Secret Keeper

Book : Ladies in Waiting

by Sandra Byrd

Genres: General Fiction; Historical Fiction; Romance

Synopsis

The author of To Die For returns to the court of Henry VIII, as a young woman is caught between love and honor. Juliana St. John is the daughter of a prosperous knight in Marlborough. Though her family wants her to marry the son of her father's business partner, circumstances set her on a course toward the court of Henry VIII and his last wife, Kateryn, or Katherine Parr. Sir Thomas Seymour, uncle of the current heir, Prince Edward, returns to Wiltshire to tie up his business with Juliana's father's estate and sees instantly that she would fit into the household of the woman he loves, Kateryn Parr. Her mother agrees to have her placed in the Parr household for "finishing" and Juliana goes, though perhaps reluctantly. For she knows a secret. She has been given the gift of prophecy, and in one of her visions she has seen Sir Thomas shredding the dress of the king's daughter, the lady Elizabeth, to perilous consequence. As Juliana learns the secrets of King Henry VIII's court, she faces threats and opposition, learning truths about her own life that will upset everything she thought she once held dear.

Release date: June 5, 2012

Publisher: Howard Books

Print pages: 352

Sample

The Secret Keeper
PROLOGUE



Her voice sounded by turns pleased and then pleading, her laughter scaled from bass enjoyment to treble fear. A highborn woman held fast the girl’s arms while the rougher hands of a man ran over the young woman’s jawline, her hairline, her hemline. I could not see his face, but on his left small finger he bore a costly gold and black onyx signet ring. With the other hand he took his dagger and began to slash.

Pieces of her black gown fell to the ground, one by one, like the locks of a condemned woman shorn before execution, though he stayed himself from touching her bright red hair before sheathing his dagger again. Her woeful face betrayed that she knew this would be her utter undoing. The gown was ruined and the black clumps, which had plummeted to the ground, received the breath of life of a sudden and became a flock of beady-eyed ravens that took wing toward the Tower of London, whilst we watched in horror and dread.