First published 2007
Margaret of Ashbury wants nothing more than a quiet country life with her husband Gregory and their children. The medieval healer has earned her peace after years of adventure. But Gregory's father destroys her hopes when his mounting debts drive him to desperate measures. He plots to marry off Margaret's daughter to save his threatened woodlands from a grasping abbot. Margaret refuses to let her child become a pawn in this scheme. She calls upon Brother Malachi, her trusted ally, to help protect her daughter by any means required. The family's bitter conflict awakens something ancient that sleeps in the woodland spring. This watery being has watched and waited, and now it turns its attention to Margaret's infant son. Margaret must navigate the treachery of her husband's relatives while facing a supernatural threat that wants to claim her baby. Her peaceful retirement becomes a battle for her family's survival.
Genres: historical-fiction, fantasy, supernatural, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, supernatural-elements
Setting: Ashbury
Period: Medieval
276 pages · Paperback · Crown