The Ballad of Rosamunde: The Jewels of Kinfairlie, #4

By Claire Delacroix

Trapped in the realm of Faerie, Rosamunde can only be released by true love – but the man she loved is dead. Padraig yearns to be more than a friend…can he win her heart forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Deborah A. Cooke
• Release date: Jan 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781927477281

Book preview

The Ballad of Rosamunde

The Ballad of Rosamunde

The Jewels of Kinfairlie #4

Claire Delacroix

Deborah A. Cooke

The Ballad of Rosamunde

by Claire Delacroix

---

Cover by Kim Killion

---

Copyright © 2009 by Claire Delacroix, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

This story was first published in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance by Running Press in the US and concurrently by Robinson in the UK, in a version edited for space constraints. It was subsequently published in 2010 by Deborah Cooke in this digital unabridged edition and also is included in the new trade paperback edition of The Snow White Bride by Claire Delacroix.

Without limiting the rights under copyright preserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright holder and the publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

Contents

The Jewels of Kinfairlie

The Ballad of Rosamunde

Dear Reader

The Ballad of Rosamunde

An Excerpt from The Renegade’s Heart

Sign up for My Newsletter, Knights & Rogues

Audiobooks

About the Author

More Books by Claire Delacroix

The Jewels of Kinfairlie

Medieval Scottish Romance

Welcome to Claire Delacroix’s medieval Scottish world of Ravensmuir, Kinfairlie and Inverfyre. There are four series set in this world.

The Jewels of Kinfairlie series of medieval Scottish romances features three of the eight siblings at Kinfairlie.

1. The Beauty Bride

(Madeline and Rhys)

---

2. The Rose Red Bride

(Vivienne and Erik)

---

3. The Snow White Bride

(Alexander and Eleanor)

---

4. The Ballad of Rosamunde

(Rosamunde and Padraig)

You can read about four more of these siblings in The True Love Brides series:

1. The Renegade’s Heart

(Isabella and Murdoch)

---

2. The Highlander’s Curse

(Annelise and Garrett)

---

3. The Frost Maiden’s Kiss

(Malcolm and Catriona)

---

4. The Warrior’s Prize

(Elizabeth and Rafael)

Ross’s story is part of The Brides of Inverfyre series, which features the children of the Hawk of Inverfyre and Aileen:

1. The Mercenary’s Bride

(Mhairi and Quentin)

---

2. The Runaway Bride

(Aiofe and Ross)

You can read about the previous generation at Ravensmuir, Kinfairlie and Inverfyre in my Rogues of Ravensmuir series:

1. The Rogue

(Merlyn and Isabella)

---

2. The Scoundrel

(Gawain and Evangeline)

---

3. The Warrior

(Michael - the Hawk - and Aileen)

There’s a Ravensmuir tab on my website with all of the books set in this world, as well as links to download free family trees.

The Ballad of Rosamunde

#4 of the Jewels of Kinfairlie

Trapped in the realm of Faerie, Rosamunde can only be released by true love—but the man she loved is dead. Padraig yearns to be more than a friend…can he win her heart forever?

Dear Reader

Rosamunde was a character introduced as a foundling in my Claire Delacroix medieval romance, The Scoundrel. From that point, she became entangled in the lives of the families at Ravensmuir and Kinfairlie, and by the time of my Jewels of Kinfairlie series, Rosamunde had taken over the family business of trading in religious relics from her foster father, Gawain. She was always one to defy expectations, serving as both a warning and an inspiration to her nieces at Kinfairlie.

In The Rose Red Bride, Rosamunde was lost in the caverns beneath Ravensmuir when that keep collapsed. I’d always thought Rosamunde would star in her own book, but since she was an older heroine, a pirate queen, and not exactly virginal, my view wasn’t shared by my publisher. By the end of the Jewels of Kinfairlie trilogy, Rosamunde’s fate was still unknown. I’d always figured she’d find her way out of the realm of the Fae somehow and always believed that she deserved a happy ending, too. I just didn’t see a way for me to tell that story to you.

Several years later, I was invited to participate in another anthology, this one being the Mammoth Book of Irish Romance. It was evident (at least to me) that the realm of the Fae must be connected, at least beneath Ireland and Scotland, so this was my chance to tell Rosamunde’s story and give her that second chance at love. It also seemed only natural that Rosamunde, of all the characters who have strolled into my office over the years, would be the one to star in a ballad, particularly one sung in taverns.

Rosamunde’s story was edited due to space constraints in that anthology. It appears in its entirety in the new trade paperback edition of The Snow White Bride and in a digital-only edition by itself.

The story of the siblings continues in my True Love Brides series. These are medieval Scottish romances but have some paranormal elements in them—these members