A Black Matter for the King (Oath and the Crown)

TWO POWERFUL RIVALS -- ONE DECISIVE BATTLE Now a political hostage in Falaise Ælfgifa forms an unlikely friendship with William Duke of Normandy. William has been swift to recognize her skills and exploit them to his advantage. However unbeknownst to the duke Gifa is acting as a spy for her brother Harold Godwinson a possible rival for the English throne currently in the failing grip of Edward the Confessor. Homesick and alienated by the Norman court Gifa is torn between the Dukes trust and the duty she owes her family. William has subdued his dissenting nobles and a united Normandy is within his grasp. But the tides of power and influence are rarely still. As Williams stature grows the circle of those he can trust shrinks. Beyond the English Channel William has received news of Edwards astonishing decree regarding the succession. Ælfgifa returns to an England where an undercurrent of discontent bubbles beneath the surface. An England that may soon erupt in conflict as one king dies and another is chosen. The ambitions of two powerful men will decide the fates of rival cultures in a single battle at Hastings that will change England Europe and the world in this compelling conclusion to the Oath & Crown series on the life and battles of William the Conqueror.