A Love Concealed

Mary's Ladies #3

by Belle McInnes

Mary Queen of Scots may reign, but villainous plotters have designs on her throne...

Held captive during her teens by an evil lord, beautiful heiress Margaret Carwood uses her wits and ingenuity to escape his clutches, becoming Mary Queen of Scots' favoured lady-in-waiting in the process. With her future secure, she's fiercely determined never to be dominated by a man again, and convinced that she doesn't need to marry to be happy.

Descended from Robert the Bruce, Highland laird John Stewart is just as tenacious—and stubborn—as his illustrious ancestor. When tragedy hits his ancestral home, he comes south to seek his fortune at the royal court in Edinburgh.

The queen's household is a place of drama and intrigue, where people wear masks for entertainment—and to cover their real motivations. Thrown together by a matchmaking queen, John discovers that Margaret is one of the few ladies he can trust to speak her mind—even if it means that their arguments are regular and heated.

But when he gets caught up in the machinations of villainous plotters, John finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a mistake that could cost him his reputation—or his life.

188 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2020

About the author

A native Scot who lives in the hinterland between Edinburgh and the Borders, Belle loves to write about Scotland and its history.

Reviews

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romance in a historical setting brings to life a period of history that was both dangerous and riddled with intrigue. Margaret Carwood is grateful for her position as one of Queen Mary's ladies-in-waiting and it earns her a privileged situation where she has the Queen's ear. The Queen, however, does not doubt Margaret's loyalty and is grateful for her observations and input. Matching Margaret up with the Highlander, John Stewart becomes the Queen's focus, despite her protege's feelings about the burly man. John Stewart is desperately in need if his heritage is to be preserved and he sees his opportunity when paired with Margaret to play a leading role in a masque to be performed before the Queen. One kiss is all that it takes to shake both Margaret and James to the core. When James inadvertently gets caught up in a plot, Margaret is horrified but has learned to keep her friends close and her enemies closer. Although a love story, an actual plot forms a thread of intrigue through the storyline, enough to send me delving into the history of the era to discover the outcome of the characters portrayed. This novel is well written and factually correct which makes interesting reading. Although part of a series, Margaret and James' romance runs its course, and as such this story is a standalone. i received a copy of this book from StoryOrigin as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Having read many stories about Mary Queen of Scots and always a fan of history it was great to read about real people with a bit of poetic license. Belle does a great job of weaving John and Margaret's story into real events including the plot to kill Darnley.

[Lisa H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Scottish intrigue.
Politics are front and center in this book. Margaret and John at times have both been politic pawns.

[Luci Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical romance

A fictional twist of historical facts brings the story to life. The author brings the suspense,intrigue and plots of court life to a bit of reality.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belle has written another wonderful read. There is intrigue, conspiracy and romance to keep your attention. I really like that Belle includes a glossary, characters list, her research notes and suggested further reading. I did receive an arc copy of this book and I definitely plan on reading more of Belle's books as I enjoyed reading this one.