One Burning Heart, the fourth and final book in Elizabeth Kingston’s Welsh Blades series, is the story of Lord William of Ruardean (brother of Gwenillan from The King’s Man and good friend of Gruffydd ab Iowerth from Desire Lines) and his wife, Margaret, whose previous betrothal to Gryff had been arranged by William to further certain political ends. Gryff broke the betrothal when he fell in love with Nan, and William married Margaret in his stead in order to maintain the alliance he had brokered. When One Burning Heart begins, William and Margaret have been married for six years and they thoroughly despise each other.

William, one of the most powerful of the Marcher Lords, is a seasoned and wily political operator, a high-ranking courtier with the ear of the King (Edward I). Ruardean is more than his home, it’s the place of his heart, but he spends most of his time at court because he needs to keep his finger on the pulse of court life and gossip if he’s to bring his current ambition to fruition – to have the King mount a new Crusade – while making sure he gives no opportunity for his political rivals to oust him from his favoured position

Margaret is utterly delighted not to have to see a great deal of her loathsome lord. She’s worked hard to cultivate a persona of passive vapidity and the appearance of extreme piety and religious devotion, happy in the knowledge that her docility and frequent praying spark dislike and the deepest contempt in William. His long absences provide ample opportunity for Margaret to attend to ambitions of her own – to thwart her husband’s plans and to undermine the power of the Church at every opportunity because she despises the endemic corruption that sees supposedly holy men putting greed and ambition above God’s word:

“For all my life, I have trained my sight on the empty space between what men of God have taught, and what they have done.”

It’s been six years since they wed, and there is no sign of an heir for Ruardean – which is not surprising given William’s frequent absences – but he now appears determined to devote himself to that task and, on the advice of the local physician, to give Margaret pleasure. (Yes, back then and at various times throughout history, it really was believed that a woman needed to orgasm in order to conceive.) So when William starts paying her more than perfunctory attention in bed, Margaret is confused – and worried, because she likes his touch and fears her newly-awakened desire for what he offers will start breaking down all the barriers she’s so carefully built over the last six years.

One Burning Heart is an expertly blended mixture of historical fiction and romance, the story of two people who have been deliberately deceiving each other for their own ends learning that everything they believe about each other is also a lie – and growing to admire and love one another as they begin to look beneath the masks they wear. The author’s research and attention to detail are impeccable, and if you, like me, are here for lots of high-stakes intrigue and political manouevering, then it’s absolutely a book you’ll want to read. William and Margaret are determined, intelligent, devious and passionate, and have never shown each other their true faces, intentions or desires. Their quiet, deep-seated antagonism towards each other is palpable from the very first page and the slowly dawning realisation that they’ve both failed to see the truth of each other is accompanied by smouldering sexual tension, and, for Margaret especially, their lovemaking brings a real sense of freedom. Being able to be themselves at last brings trust and respect, and deeper feelings begin to emerge as the pair realise they’re not so different after all. But their new-found felicity looks set to be destroyed when their enemies strike with the might of Court and Church behind them.

One Burning Heart is well-paced, complex and superbly grounded in time and place, and I was fascinated by the machinations and lengths William and Margaret are prepared to go to achieve their aims, whether it’s Margaret secretly working against hypocrisy, William persuading the King to do what he wants or both of them choosing to make big sacrifices to keep the other safe. Margaret’s relationship with the Church is a big part of the story, but don’t let that put you off – there are no sermons here. The focus is very much on how those in power abuse it, Margaret’s disdain for those who wield it, and her determination to act according to her conscience regardless of whether or not her actions align with the Church’s teachings. Ms. Kingston balances all the elements of the story really well, and I loved that the solution to the third-act crisis is so down-to-earth. There’s no Deus ex Machina or knight on a white charger; the only machinations are William’s as he schemes to keep his wife safe while also outwitting his enemies.

So… why a B+ and not a DIK? It’s hard to put my finger on why exactly, but much as I loved the complexity, the intrigue and the political shenanigans, at times, it became a bit overwhelming and even dry, which interrupted the flow of the story. And I couldn’t help feeling that while Margaret is strongly drawn, William is less so; she’s very vivid while he’s more often in the background.

But even with those reservations, One Burning Heart is a must read for anyone looking for a meaty historical romance with a strong sense of time and place, lots of intrigue, and a sensual slow-burn romance between two flawed and interesting protagonists.

Note: A number of characters from the other Welsh Blades books make appearances here, so I’d say it’s pretty much essential to have read those in order to understand how they relate to the characters and events in this one.