The Siren Queen

The year is 1569. Ursula Blanchard, illegitimate half sister to Queen
Elizabeth I and sometime spy on the Queen's behalf, is happily married
to wealthy Hugh Stannard and living quietly in the country. Ursula's
thoughts are on domestic matters as she watches her daughter, Meg, grow
up. Meg will soon be fourteen, so perhaps it is time to think of a
betrothal.
When an invitation to visit arrives from the
powerful Duke of Norfolk, Ursula and Hugh welcome the chance for Meg to
meet an apparently worthy young man of the Duke's household, Edmund
Dean. Is he a possible husband for Meg?
It's love at first
sight, at least on Meg's part. Young Dean seems to admire Meg as well,
and he's even more impressed with her promised dowry. Ursula, though,
has her doubts. Does she see something cruel in the man's eyes?
Soon, more weighty matters demand Ursula's attention. Two men are dead
under mysterious circumstances, and there may be a new plot to put Mary,
Queen of Scots, on the English throne. A letter written in cipher may
contain the information Ursula needs -- but can she decode the letter in
time to save the half sister and Queen she loves? And what shattering
personal discovery will the letter reveal?
Surrounded by
treachery, Ursula wonders whom she can trust. Is the great Duke of
Norfolk himself part of the plot against Queen Elizabeth? And what about
the young man who would marry Meg?