Crimson Conquest

WIFE TO A MARQUIS, MISTRESS TO A KING

Abused by her husband, lovely Athenais de Montespan yearned for the love of the one man in all France who seemed completely beyond her reach. That man was the handsome, sensual King Louis XIV. As Maid of Honor to Queen Marie-Therese, Athenais was constantly in Louis' presence, and at last she won his heart.

Surrounded by every luxury, envied by every other woman at the Court of Versailles, second in power only to the King himself, Athenais at last thought her future secure. But then she was forced to confront a rival for her lover's affections, a woman she herself had raised from poverty and introduced to the French Court.

Original title: Mistress of the Sun King