The long-awaited prequel to Koen’s beloved Through a Glass Darkly , Dark Angels is a feast of a novel that sparkles with all the passion, extravagance, danger, and scandal of seventeenth-century England. Alice Verney is a young woman intent on achieving her dreams. Returning to England after a messy scandal forced her to flee to Louis XIV’s France, Alice is anxious to re-establish herself by regaining her former position as a maid of honor to Charles II’s queen and marrying the most celebrated duke of the Restoration. But all is not as it seems in the rowdy, merry court of Charles II. Since the Restoration, old political alliances have frayed, and there are whispers that the king is moving to divorce his barren queen, who some wouldn’t mind seeing dead. Alice, loyal only to a select few, is devoted to the queen, and so sets out to discover who might be making sinister plans—and if her own father is one of them. When a member of the royal family dies unexpectedly, the stakes are raised. As Alice steps up her efforts to find out who is—and isn’t—true to the queen, she learns of shocking betrayals throughout court, and meets a man who she may fall in love with—and who could spoil all of her plans. With the suspected arrival of a known poison-maker, the atmosphere in the court electrifies, and suddenly the safety of the king himself seems uncertain. Secret plots are at play, and war is on the horizon—but will it be with the Dutch or the French? And has King Charles himself betrayed his country for greed? Unforgettable in its dramatic force, here is a novel of love and politics, of romance and betrayal, of power and succession—and of a resourceful young woman who risks everything for pride and status in an era in which women were afforded little of either. " Dark Angels  is the best kind of historical fiction: very accurate, highly dramatic and thoroughly entertaining." —Diana Gabaldon, New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander novels “A delicious and dark adventure set within the magnificent sweep of the seventeenth-century courts of Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France. Koen’s excellent research and fully drawn characters bring to life the lavish wealth and glamour, the scheming, and the deeply human emotions of a fascinating era.” —Jean M. Auel, New York Times bestselling author of The Shelters of Stone “I loved Dark Angels , I absolutely gobbled it up! Reading it is like stepping into a time machine that sweeps you back to all the drama and intrigue of the English Restoration. The characters are so vivid, the period detail incredible and the plot is completely riveting; a powerful blend of history, romance, adventure and mystery.”  —Susan Carroll, author of The Courtesan      “Grand and sweeping in the tradition of Forever Amber, the author immerses the reader in history, romance, suspense and the deep, dark secrets of the human heart. Dark Angels is an engrossing novel of royal and racy Restoration England. A triumph!” —Karen Harper, USA Today bestselling author of The Last Boleyn “A richly-textured novel that brings to life the extravagant, scandalous court of Charles II, Dark Angels sweeps the reader into a world in which ambition and betrayal are commonplace–but love is not. Fans of Dorothy Dunnett and Anya Seton will revel in this sumptuous page-turner!” —India Edgehill, author of Wisdom’s Daughter Karleen Koen  is the  New York Times  bestselling author of the historical fiction novels  Through a Glass Darkly ,  Now Face to Face ,  Dark Angels,  and  Before Versailles . Koen lives in Texas. Chapter 1 May 1670 Facing white cliffs in a strait of ocean separating two kingdoms, a fleet of ships lay at anchor. It was the fleet of the kingdom of England, sent to escort precious cargo: a princess of England and France, the most famous princess in Christendom, in fact. A yacht with a rakish bow slashed through the water toward the best and greatest of these anchored ships; the king on board liked fast yachts, fast horses, fast women. The princess was his sister, and he and those with him could not wait to see her. "Monmouth's on the yacht!" said a young woman leaning over the side of the princess's ship. She had stepped atop a huge coil of rope for this view, and a sailor, eyeing her satins and the single strand of fat pearls at her neck, had warned her to be careful, but she'd sent him off with a withering comment to mind his own business. She wasn't one to suffer fools--or even those who weren't fools--telling her what to do. The sight of King Charles's yacht racing toward them was thrilling. She could see the crowd waiting on shore. The queen and her father and her best friend were among them. She was so glad to see England again, she wasn't certain she'd be able to keep herself from kneeling on the beach and kissing the sand of it when she landed. "And who else is there?" asked the friend with her, like her a maid of honor to the prin