Storms and Shadows

Set in a troubled era in which King Henry II is at war with his sons, Storms and Shadows follows the fortunes of the de Braose family as they struggle to emerge as one of the most wealthy and influential families in medieval England. Responsible for the Abergavenny massacre of 1175, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and Lord of Abergavenny, rises high during Prince John's accession to the throne and his turbulent reign as king. From Bramber castle in Sussex to the wilderness of the Welsh Marches and over to the battlefields of France, the eventual confrontation between these two men sets in motion a devastating chain of events that eventually lead to William being stripped of his wealth and titles and his family being outlawed. Taken into service at Bramber castle in Sussex in the year 1182, Ailith is inexorably drawn to her new mistress, the ill-fated Matilda de Braose. Life it seems is set to take one unexpected turn after another for Ailith in her new position at Bramber. The shocking realisation that her new mistress has the ability to see the future and sometimes the past by scrying is tempered by the fact that she is herself the seventh child of the seventh child and she has her own gift of the sight. Not surprisingly she and Matilda begin to build a special bond with one another as Ailith gradually realises that there is a connection between her new mistress and the recurring dreams she had as a child.