The Wild Princess

Book excerpt: Queen Victoria’s rebellious daughter comes to life in a rich tale “full of romance and suspense . . . a masterly historical novel” (New York Times bestselling author, Mary Jo Putney) Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had five daughters. Four of them were regal, genteel, and everything a princess should be. But one was rebellious, scandalous, and untamed. At court, Princess Louise—later the Duchess of Argyll—was the “Wild One.” Proud and impetuous, Louise fought the constraints placed on her, dreamed of becoming an artist, and broke with a three-hundred-year-old tradition by marrying outside of the privileged circle of European royals. Some said she wed for love. Others whispered of a scandal covered up by the Crown. It will take a handsome American, recruited by the queen's elite Secret Service, to discover the truth. Stephen Byrne—code named The Raven—has vowed to protect the royal family from violent Irish radicals. Yet he tempts Louise with a forbidden love that could prove just as dangerous.