She didn't intend to defy the conventions of Elizabethan England. But willful, impulsive, and strikingly beautiful gentlewoman Kat Langdon disguises herself as a boy, masters the sword, and entangles herself in a treacherous web of intrigue with Queen Elizabeth's spies.   Their quarry is Lord Harwood, a baron suspected of conspiring to assassinate the English queen and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The charismatic and dangerous Harwood is as devoted to his mission as Kat is to hers. He unmasks Kat and takes her captive, hoping to force her to reveal her secrets.  But an attraction between them grows and they risk falling into a dangerous trap--one that may lead them to betray their causes . . . or their hearts.   The opulence of the Court of the formidable and commanding Elizabeth I, the savage games of London's underworld, the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, the streets of Paris during the Huguenot uprising--all these form the rich tapestry of Court of Shadows. Its exciting swordplay, religious and political conflicts, and authentic portraits of sixteenth-century life dazzlingly recreate the Elizabethan world.