The Queen's Man [Soft Cover ]

AD 1193. England lies uneasy, a land without a king. Richard the Lionheart is feared drowned on his return from Crusade, his brother John conspires to usurp the crown. On the throne, in the Lionheart's stead, sits Eleanor of Aquitaine. She is determined to prevent a civil war, but there are few she can trust. Justin de Quincy is bastard-born son of the Aubrey de Quincy, Bishop of Chester. The Bishop never acknowledged Justin, bestowing on the boy - in lieu of name or fortune - only an education. As it happens, it is a gift that, together with a blood-stained letter given to him by a dying man, will take de Quincy to the very centre of power - and into the heart of danger. Moving from the Tower of London to the alehouses and stews of Southwark, from to the mountains of Wales to the wild coasts of Brittany, de Quincy will prove his mettle as the Queen's Man - or find an early grave - as he uncovers the dark intrigues of Eleanor's court.