Excerpt!
‘Mama…’ Angharad murmured.
Nesta didn’t weaken the contempt of her sneer at the man who was to become her fifth husband. Every eye in the courtyard was fixed upon her.
‘Mama!’ Angharad repeated, more loudly. They must submit. They had no choice.
Nesta’s gaze flickered towards Angharad. Then, she smiled. She glowed, incandescent as if a shaft of blinding sunlight had broken through the hailstorm; as if Étienne was her God-given destiny and she was born to be the gracious lady of this castle; as if she had not schemed, backstabbed and begged for three long years to avoid this moment. A low sigh arose from the captivated folk in the courtyard.
Nesta held up her hands and called out in her perfect Norman French, Angharad’s native language, ‘Thank you for the warmth of your welcome, sire. Praise Our Lord in His Grace for returning us safely to you. How overjoyed we are to be home!’
Angharad beamed, too, as brightly as if her life depended on it – which it did.
And her smile didn’t waver when the Constable nodded his signal, the iron winch strained, the ponderous chains clanged, and the monstrous gates of Aberteifi Castle swung shut behind them.
Author bio:
Claire Fuge writes historical fiction inspired by medieval Wales, the Tewdwr family and the women whose lives were shaped by conquest, loyalty and survival. Her work explores the spaces where history leaves silence, and where storytelling can bring forgotten voices back to life.
1126. The Norman conquest grips Wales. Rebellion stirs. And one woman’s choice could ignite it all.
Nineteen-year-old Angharad, the daughter of a Norman knight and a captive Welsh princess, arrives at Aberteifi Castle for her mother’s arranged marriage. But her new stepfather, the merciless Norman commander of the castle, has other plans. He demands that Angharad expose her mother, Nesta, as a secret rebel or be cast out to die.
To survive, Angharad presses Nesta to reveal the truth about her past: as a Welsh princess stolen by invaders, the victim of wars and betrayals, the seductress of kings and princes. As Nesta’s story unfolds, Angharad discovers a legacy more dangerous than she could have imagined, and must decide whether to protect her mother or herself…
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Claire Fuge writes historical fiction inspired by medieval Wales, the Tewdwr family and the women whose lives were shaped by conquest, loyalty and survival. Her work explores the spaces where history leaves silence, and where storytelling can bring forgotten voices back to life.
