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The Promises of a King
by K. M. Ashman
Book 2 in the Road to Hastings series.
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After Earl Godwin's death, Harold succeeds to Wessex and becomes Edward the Confessor's most powerful secular adviser. The Godwin family controls much of England, but the absence of a direct royal heir makes every diplomatic decision part of a future succession struggle.
Harold negotiates with Welsh rulers, searches for surviving members of the old royal house and travels to Normandy to recover family hostages. There he encounters claims and obligations that could later be used by Duke William against both Harold and England.