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Back Nottingham
Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

War, as she would discover, had a particular grudge against the happy. Then, fifteen years ago, it was King Henry the Young against King Henry the Old. At the time, she knew nothing of either of them. Both the Burels and the Wendenals owed fealty to the Earl of Derbyshire, William de Ferrers, who called upon his lords to raise an army and march to Nottingham. He had chosen for the young Henry.

Arable’s father, Lord Raymond de Burel, obeyed the call.

William’s father, Lord Beneger de Wendenal, did not.

It was a simple difference in opinion, but nobody could properly explain to Arable why their families were suddenly made enemies. She begged William to convince his father to change his mind, that he was being selfish, but he would not budge.

The Earl couldn’t stand to be disobeyed, so demanded punishment for those that did not rally to his call. His order was for Lord Raymond to take prisoner the sons of any lord that did not ride to war. This included William and his older brothers, George and Hugo.

Arable could still remember her father’s sleepless fits in the nights before he carried out the sentence. She curled by the door to his chambers at night while he was restless, whispering under the doorway for him to have strength. She never knew if he heard her. Her father swore he would take care of Lord Beneger’s sons, and treat them as though they were his own children. That they would not be harmed.

As far as Arable was concerned, it was hardly a punishment at all. An onlooker in her estate would have thought the Wendenal brothers were guests rather than captives. They lived in private rooms that were not prison cells, and were given free roam of the manor so long as they were escorted. And it delightfully brought William even closer to her. For a week or so they invented delicious tricks to slip away from William’s escort and hide in her room, or the stable loft. When they couldn’t meet, she’d throw messages into his window from outside and wait for an hour, falling in love with the sound of his inkwell, until he tossed one out again. They made more plans, only half of which were fantasy. They dreamed of reuniting their houses once the war was over with their marriage. They decided to hold the ceremony on a bridge they’d build over the river, where she’d first thrown the rock that hit his head.

But George and Hugo were not as docile captives as William.