Pestilence: The Second Wife

Back in the fourteenth century there was a huge divide between the classes and the upper classes wanted to keep those beneath them in their place.

This is the tale of a merchant who has managed to gather a lot of wealth and he wants a big estate, like his betters. But those betters don't like the idea and they keep buying the land our merchant wants, to keep him out.

They don't mind him having a big house, but not a huge estate like theirs. 

One among the Earls, Lord Sutton, has got himself into a bit of a pickle financially speaking and he is persuaded to sell our Merchant his smaller estate. The other titled landowners try to buy him out, but he refuses to sell.

As a last resort, they ask Lord Robin Eversley to go and speak to the merchant, but Robin's heart isn't really in it. And when he sees the Merchant's daughter, Charlotte, sees how she plays with her younger siblings, he sees in her a new mother for his damaged six year old daughter.

And when Charlotte see Robin, she has no intention of refusing him.

All is well until the plague strikes.

Pestilence: The Scent of Roses

Remember that Earl who got himself into a financial pickle? Well this tale is about his daughter, Lady Felice Sutton.

She is lovely, lovely enough in fact to attract the attention of the one man no woman wants to marry, Lord Christopher Waterford. He has a terrible reputation. His last wife died in childbirth and he buried her, along with her stillborn child, in a pauper's grave. That, despite being one of the wealthiest men in the country.

Lord Christopher is a cold man, a cruel man, who keeps to himself and has no opinion about our merchant, one way or the other.

But Christopher sees that Lord Sutton is on his way to debtor's prison, and that does not bode well for other noblemen. If the common people see an earl in such straits, they will know he is no better than them and Christopher does not want that. He is very well aware of his own elevated position.

He is in need of a wife, although he does not trust women. And Lady Felice loves her father; she does not want to see him reduced to penury. She does not want to see herself reduced either, but Lord Christopher has agreed to pay off all her father's debts in return for his daughter's hand in marriage.

The idea of marrying this man is terrifying, but Felice has no choice. The plague will soften Christopher's heart - but will it be too late?

Pestilence: Once Loved

This tale is rather special because it was the winner of the 2017 e-festival of words award for historical fiction. 

That was an award given by other professional in the publishing business, writers, editors, cover designers etc. It is an honour to receive such an award.

Once Loved is the third in the Pestilence series and focusses on Rebecca, a mother forced into prostitution by circumstances. Rebecca has always been accepted, but when the plague arrives in her village, people are looking for someone to blame. She is forced to flee with her adult son, Simon.

Simon is the result of an affair Rebecca had with a nobleman and he is her second son. The first was taken by that nobleman and Rebecca never saw either of them again.

The plague has given Rebecca and Simon an opportunity to begin a new life, miles away from their village, where nobody will know their past. But when they arrive after a long journey, hoping to find honest work, Rebecca realises she might at long last find her stolen son.

The Secret of Ainsley Gate

The idea for the Secret of Ainsley Gate came from a minor nobleman on television. It was one of those programmes where they get us common folk to spend a weekend in one of our ancient stately homes and meet the lords who live there.

This baron was very cordial and polite to his guests, although he had no idea what a semi-detached house is (that would be a duplex to my American readers). Then one of the guests asked the baron how he would feel if one of their children married one of his.

He was horrified and declared: 'Oh, no. You have to keep the clever genes together'.

Well, I did laugh. Since he quite likely got his title and estate because some ancestor helped the King on with his knickers, it was laughable. 

So I began to think, supposing some of those peasants during the Black Death were all that were left on a big estate. And supposing they moved into the big house out of necessity, then people would think they must be the landowners.

So, the Secret of Ainsley Gate was born.

This is the tale of two peasants, Kitty and Dickon. It is the fourteenth century and they are serfs, tied to the land.

They are in love, but when they ask the Lord for permission to marry, he wants an impossible reward in exchange for his consent.

They hide themselves away, for weeks, and when they emerge, it is to find that they are the only ones left in the village.

The Black Death has swept through the country and for a while, Kitty and Dickon believe they must be the only ones left alive. That is, until they go to the local monastery to seek help to bury the dead.

Only one monk still lives and he refuses his help. Gradually, Kitty and Dickon find their way to the Lord's house and the monk follows them.


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Copyright 2022 by Margaret Brazear