In this thirteenth tale about Tudor widow Ursula Blanchard,
we are treated to merrymaking and murder, costly gowns and
secrecy. Ursula has lived at the Court of the Queen
Elizabeth for some years and has undertaken acts of
discreet spying to plump her purse. Now she must undertake
A PERILOUS ALLIANCE.
Ursula just wants a quiet life by this point, and the Queen
has granted her a fine home. But she scarcely gets time to
enjoy it when a widowed suitor arrives. Politely rejected,
he leaves, clearing the way for the Queen's advisors to
come with another offer of marriage - to a noble Frenchman,
Count Renard, which would seal an alliance between the two
countries. No is again Ursula's impulse, but it's doubtful
she can she make it stick.
Count Renard arrives to make himself agreeable to the
comely widow, but her horsemaster discerns that he is a
cruel horseman. At this time there is tension between
France and Spain, and England, as the Jacobite supporters
try to stir up trouble in favour of Mary Queen of Scots or
a French invasion. Ursula needs to obey orders or be
thought a traitor. The well-portrayed Queen Elizabeth, at
Hampton Court, explains her own reasoning for not wedding -
a wife may easily die in childbirth, and the Queen's death
would spark civil and continental wars. Someone must marry
in her stead. But back at Ursula's home, her housekeeper
has mysteriously fallen downstairs and died. Does someone
sinister lurk near the good Lady and the Count?
I love the atmosphere, which is easy to read and may be
told from a point of privilege but is no less gritty at
times. Compounding the intrigue is the fact that a young
lady guest, Mistress Ambrosia Wilde, has had a match
arranged for her, so when she vanishes it's assumed that
she has eloped with another suitor. This sparks a lively
chase through the countryside. We learn about the varieties
of horses, traditional amblers being phased out and
replaced with smart trotters. We also learn about warships
and why a spy would want to count them. This romp is
tremendous fun with pirates, slavers and other villains to
up the stakes. A PERILOUS ALLIANCE is a worthy addition to
the Ursula Blanchard mysteries by Fiona Buckley and will
delight lovers of period crimes, with a respectful
assessment of the role of women in Tudor times.
Widow Ursula Blanchard is urged to remarry for the sake
of Queen and Country in this latest
enthralling historical adventure
January, 1576. After three husbands, widow Ursula Blanchard
has no desire to marry again.
However, she is not in a position to refuse when Sir
Francis Walsingham decides she must wed
Count Gilbert Renard, the illegitimate son of King Henri
II, in order to build a strategic alliance with
the French.
When the Count arrives at her country home to pay court,
Ursula’s misgivings grow stronger. Then
one of her household staff is found dead at the bottom of
the stairs. An accident – or something
more sinister?
The disturbing chain of events that follows sees Ursula
heading on a perilous journey in a race
against time to prevent a national catastrophe. En route
she will encounter danger, hardship,
conspiracy – and murder.
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