Watch the Lady

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Authors: Elizabeth Fremantle

BOOK: Watch the Lady
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Praise for Elizabeth Fremantle's Novels

Queen's Gambit

“Spellbinding . . . fascinating . . . a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans.”

—
People

“Wildly entertaining. . . . Lively, gamey, gripped with tension. One of the best historical novels I've read.”

—Liz Smith,
The Huffington Post

“Intrigue, romance, and treachery abound. . . . This compulsively readable fictional biography of the ultimate survivor is infused with the type of meticulous attention to historical detailing that discerning fans of Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory have come to expect in the Tudor canon.”

—
Booklist

“Fremantle's vivid, finely detailed reconstruction of Katherine Parr's marriage to Henry VIII is a guaranteed best seller [that] fills the void just when historical fiction fans were beginning to feel the dearth of new works.”

—
Library Journal

Sisters of Treason

“If you love historic royal fiction (with a dash of romance) you'll want to pick up Elizabeth Fremantle's
Sisters of Treason
, about two sisters reeling after the execution of their teenage sister, having been on the throne for just days.”

—PopSugar

“An enthralling story of love and tyranny,
Sisters of Treason
brings the Tudor courts to life again, in all their romance and horror.”

—Leanda de Lisle, author of
Tudor: The Family Story

“Pacey storytelling . . . superb background . . . harrowing detail.”

—Kate Saunders,
The Times
(London)

“Passionate, compassionate, intricate, sharp, clever and utterly compelling.”

—M. C. Scott, author of
Rome: The Art of War

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Contents

The Duel

October 1589: Leicester House, the Strand

November 1589: Theobalds, Hertfordshire

Part I: The Egg

January 1581: Whitehall

February 1581: Greenwich Palace

February 1581: Deptford docks

May 1581: Whitehall

November 1581: Leicester House/Smithfield

November 1581: Smithfield/Whitehall

December 1581: Leicester House, the Strand

March 1582: Leighs, Essex

July 1582: Chartley, Staffordshire

September 1583: Whitehall

February 1587: Cheapside

Part II: The Oyster

November 1589: Theobalds, Hertfordshire

May 1590: Leicester House, the Strand

September 1590: Windsor Castle

November 1590: Whitehall

May 1591: Theobalds, Hertfordshire

Autumn 1591: Wanstead, Essex

January 1592: Whitehall

March 1592: Essex House, the Strand

April 1593: Theobalds, Hertfordshire

July 1593: Wanstead, Essex

January 1594: Burghley House, the Strand

June 1594: Essex House, the Strand

Summer 1595: London

October 1595: Leighs, Essex

November 1595: Burghley House, the Strand

Part III: Icarus

June 1598: Greenwich Palace

July 1598: Drayton Bassett, Derbyshire

August 1598: Burghley House, the Strand

December 1598: Whitehall/Tower of London

March 1599: Curtain Theatre/Essex House

March 1599: Whitehall

July 1599: Leighs, Essex

September 1599: Nonsuch, Surrey

September 1599: Barn Elms/Nonsuch

December 1599: Whitehall

December 1599: Richmond Palace

March 1600: Whitehall

June 1600: Essex House, the Strand

August 1600: Whitehall

January 1601: Chartley, Staffordshire

February 1601: Whitehall

February 1601: Essex House, the Strand

February 1601: Whitehall

February 1601: Essex House, the Strand

February 1601: Whitehall

February 1601: Essex House, the Strand

February 1601: Whitehall/Westminster

The Sword

Summer 1603: Wanstead, Essex

Author's Note

Acknowledgments

Queen's Gambit
Excerpt

Sisters of Treason
Excerpt

Reading Group Guide

About the Author

For Alice, who would have been Stella had I got my way

The Duel

Stella, star of heavenly fire,

Stella, lodestar of desire.

Sir Philip Sidney,
Astrophil and Stella

October 1589
Leicester House, the Strand

The wax sizzles as it drips, releasing an acrid whiff. Penelope presses in her seal, twisting it slightly to make it unreadable, wondering if it—this letter—is folly, if it could be construed as treason were it to fall into the wrong hands.

“Do you think . . .” she begins to say to Constable, who is standing at her shoulder.

“I think you risk too much.”

“I have to secure my family's future. You know as well as I that the Queen is not a young woman. Were she to—” She stops and flicks her gaze about the chamber, though they both know they are alone as they had searched, even behind the hangings, for lurking servants who might be persuaded to sell a snippet of information to the highest bidder. “There have been attempts on the Queen's life and she has named no heir. If one were to strike its target.” Her voice is lowered to the quietest of whispers. She doesn't need to tell him that there are eyes all over Europe on Elizabeth's crown. “The Devereuxs need an established allegiance.”

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