Keeper of the Dogs, Book I of the Knights Trilogy

Knights Trilogy is meant to depict 13th century life in the Western Marches of Wales at the beginning of the civil war (1263) between Earl Simon de Montfort and King Henry the Third of England. It is the story of Cord, the keeper of dogs, a felon's son who lives in the castle of the men who hung his father. Cord, who would become a knight... Old Sloat, the Wild Boar, almost slays a little peasant girl and only Cord's quick action saves the girl's life. For having dared to wound the boar, however, the Baron declares that Cord will lose his hand. Unless, that is, the hunters slay the boar that same day. If the boar is slain Cord will become the fief's new forester. When Sloat kills the Baron, a storm of plots, personalities, and power is unleashed at Pellinore Castle. Lady Alice de Mowbray is a captive at the castle. As was his feudal right, the Baron had been attempting to find her a husband against her will. With the Baron's death, Alice tries to win her freedom and flee back to her ancestral castle. Each attempt fails, until she enlists the help of Cord, who against all odds, comes to her aid. And so begins the adventure of one young man against all the odds...