Melisende’s husband, Simon, was the village blacksmith. King Phillippe of France demanded his services on the Third Crusade. Lord Charles returns from the Crusade ready to take the place of his slain father, in charge of the village in France. But Simon does not return, killed on the battlefield, though somehow Charles is riding Simon’s fine warhorse. THE LODE STONE looks at the situation as it develops for Melisende, a still-young mother and widow.
What’s a warhorse worth, one that could save a lord’s life? Was a dirty deed done, was a bargain struck, or a promise made? Melisende doesn’t have much option but to take what Charles offers her in compensation, because she has two children to feed, the laundry work is drying up, and she can’t pay the rent on the smithy cottage. She likes Roland, the younger brother of Charles, but he’s not going to stoop to wedding a peasant.
Anyone who has read The Sorrow Stone by this author Jane Ann McLachlan will know that she recreates medieval Europe excellently. The sights, sounds, smells and superstitions fill her pages; religions and tensions decide actions, while people depend on beasts of burden. In The Sorrow Stone we met a pedlar selling spices on the pilgrim trail and a woman trying to free herself of grief. THE LODE STONE brings together the story of a man called Isaac, severely injured from the battle at Acre as he strove to save religious items from a temple, and doomed to wander; with the woman who might as well have been widowed when her husband first went Crusading, there was so little chance of any man returning.
Of course, some men did return, and brought with them anything from Arab horses to illnesses, from medical knowledge to plunder. Isaac introduces to us the unscrupulous, the greedy, the kind. Few authors write so finely and well-balanced a tale as Jane Ann McLachlan. I stand in awe of her research and deft weaving in the ‘Medieval Stones’ series. This instalment is wonderful not just for lovers of historical romance but for horse owners.
What is "Home"? Is it the place where we are safe, or where we are loved? Or is it the compass by which we steer our life?
Three years ago Melisende’s husband, Simon, went off with Lord Barnard and his men to join King Phillippe of France on the Third Crusade.
Now Lord Barnard is dead and his son, Lord Charles, has come home from the crusades with the last of their men -- and Simon is not among them. Lord Charles claims Simon died saving his life. Melisende suspects there is more to the story. Left to fend for herself and her two young children, Melisende is determined to discover what really happened to Simon at the battle for Acre. The truth is far stranger and more unsettling than she could ever have imagined.
If you enjoy true-to-life historical fiction based on real events, with all the passion, drama, and heartache of life in Medieval Europe, you’ll love The Lode Stone, written by multi-award-winning author Jane Ann McLachlan.
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