Much Ado About Love

by Martin, Malia

• ISBN13: 9780380815173
• ISBN10: 0380815176
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-16
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Shakespeare's In LoveAt the royal command of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Ian Terrance has sought out a popular local playwright named William Shakespeare-only to discover that "he" is a "she."..and a most desirable and delectable she indeed! And now that the remarkable Olivia is his prisoner, Sir Ian is the one in chains-bewitched by the singular young woman's irrestible beauty, deliciously sharp wit, and innocent sensuality. Olivia's secret life was well hidden, until Ian burst through her wall of pretense. There is much the devilishly handsome man can teach an imaginative, if inexperienced, maid, with his tender caresses and intoxicating kisses. But how long will the exquisite writer be able to remain aloof from the passionate attentions of her bold kidnapper? And can a breathtaking romance turn Ian form his duty-and ensure a happy ending?

Excerpts

Chapter One

Windsor Castle

April 1597

All the world's a stage.

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts...

-- As You like IT, II, VII, 139

The glittering crowd roared with laughter, Queen Elizabeth's bellow louder than them all. Sir Ian Terrance crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the stone wall beside him, his gaze scanning the people watching the play. He hated these things: too damn many people.

He scrutinized the periphery, his mind quickly analyzing what his eyes saw. The archway leading to the outer hall, Whiting standing to the right. Ian acknowledged his man with a nod and kept going. A group of women next caught his eye. He stopped for a moment and watched them: Nothing suspicious there. Ian continued his visual tour, a man stood just off the group of chatting women. Ian was about to move on before he realized there was something odd about the man.

Ian shifted a bit, glancing to where the man seemed to be staring. The hairs rose on the back of Ian's neck, and he looked quickly back at the slight figure in the back of the room. He was thin, tall, dressed as a gentleman -- a shabby one, but a gentleman all the same. And instead of watching the play as everyone else in the room, he stared rather obsessively at the Queen.

Slowly, Ian pushed away from his place against the wall and began skirting the room toward the man. As he came near his quarry, a slim white hand snagged Ian's arm.

"Ian!" the mouth that belonged to the hand whispered.

"Andromeda." Ian shook his sister off of him. "I am busy."

"But, Ian, have you seen Sir Richard?" His Sister clamped her rather strong hand around his arm once more. "He promised to sit with me, and I obtained special permission from the Queen." Her shoulders slouched forward and her brown eyes dulled. "And now he is not here."

Ian groaned. "Andy, really, I do not have the time..."

"Find him for me, Ian, please."

"Zounds, Andy. 'Tis the man's night to revel. He has shown his bravery in battle and is now initiated into the Order of the Garter. Let him be."

"You are being more than mean, Ian. You are being terrible."

"I have the right as your brother to be terrible to you. Anyway, the way you have your talons in the man already, he has precious few nights of being a bachelor left. I am not about to go running out, drag him in here, and begrudge him his fun, Andy." Ian carefully extracted his sister's hand from his arm. "'Now sit down and enjoy the play before the Queen realizes that you do not attend her."

"'Fine. But if you chance to see Sir Richard, please...'"

"I shall warn him that you stalk him, yes."

Andy stamped her foot and said as loudly as she dared, "Upon my life, Ian, you can be the worst toad."

"I know, I know. Now sit." He waved her away.

"You do not approve your sister's choice in a match?"

Ian jumped as he was watching to make sure Andy found her seat, and had not realized that the young man whom he had been going after had come to him.

He had a long, thin face, pale with a handful of freckles sprinkled across his nose and a dark auburn beard. And he sported a pair of sky-blue eyes that probably made the women weep at his feet.

"Pardon my large ears, sir, but I could not help overhearing."

Ian shrugged. "Sir Richard Avery is a fine enough man. It just pains me to see another male fall into a woman's marriage trap."

"And yet, this woman is your sister."

"And thus I know that whoever marries the girl will rue the day."

"And you, sir, I would guess that you have yet to be trapped?."

"I plan never to suffer such a fate." The people around them laughed loudly, and Ian glanced toward the stage. "Are you enjoying the play, sir?" he said, remembering his first intention of finding out the man's identity.

The man blinked owlishly, and then a smile crept across his full mouth, and, he laughed aloud.

Ian frowned. The man had a very soft laugh, and rather full, pouty lips. Perhaps he had been mistaken. It seemed that the man probably used his large blue eyes to catch himself those of the male persuasion. Ian nearly groaned out loud. Wonderful, the man probably thought Ian was trying to engage him in conversation and a little something else afterward.

But he must determine the man's interest in the Queen.

"Actually, I find it hard to stomach the characters,"' the man said.

"Really?"

"Yes, they were much more full-bodied in Henry IV. It seems a shame, really, that we must see them again so watered down." The man shrugged. "But I hear 'twas what the Queen wanted: a return of Oldcastle, that is to say, Falstaff, and Mistress Quickly. She ordered it, so 'tis done."

Ian's ears pricked up at the slight sound of bitterness to the man's words. "What is your name?"

Just then thunderous applause broke out around them. "William," the man said over the din. "If you'll excuse me. I must be going." He hurried off, walking the perimeter of the room toward the stage.

Ian followed behind, his instincts at full alert, but William disappeared behind the curtain at the side of the stage.

"Ian!"

Ian glanced over his shoulder when he heard his sister's voice. He scowled, held up his hand, and mouthed "one moment," before continuing after his quarry. But when he got to the curtain and peeked behind it all he could see were actors rushing about half-dressed. William, it seemed, had vanished...

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Much Ado about Love by Malia Martin. Copyright © 2000 by Malia Martin. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.