Empress's Escape

Spring 1814. War still rages. One woman's survival may change the fate of Europe.As Napoleon's empire crumbles beneath the advance of the Allied armies, Empress Marie-Louise of France finds herself alone, hunted, and responsible for the safety of her young son. Every road is shadowed by spies, every village may harbor enemies, and capture could cost her both her freedom and her child's future.Her salvation arrives in the form of Major Ewen Blaine, a decorated Austrian cavalry officer whose courage is matched only by the wounds he carries from years of relentless war. Charged with escorting the empress across hundreds of miles of hostile territory, Blaine expects a dangerous mission—not the spirited, intelligent woman who challenges his every assumption or the growing feelings that threaten the honor he has lived his life to uphold.Forced to trust one another as they evade pursuit through war-ravaged Europe, soldier and empress discover that the greatest danger may not come from the enemy riding behind them, but from the forbidden love growing between them. With a ruthless adversary determined to exact a deadly revenge and Europe's future hanging in the balance, duty and desire are set on an inevitable collision.Richly researched and vividly authentic, The Empress's Escape is an unforgettable tale of courage, sacrifice, and a love born amid the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars—a sweeping historical romance where the fate of nations is decided on the battlefield, but the fate of two hearts is decided on the long road home.