Prisoner of the Queen (Tales From the Tudor Court) (51 page)

I do not know if Elizabeth I ever visited her cousin’s grave, so the epilogue in Elizabeth’s point-of-view is entirely a figment of my imagination.

In eternity these two lovers do reside together. Grandson to Kat and Ned, William Seymour, had his grandmother’s body moved to be with his grandfather. There is an effigy that can still be visited today. This was Ned’s wish, and he portrayed that to his grandson, bidding him to have this effigy engraved:

Incomparable Consorts

Who experience in the vicissitudes of changing fortune

At length, in the concord which marked their lives

Here rest together.

Ned began drawing plans for this tomb many years before his death—planning for his final resting place to be beside t
he woman he had never forgotten. The love of his life. He worked just as diligently on this tomb as he did on restoring the legitimacy of his two sons and the validity of his marriage to Kat. (Though the queen did have him remarry, to which no issue was conceived, which makes his last wishes all the more poignant.)

While Elizabeth was a strong ruler, I like to think that she did regret and struggle with having been brutal. She loved her cousin, and at one time wanted to adopt her, so when Katherine married secretly, she took it as a personal affront and felt betrayed. To add salt to the wound, the fact that Katherine bore two healthy sons made Elizabeth only more angry and fearful for her crown. When it came down to it, she was bound to the throne and loyal to nothing but that. I’m sure she struggled with that every day. But in the end, she didn’t choose Katherine’s sons to be her heirs and instead united Scotland with England in a move that shocked the many but ultimately brought to country to where it is today, a united island. Perhaps she had a greater vision for England’s future than any previous monarch.

What a different world this would have been had Jane Grey overpowered Mary’s run on London—or even if Mary had named Katherine queen.

Thank you for reading!

Eliza

More Tales From the Tudor Court!

Have you read,
My Lady Viper
?

May, 1536. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.

When Anne Boleyn falls to the executioner's ax on a cold spring morning, yet another Anne vows she will survive in the snake-pit court of Henry VIII. But at what cost?

Lady Anne Seymour knows her family hangs by a thread. If her sister-in-law Jane Seymour cannot give the King a son, she will be executed or set aside, and her family with her. Anne throws herself into the deadly and intoxicating intrigue of the Tudor court, determined at any price to see the new queen's marriage a success and the Seymour family elevated to supreme power. But Anne's machinations will earn her a reputation as a viper, and she must decide if her family's rise is worth the loss of her own soul . . .

Praise for
MY LADY VIPER
…

“E. Knight breathes new life and new scandal into the Tudors. This is an engrossing historical fiction tale that readers will love!”
~ Meg Wessel, A Bookish Affair

“A brilliant illustration of a capricious monarch and the nest of serpents that surrounded him, My Lady Viper is an absolute must. Intricately detailed, cleverly constructed and utterly irresistible.” ~
Erin, Flashlight Commentary

Check out E. Knight’s next project, releasing at the end of 2014!

Pompeii was a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire. When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens escaped the mountain's wrath, some died as heroes … and these are their stories.

A boy who loses his innocence in Pompeii's flourishing streets…

An heiress dreading her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire…

An ex-legionary staking his future on a gladiator bout destined to be fatally interrupted…

A crippled senator whose only chance of escape lies with a beautiful tomboy on horseback…

A young mother faced with an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls…

A priestess and a whore looking for redemption and resurrection as the town is buried…

A novel in six parts by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Sophie Perinot, Ben Kane, Kate Quinn, Eliza Knight, and Stephanie Dray, who bring you overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross paths during Pompeii's fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for posterity.

About the Author

E. Knight is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Romance Writers of America and several RWA affiliate writing chapters: Hearts Through History, Celtic Hearts, Maryland Romance Writers and Washington Romance Writers. Growing up playing in castle ruins and traipsing the halls of Versailles when visiting her grandparents during the summer, instilled in a love of history and royals at an early age. Feeding her love of history, she created the popular historical blog, History Undressed:

(
www.historyundressed.com
).

Under the pseudonym Eliza Knight, she is a bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author of historical and erotic romance. Eliza lives in Maryland with her husband, three little princesses and one crazy dog! She is avid in social media and readers can find her at:

Website: www.elizaknight.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizaknightfiction

Twitter: @ElizaKnight