In Honor Bound
Subtitle: Book One:  Chastelayne Trilogy
By: DeAnna Julie Dodson.
Publisher: Crossway Books
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Wheaton, Ill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 320
Subjects: Middle Ages -- Fiction.; Medieval Fiction; Historical Fiction
Genres: Christian Historical Fiction
First sentence: From the window of her tower room, Rosalynde watched a noisy, spirited cluster of men and boys on horseback sweep through the early snow into the courtyard of her father's castle, followed by an ornate carriage.  Horses and riders both carried all the trappings of nobility and the white saint's rose was emblazoned on every banner.  Only those who bore the royal blood of Chastelayne were allowed to display it.  This would have to be the Duke of Afton and his family at last.
Description: His father will stop at nothing to keep the royal bloodline "pure" --even murder.  But his sins have nearly destroyed Prince Philip and the future of his reign.

Forced into a political marriage, Philip tells his bride, "I will not lie to you, I will not be unfaithful to you, and I will not love you.  My heart is pledged to another and I am not a man to break an oath."

His one true love is a lowly serving girl.  When Philip refuses to set her aside in order to form a politically beneficial marriage, his father has the girl tried on false charges and executed.  He then forces Philip to marry the beautiful and nobly born Lady Rosalynde.  Devastated and embittered by his loss and his father's betrayal, Philip is determined to never love again . . . not his father, not his wife, not his God.  Although Rosalynde adores him, he withholds his heart from her, refusing to let even death end his devotion to the love he lost.  Despite his coldness towards her, Rosalynde is determined to love him and teach him to love her -- as determined as the God he has turned his back on.  As civil war rages throughout the realm, Philip faces a greater struggle within himself.  Will he open his heart to love again or let his pride destroy him and his kingdom?