Jonna looked around the strange room her father had left her in. The room was small and dark with dim lighting from a small window. The dank musty smell began to succumb to her as the door abruptly opened; a heavily armor-clad man quickly entered. Jonna stood frozen in the corner of the room, watching…
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It was a couple days before Anna could gather herself enough to return to the saloon. When she did, she had Clint by her side for support. The girls were very understanding as was Sam, the barkeep. “You just take your time, Anna. Me and the other girls can keep the place running till you…
 He had lost track of how long he had been riding… it seemed like he had been in that saddle since he was able to sit up straight. One day melted into another and the nights had been cold and lonely for as long as he could remember. But that was the life of a…
Prologue THOUGHTS The king should have the biggest cocksword. It was a simple, well-reasoned conclusion maiden Reina reached while contemplating her good fortune at having been chosen the King’s bed maiden. If ever there were a reason to make a man king, this should surely be it. It made sense. A king should be a…
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Carrying a bowl of figs on his fingertips, Mikha’El strutted up the palace’s columned hallways with his chest raised and a grin stretched across his black-beaded face. His sandy-brown arms, bulging with muscles, gleamed from the oils he had smeared to polish them. Ever since he earned himself the rank of house slave, taking him…
December, 1848“Jennette, darling! I have good news!” My mother said to me one morning when I came down to breakfast. I hid an unladylike yawn behind my hand as casually as I could manage, then acknowledged her graciously. “What is it then, Mother?” I asked as brightly as my early-morning grogginess would allow. She giggled;…
Dr McPherson’s Assistant Dr McPherson was getting old. He had a thriving practice in Harley Street patronised by the very first echelon of society where he was known for his discretion and his sympathetic and accommodating attitude. The sons and daughters of the nobility would be sent to him to treat some of the more…
Behold six pairs of doomed lovers,Slain by their own hands or by another. With poison, knife, serpent and lust.Ah! But whose marriage really went bust? Heloise and Abelard. Both were brilliant.He was unmanned but still proved resilient. Paris and Helen launched ships and warThe greatestthe Bronze Age ever saw. Antony and Cleopatra: Westwed East.They had…
I may have given the impression that all in Mistress Pickles’ household was, as it were, idyllic. It would, I now conjecture, be naïve to assume that a house full of women such as it was would be so. In fact there were tensions. Not all the ladies were as pleasant as Maria or Bella….
A buxom maiden of nineteen years was Xenia Xerxes Whose step-dad told her, his guests she must please. Xenia most happily obeyed As her body she displayed Naked for all newcomers to see, squeeze and seize. Now, her step-dad, Pimpopulous, owned an inn Where many travelers from afar would drop in To enjoy their host’s…
I am writing this chronicle in the year of our Lord 1805 and news has only recently been brought to England of Admiral Lord Nelson’s victory and tragic death at Trafalgar. The war is over. A sense of relief prevails. I am now 46 years old and in very different circumstances. I will not say…
Lady Broadmoor’s quarters were second only to the ‘bridal suite’ in opulence. Heavy velvet curtains covered the windows; a fire burned bright in the hearth; paper-shaded lanterns cast a soft glow over the satins and velvets of the furnishings. The bed was vast and clad in silk. Two side rooms housed a privy and a…
In the following months I entertained many guests at Mistress Pickles’ house and my First Lady was a regular visitor. She sometimes liked to take both Maria, to whom I had become exceeding close, and me to her room and we would entertain her together. Mistress Pickles’ salon had become well known amongst ladies of…
The following Friday I received a note from Patrice saying he was in town and asking whether I was free to take lunch with him. I was travelling home in two days’ time, so I arranged to meet him at the Grande on Saturday afternoon. When I arrived at the hotel restaurant at half past…
Elizabeth awoke the following morning from a most enjoyable dream, which from her confused recollection had involved not only herself and her husband, but also her sister Jane and Mr Bingley, plus a variety of kitchen utensils and possibly (although her memory was a little unclear about this) a horse. Even as she awoke she…