by Trish Morey
‘Not the house, of course,’ said Rob. ‘Not that we would want the cursed place. That’s to go to some crony of the Queen’s. We are to have the hunting lodge, along with a caretaker’s cottage for your father and a portion of the farm. If we can learn to be farmers, there should be a fine living in it. And I can finish my new sonnets.’
‘This is ours? Our home?’ she whispered. ‘Is this some sort of dream?’
Rob laughed. ‘No dream, Anna dearest, and no trick, either. This is our home now, if you wish it to be. I will show you the letter for proof.’
‘I need no proof, Robert, for I feel it in my heart. This is our home,’ Anna said, her throat heavy with happy tears. She twirled round to her husband and rested her head on his shoulder as the fresh, sweet air of their new home wrapped around them. A beloved husband, a home, a place for them—it was all she had once thought could never be hers, and her heart was bursting with it all.
‘And we will be happy here together for always?’ she said.
Rob laughed and held her close. ‘Yes, my love. For always.’
AUTHOR NOTE
In so many ways, writing historical romance is the perfect job for a ‘nerd’ like me! I can bring in many of my history obsessions and apply them to my characters, spend hours reading history books, and watch Shakespeare in Love over and over and call it ‘Important Research.’ What could be better?
Anna and Rob’s story was inspired by a wonderful evening at the new Globe Theatre in London, watching a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I had long been obsessed with the Elizabethan theatre, and this trip was a dream come true—the closest I could come to experiencing a play the way sixteenth century audiences did. I knew I had to write a story set in the thrilling, dangerous environs of the Elizabethan underworld, and Robert, the writer/spy—inspired in part by the brilliant Christopher Marlowe, and by the famous actor Edward Alleyn, who married the daughter of theatre impresario Philip Henslowe—jumped into my mind right away. He was so dashing, and I fell a bit in love with him myself. Sadly, I had to relinquish him to Anna …
I was able to research several aspects of Elizabethan life for Rob and Anna’s story—theatre, Sir Francis Walsingham and his espionage work, life in Southwark and other suburban —and lawless!—neighbourhoods, and the relations between the different classes of Elizabethan London. A backstage tour of the Globe and some books purchased in their shop gave me a very good start.
I also loved looking more deeply into the life of Spymaster Walsingham—one of the many fascinating characters of the Elizabethan era. He spent his life corralling information in a time when such an endeavour seemed impossible, managing a vast network of informants and agents in an effort to keep the Queen safe. He liked to use actors—such as the ill-fated Marlowe—due to their literacy, their powers of observation, their fluid movements, both geographically and socially, and the fact they always needed money.
Walsingham died in 1590, soon after the action of this story, but I enjoyed giving him a role in this tale, as well as his daughter Frances, Lady Essex—who, despite reputedly being rather plain, married first the famous poet Sir Philip Sidney and then the Court heartthrob the Earl of Essex.
And I also loved seeing what happened to Edward and Elizabeth, whom I first met in my Undone short story, To Court, Capture, and Conquer! They set me on this journey in the first place, and I’m glad to see they are still happily in love and having adventures.
Please visit my website—http://ammandamccabe.com—for more behind-the-book history!