revenge derail any chance they might have together in this romantic saga of danger, lust and love on the high seas.
