The Spitfire

When she can resist the temptation to be outrageous (such as staging a wedding with the bride stark naked), veteran romance novelist Small ( Blaze Wyndham ) offers realistic, appealing characters and an entertaining tale set in 15th-century England that integrates the historical enmity between English and Scotssee p. 488 . The wedding ceremony of Arabella Grey and Sir Jasper Keane is disrupted by a band of fierce Scots, led by Tavis Stewart, Earl of Dunmor. Tavis reveals that Jasper took the earl's intended bride as a mistress and subsequently murdered her. g In turn, Tavis carries Arabella away to Scotland and marries herg --a union g both find rewarding. But Jasper still covets Greyfaire, Arabella's family lands, and so marries Arabella's widowed mother. Arabella becomes determined to regain her property, leaving Scotland to petition Henry VII of England for assistance. Henry will help, but only if she'll spy for him in the French court. As the story progresses, Arabella grows from an innocent child to a subtle, sophisticated woman who can bargain with kings as well as regain both her Scots husband and English home. (Sept.)