York Castle serves at the setting for the final chapter and the epilogue of Lyon in Disguise, which is set in January 1813. Many of the series regulars are there: Lord Macdonald Duncan, Lord Alexander Marksman, Lord Richard Orson, Lord Aaran Graham, and Lord Navan Beaufort. Except for Graham, who lives in Scotland, but who often infiltrates the Luddites while in disguise, they all have estates in the northern shires, which means they could be in Yorkshire for the trials (in early January) and on 16 January for the executions. Lady Annalise Beaufort is the only one of the wives present, for she and Beaufort plan to leave for London as soon as the business of the hanging a number of Luddites is complete. Beaufort leaves her in the room they share and joins the others on the street, looking for protestors and other Luddites.
York Castle is a fortified complex in York, England, built on the north-west side of the River Foss. The now ruined keep of the a medieval Roman castle is shown above. It is known as Clifford’s Tower. York Castle was built on orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of Jórvik, which later became a major fortification and defence of the area. In 1684, a large explosion rendered the military defences uninhabitable, but York Castle continued to be used as a gaol and prison until 1929.
“Criticism of the castle prison increased at the end of the 18th century. [Cooper, Thomas Parsons (1911). The History of the Castle of York, from its Foundation to the Current Day with an Account of the Building of Clifford’s Tower. London: Elliot Stock. p. 191] The facilities were felt to be inadequate and the crowds of spectators who gathered outside the prison to see inmates being taken into York for execution unseemly. Attempts were made to improve the way executions were carried out from 1803 onwards: the former castle courtyard, the Eye of the Ridings, was used for this purpose instead, although crowds still gathered outside the bailey to watch the slow deaths of the prisoners. [Butler, Lawrence (1997). Clifford’s Tower and the Castles of York. London: English Heritage. p. 23] By 1813 the execution process had been sped up by the introduction of the “short drop” method of hanging, allowing the unusually rapid execution of fourteen Luddite agitators at the castle in 1814. Overcrowding in the jail was now also a problem, with up to 114 prisoners being held at any one time; occasionally, around forty prisoners awaiting trial had to be kept in the jail yard for lack of space elsewhere.” [York Castle]
Eventually, most of the castle buildings were swept away when a new prison and court were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving Clifford’s Tower as the principal surviving remnant of the York Castle.
Other Sources:
Clifford’s Tower: English Heritage
1000 Years of Justice at York Castle
Lyon in Disguise: Lyon’s Den Connected World
A handsome rake meets his match in a red-headed enchantress who is his enemy!
They may be on different sides of the law, but Lord Navan Beaufort is not going to permit that to stop him from protecting Miss Audrey Moreau. Navan has never thought truly to love anyone, but when he laid eyes on the red-headed beauty, his world shifted. Unfortunately, the lady appears to prefer Lord Alexander Dutton to him, though Navan has rarely had the opportunity to speak to her privately. That is, until he saves her from a fire one miraculous night. From there forward, she is his hope. His future.
Miss Audrey Moreau depends exclusively on her Uncle Jacobi for a home and protection. The man rescued her from a bayman’s plantation in the West Indies when she was five; yet, she well knows the “Marquis of Honfleur’s” schemes. She thought once Jacobi was caught, all would be well, but even from his jail, the man means to rain down harm upon her.
Can two lost souls find happiness together, when everyone in whom they had previously placed their trust have left them alone in the world?
Tropes You’ll Love:
- Enemies to lovers
- Self-declared bachelor
- Friends to lovers
- Adversaries
- Damsel in distress
- Best friend’s sister
- Different worlds/experiences
- Soul mates
- Emotional scars
- Fish out of water
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Book 1 – Lyon in the Way
Book 2 – Lyon’s Obsession
Book 3 – Lyon in Disguise
Book 4 – Lost in the Lyon’s Garden
Book 5 – Lyon on the Inside
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Every Woman Dreams... 
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