The Farrier's Mistress

1794-Baden-Baden, Margraviate of Baden, the Holy Roman Empire

The Margraviate of Baden is at peace, a rarity, but caught between a revolution in France and the Holy Roman Empire, war always looms on the horizon as it has for centuries. And for the people of the small and sleepy town of Baden-Baden, war seems a distant reality until it threatens to break upon them.

At thirty-three, Eva Frik is a single, willful woman and mother of two illegitimate sons, a woman at odds with God, the societal expectations of her gender and class, and her past. She had been a beautiful child until an accident left her with an ugly scar across half her face. But even with that disfigurement, men still find her desirable and beguilingly beautiful, and she has learned to use those charms to twist men's weak hearts to her will. She has secrets, though-secrets that could destroy her. She is stubborn and defiant, willing to do whatever she needs to ensure a future for herself-but will bitterness and fear ruin her chance for love? Or is it already too late?