Garland of Straw (Roundheads and Cavaliers #2)

By June 1647 England is still in a state of near-chaos. From endless conflicting factions, a tidal wave of radical new ideas threatens to drown the order of generations while the King plays both ends against the middle in a risky game of his own.

Venetia Clifford's days are divided between her secret activities on behalf of the Royalist cause and the struggle to keep Ford Edge solvent despite poor harvests and inflated taxes. Ellis Brandon, her fiancé of the last five years, shows no sign of returning from exile - in spite of the recent death of his father.

Sir Robert's last will and testament turns Venetia's world inside out when Ellis is disinherited in favour of an illegitimate half-brother and she is forced to choose between losing her family's home and marriage to a man who is both a stranger and an enemy. For Gabriel Brandon - tall, dark and openly sardonic - is a Colonel in the New Model Army.

Having seen Venetia at her worst during their first meeting, Gabriel can think of few things more unpleasant than being married to her and neither does he wish to sacrifice his military career to become a glorified farmer. Unfortunately, the legal knots are tied too tightly to allow loop-holes ... and the return of Ellis with his own brand of mischief and malice, complicates matters still further.

The tempestuous relationship between Venetia and Gabriel is reflected in the stormy events buffeting the nation as Civil War flares up anew. With riots in London and risings in the southern counties, Gabriel's regiment is ordered north to stem a Scottish invasion. And, inevitably, once the danger is past, responsibility for this renewal of hostilities is laid at the King's door.

While the Army and Parliament argue over the fate of the King, Gabriel realises that he has a very dangerous anonymous enemy and Venetia finally puts aside the ingrained misconceptions that have prevented her seeing the man rather than the Roundhead Colonel. As events gather pace, bringing the King to trial in Westminster Hall, the tangled web of danger and deceit threatening Gabriel and Venetia slowly tightens its grip.

Of the many axes - political and personal - that have been ground, more than one is about to fall.

This author-revised and extended version of the original print edition continues the tumultuous events of mid-seventeenth century England begun in The Black Madonna. Rated '3/5 - Open door' for steam/spice/heat level.