Chapter 1
Our story begins in a faraway place and in a faraway time. A young girl and a young boy fell in love. Her name was Margaret and his name was Xavier.
Margaret was born in a castle named Stadeley-Carille. This castle sat in the middle of a beautiful six hundred acre estate. It was framed on two sides by mountain ranges unimaginatively named The North Mountains and The South Mountains. The sea could be found to the east if one travelled far enough and to the west, beyond the verdant fields of Stadeley-Carille, stretched a rugged plain.
***
The once-tidy hedgerows of Stadeley-Carille were in disarray. Each wooden gate she passed needed repair. The cart tracks were rutted and full of puddles. Lady Margaret nearly slipped twice but it didn't matter. Her gown had celebrated its third birthday, was too tight in the bodice, and set with a deep stain. Tatters ran around the hem.
It was April and Margaret had endured a difficult winter. As she walked, she relished the fresh spring air and her step lightened in the worn boots she had found in a cupboard at home. If you are wondering, Margaret had a delicate face, dark brows to match her dark eyes, and a thick tumble of hair. She was a very pretty girl but not prone to vanity or simpering. This young woman was both sensible and sensitive; she enjoyed reading in silence for hours at a time; and she was finely built and did not snore.
For such a remote outpost, Stadeley-Carille had once been handsome and fine. Its castle walls had withstood external arrows and internal politics for hundreds of years and the surrounding fields had readily populated its walls. Housed in the depths of the castle lived a tremendous library, churning with many fascinating and unusual tomes. Via this library alone, a number of skilled courtiers had climbed from the humble pastures of Stadeley-Carille into eminent palaces and cathedrals.
This enviable holding had been established by the Stadeley and Carille families hundreds of years ago; however, now it was exclusively run by the Stadeley descendants. The name of Stadeley was liberally shared within the walls of the castle-those without family names of their own had become Stadeleys by default and generosity.
In his prime, the keeper of the castle, Lord Martin Stadeley, had been a vigorous and enterprising warrior. He had snatched his bride from an enemy in battle and didn't care in the least that the woman was near term. His new wife had delighted Lord Martin on their wedding night, desperate to see the morning, not the end of a well-used dagger.
When the baby was born, he had named her Margaret after Lord Martin's mother. He had completely claimed the baby as his own and made an astonishing fool of himself dancing around the cradle. He had even ridden into battle with the infant girl in his arms to illustrate to his enemies the full extent of his previous victory.
Lord Martin took an innocent joy in everyone, whether rightfully so. He was an inveterate jokester, prone to laughing and shouting. He ate with gusto, sitting with peers and subordinates alike, and slapping them on the back with delight. Dark moments were few with Lord Martin and quickly chased away with a long sip of ale and the generous pinch of a female behind.
When Margaret's mother died in a riding accident, Lord Martin had sobbed fitfully for a day and then recovered immediately. The funeral was an oddly festive affair, strained with smiles, no one daring to mourn a woman that his lordship did not. With a procession of cooperative wenches in steady rotation through his bedchamber, it was as if Lord Martin had never heard of his wife, the late Lady Astrid.
With Margaret as his only family to keep him company, he had doted on his daughter. During the day, the child took his full attention; during the night, he focused on wenching. That Margaret was not his biological child was miraculously never revealed to her. In Margaret, Lord Martin delighted. Together with the population of the castle, Margaret was raised by her father with great care and attention. He was a fair, conscientious and highly protective parent, fully aware that this lovely girl might be stolen from him as he himself had first obtained her.
