Orphaned at age eight, Lady Cecily Burkhart becomes the ward of Harold Pierce, Earl of Sumerton. The charming Lord Hal and his wife, Lady Grace, immediately welcome sweet-natured Cecily as one of their own. With Brey, their young son, Cecily develops an easy, playful friendship. But their intensely devout daughter, Mirabella, is consumed by her religious vocation--and by her devotion to Father Alec Cahill, the family priest and tutor.With Father Alec as her closest confidant, Cecily begins to glimpse the painful secrets at the heart of the Pierce family. When tragedy strikes at home, and Henry VIII's obsession with Anne Boleyn leads to violent upheaval across England, Mirabella is robbed of her calling and the future Cecily dreamed of is ripped away in turn. As Cecily struggles to hold together the fractured household, she and Alec also grapple with a dangerous mutual attraction. Plagued with jealousy, Mirabella unleashes a tumultuous chain of events that threatens to...

As Queen Catherine's maid and daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, the future seems bright for Elizabeth Stafford. But when her father gives her hand to Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, the spirited young woman must sacrifice all for duty. Yet Elizabeth is surprised by her passion for her powerful new husband. And when he takes on a mistress, she is determined to fight for her love and her honor. . .Naive and vulnerable, Bess Holland is easily charmed by the Duke of Norfolk, doing his bidding in exchange for gifts and adoration. For years, she and Elizabeth compete for his affections. But they are mere spectators to an obsession neither can rival: Norfolk's quest to weave the Howard name into the royal bloodline. The women's loyalties are tested as his schemes unfold—among them the litigious marriage of his niece, Anne Boleyn, to King Henry the VIII. But in an age of ruthless beheadings, no self-serving motive goes unpunished—and Elizabeth and Bess will have...