In the newly built Bidston Hall, there is turmoil.
Elizabeth De Vere, now Elizabeth Stanley, is fast realising that all is not what it seems with her new husband, the 6^th Earl of Derby, and his family. His elder brother has been poisoned, and the killers are still at large - and certainly still plotting against Good Queen Bess. 
With danger around every corner, there is only one person she can turn to.
The newly widowed Lady Philippa Kellett has ridden hard to Bidston Hall. She will stop at nothing to uncover those that would harm her childhood comrade.
The right to succession is in question, and an Earldom is at stake. In the midst of this, there is a quiet love to be found in a timeless act of service. 
History will say they were roommates.