"'If after my passing, my steward James Wyatt agrees to wed with my widow, Lady Arabella Hollier, and they together agree to take into their household Mistress Cecily Elwyn, protecting her as if she be were like unto their own family, Lady Arabella is to have as her dower property my manor Meynell. This she will keep for her life’s span, including all rights, fees and incomes the manor generates. In addition, Master Wyatt will have for his life’s span the income generated by the mill in Blacklea and the right to sell all wool that Blacklea’s home farm produces. Along with that, he is to have twenty-five pounds to invest as he knows well how to do. It is my hope the amount will grow into a sum sufficient to serve as a dowry for Mistress Lucretia Purfoy should our queen fail to provide to the inheritance she promised.'"
Belle looked at him in surprise. Shuffling the papers, Jamie said, "Now the second one.
'If my steward, Master James Wyatt, refuses to wed with the woman the world believes to be my widow, the details of my marriage to Cecily Hollier nee Elwyn are to be made public, including the notation in Father Walter Tolliver's Bible as a testimony to the legitimacy of our union. As my acknowledged widow, Cecily Hollier will keep for her life's span all rights, fees and income from Meynell Manor. I give to Lady Arabella Purfoy only my deepest regrets for having so misused her and wish her well in pressing our queen for the dowry her majesty promised for Lady Purfoy's sweet child, Lucretia. As for my steward, Master James Wyatt, I give to him the desk he's used during all his years of faithful service to me, in the hopes he'll use it wisely in the future.'"
It wasn’t even subtle. Jamie stared at the paper again. Should he refuse Belle, Nick would leave Cecily wealthy enough, but bereft of the family and protection she so needed just now. So too, was the revelation of his bigamous marriage meant to make Belle a laughingstock. And, insult to injury, if Jamie refused to do as Nick willed, Lucy would be left impoverished, for now that Nick was dead the queen had no reason to aid Lucy. There was one thing Jamie was certain of about his queen and that was that Elizabeth never wasted her time where there was no advantage.
Despite Nick’s ham-handed manipulation, warmth and gratitude filled Jamie’s heart. His dear friend had wanted those he loved to have what they most needed after his passing, only, being Nick, he couldn’t just give it to them.
“He had to do it," he said with a laugh. "He couldn’t bear to leave me without giving me a final tweak." That Nick’s attempt came an instant later than necessary only made it all the more precious.
Jamie held up the second paper. "May I?” he asked Graceton's lord, his brows lifted in question.
Relief and understanding filled Kit's gaze. “As you will."
Screwing the note into a wad, Jamie tossed it into the fireplace. The flames were on it in an instant, browning and curling the edges, then gobbling it up to leave naught but ash.
"This, my lord,” Jamie said, handing the remaining sheet back to Kit, "is the only codicil to your lord brother's will."
Then Jamie's arm tightened around Belle. He pulled the woman he loved closer to him. "Now, you may congratulate me. Just before you entered a moment ago, I'd asked this wondrous, glorious woman to be my wife and she has said me aye."
This book was born on my first trip to England, which my then not-quite-husband arranged for me. Our first night in an ancient inn included doorknobs that rattled all night long as something invisible kept trying to get in. We visited eerie Glastonbury Tor and haunted Evesham. On our very last day we stumbled on Clearwell Castle, a picturesque castle converted into a hotel.
We stepped inside the foyer and looked through a pair of closed glass doors into the great hall. Thinking we might stay, I went around the corner to the concierge desk while Ed waited in the foyer. Above the desk was an old newspaper article, telling how the castle's owner had rebuilt the main stairway to stop the ghost from running up and down them. As I was reading that poor Ed was watching the hall's glass doors open by themselves. When the concierge escorted me back to the foyer to join Ed, the doors slammed shut with such force that everyone jumped.
She followed us out the door and all the way to the castle's gate-and, yes, I am very certain she was a she. I wanted to stay the night, just to see what would happen next. Sensible Ed talked me out of it.
It was this experience I drew upon as I spun the haunting tale of Belle, Jamie, Nick and Cecily.
I also allude to the changes in the weather, the Little Ice Age, that was experienced in Europe during this time frame. Prior to the 13th Century people grew grapes in England as far north as York and England's Midlands was the breadbasket of Europe. By 1300 warm summers cease to be dependable across Northern Europe. By 1550, a little before Elizabeth takes the throne, the glacial ice pack begins to expand, cooling Europe enough that people start counting on rivers freezing during the now much longer and more tumultuous winter season.
I hope you've enjoyed my Lady Series. If you have I'd be thrilled if you'd take a moment to like my Amazon Bio page.
Don't forget that I'm offering my novella "An Impetuous Season" FREE on my website as a thank you to my readers for turning my books into best sellers. Click here to download it
By the way, I'll note here that I am title defective. For the first five books, my fabulous stepdaughter Amberly Neese came up with the original and very clever idea of using the seasons, and the publisher ran with it. Beyond that, well, I count on the kindness of editors and others.
If you want to keep up with me or send me a note, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or visit my website at DeniseDomning.com where you can read my blog. I'll warn you, the blog has nothing to do with writing. Instead, it's the chronicle of how my husband takes me on a journey into Green Living and Permaculture. I have a feeling this will turn out to be a mangling of "Under the Tuscan Sun" and the old TV series "Green Acres".
Wish me luck (I'll need it) and happy reading!
As a thank you to all of you out there who turned Rannulf and Rowena into best sellers, I'm offering my novella "An Impetuous Season" FREE on my website. Click here to download it
In case these are the first books of mine you've read, here is the rest of the list. And thank you!
The Graistan Chronicles (sometimes known as the Seasons Series)
Winter's Heat
Summer's Storm
Spring's Fury
Autumn's Flame
A Love for All Seasons
Or, if you want you can buy all five books at once a box set: The Seasons Series
The Warrior Series
The Warrior's Wife (previously The Warrior's Damsel)
The Warrior's Maiden (previously My Lady's Temptation)
The Warrior's Game
My only Regency era book. I'm afraid it will be my only one, too. It was too modern for me. I'm better off back when guys just bashed each other with hunks of steel.
Almost Perfect
Monica Sarli's Memoir Men-ipulation
And then there's Monica Sarli's memoir which I co-wrote. Men-ipulation is a memoir of addiction and recovery. After fifteen years abusing Cocaine, Crack and (her personal favorite) Heroin, Monica chose on August 4, 1986 to clean up and hasn't looked back-even though cleaning up cost her everything she valued in life. For anyone struggling with addiction or who loves someone suffering with addiction, this is a book you won't want to miss. (And, yes she really talks like that all the time.)
Happy reading!
THE LADY SERIES COVER
PRAISE FOR THE LADY SERIES
START READING NOW
COVER
COPYRIGHT
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER TH
IRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
A NOTE FROM DENISE
COVER
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
A NOTE FROM DENISE
ABOUT DENISE
OTHER BOOKS
COPYRIGHTS
Copyrights
These are works of fiction; although some characters have an historical basis, everyone in these books was created out of whole cloth (although I did my best to portray them and their times as accurately as possible).
Lady in Waiting
copyright(©) Denise Domning 1997, 2011
Lady in White
copyright(©) Denise Domning 1998, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of these books may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover art and graphics by ADKDesigns.biz; Some stock photos by 123rf.com, bigstockphoto.com and istockphotos.com
The Lady Series Page 60
