A Tangled Weave

It is forbidden. Possession is a crime. Smugglers are executed. It is not a drug, nor a jewel, nor a precious metal. It is cloth. Cotton, to be specific, with colourful patterns painted by artisans in far-off India. Employing protectionist trade, European monarchs have prohibited the stuff. Prohibition, of course, increases demand. Victoire de Berenguer, impoverished aristocrat, counts on that demand to support her if not make her rich. Enter aristocratic younger son Robert de Vimoutiers, disrespected by his mother―by pretty much everybody―and bored with the frivolous life he leads. He's looking for adventure. What he finds is Victoire. Will the empire survive the encounter? A Tangled Weave continues the magical saga begun in Michael Skeet's A Poisoned Prayer. Let the delicious adventure continue.