Destiny Lies Waiting (32 page)

Had she made the biggest mistake of her life coming here, confiding in Richard?

And now that she had told him everything, and he was demanding she trust him, she had nowhere else to go. No one else to turn to…

She clutched the sketch she had made in her hand, crumpling it for a moment, before realizing what she had done.

She now laid it on the bench to try to smooth it out. A stray tear fell next to it.

She gazed at the picture through tear-blurred eyes. "Mother, grandmother, aunt, please, please help me. Every man I've ever loved seems to have betrayed me. Uncle Ned, who loves me, but is married to his spider of a queen, and turns a blind eye to my erstwhile aunt's faults because to do otherwise would be to admit what a failure his marriage is.

"Valentine, glorious, vibrant Valentine, my knight in shining armor, my one desire, whom I would have given anything to love, had I not feared him being tarnished by lust, greed, and overweening ambition."

She tucked the sketch back into the bosom of her gown and held her hand over it and her aching heart.

"And now Richard, who I thought was true, but seems as capable of guile as any Woodville, and appears to be siding with Valentine.

"Please, whoever you are, Mistress, please help me save myself, and find my way to my true family. To true love."

But Denys' only answer was a whisper through the leaves of the garden, as the walls of Middleham Castle seemed to close in on her.

Her destiny lay waiting, but she had no idea which path would free her from the web she had become entangled in….

Don't miss the continuation of Denys and Valentine's story in
Thy Name is Love
.

The first chapter is included at the end of this novel.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the Richard III Society, notably Peter and Carolyn Hammond in London, for their assistance with my research. The Barton Library documents were especially helpful.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Anne Neville's father, the Earl of Warwick, was slain at the Battle of Barnet, not Tewkesbury. To accommodate my story, I kept him alive a bit longer than he actually was.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ashdown, Mrs. Charles H.,
British Costume During Nineteen Centuries

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Jenkins, Elizabeth,
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Richard III

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Richard III

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Haunted England

Wood, Margaret,
The English Mediaeval House

ALSO BY DIANA RUBINO

If you enjoyed this novel, then you may enjoy these other 
novels of M
edieval England:

The Yorkist Saga

1.
Destiny Lies Waiting

2. 
Thy Name is Love

3. 
The Jewels of Warwick

4.
Crown of Destiny

For Love and Loyalty
(A paranormal, time-travel adventure featuring Richard III)