The House of Lothwold has been at war with the House of Malwarden for years. A truce is called and hostages from both houses must be exchanged in order to ensure it is kept.
Fun-loving, flirtatious Hawise of Lothwold is keen to avoid the nunnery and volunteers to go to Castle Malwarden as a hostage, hoping to make a second marriage afterwards. Meanwhile, her friend Bessy yearns to go to a local convent to be with her lover.
In a world full of dragons, plots and treachery, both women soon get what they want – but not what they had imagined.
A romantic fantasy adventure set in a quasi-medieval world, The Deadly Favour is the first book in The Woldsheart Chronicles.
Sample – The Deadly Favour
A messenger arrived at the castle late that evening and requested to speak with Aunt Illustra or Uncle Piers immediately. I was on my way to bed, tired from the emotion of the day, and did not pay as much attention as I might have otherwise paid to her anxious expression and rushed words. Besides, the war was still going on, and messengers were not uncommon visitors, although the hope of peace was being whispered. Peace, that is to say, a lasting peace, which would encompass all ten kingdoms, currently fighting various wars both within and between kingdoms, seemed impossible. Wars had dragged on for decades, merging into new battles as soon as they were won and lost. Peace was never permanent on these isles. It was as impossible to imagine as eternal summer or pearls growing from trees.
Hawise grabbed me the next morning, looking animated and wide-eyed with emotion. She pulled me into her closet so we could speak freely.
“What is it?” I immediately asked. “Is it bad news?”
“No, it’s very good news, in fact. Very surprising news, but it might just be the solution we are looking for.”
“You have found a husband?”
“No, and I won’t need to if we pull this off. The messenger who arrived last night came to discuss exchanging hostages with the House of Malwarden in the Westlands. You know how we called a truce with them earlier this month? Well, to ensure that nobody breaks it, it has been agreed that three people from our house will go to them as hostages. In return, three people from their house will stay here.
“If I offer myself as one of the hostages, I would not need to either enter a nunnery, just yet, or try for a second marriage. I would be doing something useful instead of just hanging around the castle, and by the time I return, I should stand a better chance of finding a husband. From what the messenger said, it’s likely I would be there for several months to a year. People will have forgotten about my wild behaviour by then, plus I will be raised in their esteem by making a sacrifice for the good of Lothwold. You can go to the convent in my stead. You would also be doing something more worthwhile than killing time here.”
I stared at her open-mouthed. When Hawise stirred herself, she could be brilliant. The trouble was, she rarely saw the need to do so. She had been the despair of our tutors when we were growing up. I had to confess to myself that I occasionally resented that she could excel whenever she chose, whereas I could only do well at my studies, and later acquire a reputation for cleverness, if I worked very hard.
“That’s an inspired idea, but isn’t it children who are exchanged?”
“Yes, but no-one wants to send their children some two hundred miles away, far into enemy territory, especially while fighting continues. There are other battles being fought besides our quarrel with them. I saw our aunt trying to raise the subject with more than one parent today. They were all in tears. Besides, there’s no rule that only children can be exchanged. It’s just tradition.”
“Oh Hawise, would you really do this for me?” I was deeply moved.
“Of course I would. I would also do it for my own benefit and for the good of the House of Lothwold. I may even say for the good of us all, if it leads to a lasting peace.”
“You would be living with the enemy. You would be at their mercy.” My conscience compelled me to state the obvious.
“It is in the interest of my captors, or hosts, depending on how you see the situation, that I and the children who are sent be well treated. The situation will not last for ever, and what they do to us, we can do to their kin.”
I admired her courage but could not help thinking of the gory tales that had met my ears, some of which I knew were true.
It was true it was in everyone’s interests to ensure that hostages were treated humanely, but such treatment was only highly likely and not guaranteed. I knew of exchanges involving different houses where hostages had been beaten and shackled. The worst tale I had heard of concerned the head of a fourteen-year-old boy being sent to his godfather after a treaty was not honoured. I knew it was true. It was a famous story.
However, that happened over thirty years ago and in Doggerdale. That’s a different kingdom and over fifty miles away. Those involved with the murder paid with their lives, and nobody approved of what they did. People learned from them that such cruelty does not pay. That atrocity will keep my friend safe because nobody wants it to happen again.
Hawise was in high spirits, her preferred state of mind.
“If you are in agreement, Bessy, then let’s find our aunt and uncle now before they persuade people to hand over their children. The messenger said that the formal exchange of hostages must take place a fortnight yesterday and at Elf’s Clearing in Basset’s Wood.”
She named a well-known place, said to be touched by magic, which was technically in the Woldsheart but some hundred miles away and not held by the House of Lothwold. Neither of us had been to the wood, never mind to the clearing. It was considered neutral territory and often used to hold ceremonies between different houses or kingdoms, such as the exchange of hostages.
“If you are sure that you are willing to take this risk, then yes, I agree and I thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this.”
She nodded, now a little less joyful. The enormity of what she had suggested was beginning to sink in. However, she said no more, and we went to find our guardians.
By good luck, we found Aunt Illustra and Uncle Piers talking together in the herb garden. Nobody else was present, and we seized the opportunity. We greeted them, and Hawise told them her plan.
They stood in stunned silence for some seconds whilst they tried to digest her unexpected suggestion. Cold sweat spread under my armpits. We needed this to work, yet I feared for my friend if she put herself at the mercy of an enemy, far from all of us.
“Well,” my aunt said at last, “I don’t see why you should not do this. It is unusual to send an adult but kinder than sending a child. We were not specifically bidden to send only children, merely to send three souls of noble blood. You would be far away, but you would return within twelve months, at most. It would not harm your chance of joining Bessy at the nunnery. What do you think, Piers?”
“Or we could look for a husband for me,” my friend suggested before he could reply. “By then, people will have forgotten my…wildness, and I will be held in higher respect for offering myself.”
“Is that your primary motive for offering to go?” Our uncle tried not to smile.
“No, but I do confess it is a motive.”
“We’ll be lucky to get anyone to give up their children without bribery,” he continued. “I need not state how bad our finances are. This castle costs a fortune to maintain in these troubled times. We need not bribe ourselves to give up Hawise, much as we will miss her, and it sets an example to everyone else.”
He turned to Hawise.
“You and Bessy are both of age, and really, your aunt and I are guardians in name alone. We will help you in whatever way we can, be it finding husbands or speaking to abbesses, but you must both do what you believe is right. We only insist that you follow the dictates of the law and propriety, and put the interests of Lothwold first.”
“I believe it is right for me to go to the Convent of the New Moon,” I said. “I do not feel inclined to marry again. Instead, I feel drawn to the religious life. I believe I could do more good for our house there, through good works and prayers, than I could by taking a second husband and trying for children again. I did not conceive once with Horace. Who is to say I am not barren? My parents only had me after years of marriage, and they were both only children. Nobody could say I come from fertile stock.”
“And I believe I am not suited to becoming a nun,” my friend cut in before I could run on any further and make our argument look weak. “I should like to marry again, and briefly sacrificing myself as a hostage will raise my value in everyone’s eyes.”
After exchanging a long look, they gave us their blessing.
Arrangements were made at a startling speed after that conversation. Uncle Piers contacted the priest to tell him that Lady Millabess would no longer require a husband because she intended to become a nun. Aunt Illustra and I wrote to the abbess of the Convent of the New Moon with my intention. We received her reply within three days, and I was invited to stay for six months. If I still believed that I had a vocation at the end of that time, I could begin my novitiate.
Two sets of parents were persuaded to give up their children. A boy of nine and a girl of seven, both of Lothwold and highborn but not related to each other, were prepared for their fate. My uncle was right in saying that Hawise’s leaving set an example. It was doubtful if anyone would have volunteered without her offering herself first. She was also correct in that it raised her value in people’s eyes. I saw her being looked at and overheard her name in conversation. Usually, she was occasionally noted for her looks and only ever mentioned either as a loose woman or as an amiable companion. Now, people gazed at her in surprise and respect and constantly talked about her in the most admiring terms.
The messenger left our castle the second morning after her arrival, promising to return when the details of the handover had been finalised. We bade her farewell before my aunt turned to Hawise and me, advising us on what we should pack for our new lives.
Hawise’s blue eyes met my black ones. I knew my expression was identical to hers.
My Gods, this is all becoming very real!