**Crouchback is a medieval word derived from cross-back and indicates participation in a crusade** April 1284. As a newly widowed lady-in-waiting to the very pregnant Queen Eleanor of England, Catrin never expected to return to Wales again. She was definitely unprepared to be confronted with murder when she got there--or to find herself face-to-face with Rhys, the childhood friend she lost twenty years before. Rhys had never intended to return home either, but a lifetime of war has deposited him right back where he started--impoverished and owing service to Catrin's older brother. With Wales fallen irrevocably to England and not knowing whom else they can trust, Catrin and Rhys join forces against the treachery and intrigue rife within the half-built Caernarfon Castle. And when the killer strikes again, this time within the royal court, the pair race to uncover his identity before he touches the king himself--or his infant son. Crouchback is the first book in The Welsh Guard Mysteries. Books by Sarah Woodbury The Welsh Guard Mysteries:  Crouchback The After Cilmeri Series:  Daughter of Time Footsteps in Time   Winds of Time   Prince of Time   Crossroads in Time   Children of Time   Exiles in Time Castaways in Time Ashes of Time Warden of Time Guardians of Time Masters of Time Outpost in Time Shades of Time Champions of Time This Small Corner of Time Refuge in Time Unbroken in Time Outcasts in Time The Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mysteries: The Bard's Daughter  (prequel novella) The Good Knight The Uninvited Guest  The Fourth Horseman The Fallen Princess The Unlikely Spy The Lost Brother The Renegade Merchant The Unexpected Ally The Worthy Soldier The Favored Son The Viking Prince The Irish Bride The Prince's Man The Lion of Wales series: Cold My Heart The Oaken Door Of Men and Dragons A Long Cloud Frost Against the Hilt The Last Pendragon Saga: The Last Pendragon The Pendragon's Blade Song of the Pendragon The Pendragon's Quest The Pendragon's Champions Rise of the Pendragon The Pendragon's Challenge Legend of the Pendragon The Paradisi Chronicles: Erase Me Not