"I think Hamelin's principal concern is that the royal house is not on firm ground at the moment. Richard is a great warrior, but anything could happen on the Crusade, and John is in the best position to take over the kingdom, even if Richard were to name Arthur heir. There needs to be someone in pl...

"Oh, all topsy-turvy. Richard has been like a whirlwind, and most of us have very little idea about where to put our feet to find safe ground. No one expected Glanville to be arrested, and the summary dismissal of all the Officers of State was a great shock, especially to Hamelin. I'm afraid he's ta...

"Paul!" She cries, standing up and moving to embrace you. She has the grace to hold her spoon at arm's length over your shoulder so as not to stain your shirt with eel drippings. "Will you join me? I have steak and kidney and eel. There was an awful lot of eel at the coronation feast, in among the u...

The small hours of the night found Isabel de Warenne in the deserted palace kitchens. She was setting up two cold leftover meat pies--one steak and kidney, the other eel, for her personal night-time enjoyment. Armed with a knife and a mighty will, she tucked in, savoring the delicious flavor of spic...

The arrival of the Warennes is heralded by a servant's careful knocking, and then the two of them enter. The short, stocky Hamelin and the elegant Isabel. It is Isabel that greets you first. "Good evening, my lord Leicester. It is good to see you, and thank you for your gracious invitation. I hope t...

Isabel de Warenne stands up from her table and approaches to select a line of poetry, looks it over carefully, and reads it aloud in perfectly accented, rhythmic High French: 1. "Man learns rhymes for to hear..." Success, Success, Critical Success [1st roll should read "Recognize; 6 is enough to pas...

Just entering the abbey, a tiny woman of advancing years strides purposefully down the aisle, through the quire of black-robed monks, to genuflect and sit down next to Hawise of Aumale. The Countess of Surrey is a slight woman with a round, warm face, but for all their difference in height and physi...

Isabel de Warenne, by right Countess of Surrey, to Lady Margaret, daughter of the Earl of Leicester, warmest greetings on this felicitous occasion. Ever since my husband informed me of the bittersweet news from France, of one King lost and another found, I have found my mind turning with joy to the ...