The year is 1464.
The War of the Roses rages on; a great showdown between Lancaster and York.
Yet, asleep in her bed, fiery-haired Melissa Woodville dreams of splintered shields, broken swords, and the resounding screams of wounded men in the Battle...
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OVER A WEEK after the festivities at Smithfield had ended, Melissa felt as though she were at the center of a spectacle. Not only was she being scrutinized due to her new association with the Duke of Gloucester, but the king had also announced his marriage to her sister over the week's end.
He had first convened the lords he'd summoned, informed them of his marital status, and then used the second joust day to declare Elizabeth as his queen to the rest of the court. The nobles put on a happy mask for the king's pleasure, but none of them were pleased with the turnout of Edward's betrothal. The French ambassador was said to have stormed off in anger, even, and the king's mother, the Duchess Cecily refused to receive him in her chambers for over three days.
Melissa's own father and brothers, who — until that moment — had been overly critical of the York king, could not restrain their joy and glee, especially since it was in the face of Lord Warwick's fury and humiliation. The man had rode off to his estate, Middleham Castle, supposedly to retrieve his wife and daughters, but all knew it was because he was especially disenchanted with Edward, the king he had all but put on the throne. The marriage to Elizabeth, a Lancastrian commoner, must have been like spitting him in the face, as Warwick had been the one to arrange the contract to Bona of Savoy in the first place.
When she thought about it, Melissa could not help but admit to herself that marrying Elizabeth was a spectacularly bad political move on Edward's part. He had been blinded by his lust for her golden sister, and so could not see how he had damaged his foreign relations and the affinity he had with his own nobles. It was, indeed, an insult to anyone who had fought for him, to take a bride from a family who killed for King Henry, especially since she was of low birth, and a widow as well!
Walking down the hallway that led to the Duchess Elizabeth's chambers, Melissa could feel the glares and judging looks the nobles lobbed her way. Before, they had been curious, baffled at the amount of attention the king had afforded her and her family. Now that they knew why, it seemed like they inwardly loathed her. But the girl knew, she could not let that affect her. She could not let them see her as weak.
