Defender of the North

It has been two years since simple cobbler James Hoade was knighted by the future King, two years since he married the love of his life and became the Lord of Loxley. He and his wife Elena have had a son and his new life is just starting to feel normal. But England is threatening to tear itself apart from within. Alliances form to remove King Henry II from the throne while he struggles to keep his kingdom united, including the western provinces of France that fell under English rule when he married the headstrong Eleanor of Aquitaine. All of this is of little consequence to James since Loxley is of no strategic importance and far from the reaches of invasion. But much of England's nobility is incensed that a merchant is now supposed to be considered their equal and the time has come for them to show him his true place in the world. James is ordered to head north and stop Scotland's King William from reclaiming Northumberland. Defender of the North is the sequel to the popular medieval novel, Defender of the Realm. In an age of castles and knights, James Hoade must, once again, prove himself worthy.