**A Blue Beard retelling** Based on Charles Perrault's fairytale, this YA Historical Fantasy short story set in Victorian England mixes romance, magic and mystery. After agreeing to an arranged marriage to escape her greedy relatives, 18-year-old heiress Amelia moves into her husband's manor determined to start a new life. But the gothic mansion's forbidding surroundings, the servants' strange demeanour and her husband's mysterious past soon awaken her suspicions. If Amelia truly wants to become the lady of the house, she'll have to discover what secrets lie beyond closed doors and unravel the mystery of the old house's forbidden room. But sometimes secrets are kept for a good reason... HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORICAL FICTION # 44 Copyright © 2017. All works posted here are the property of EM Castellan. Please do not use without permission. Any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal. Cover artist: @seventhstar

Along with Kashibai Peshwe this story is dedicated to all women who remained gracious in the face of heartbreak! The Peshwa wife, who was destined to live in the shadow of her husband Bajirao's achievements and valour, remained a faithful and stoic consort. She had no choice but to remain confined to the domestic arena which was presided over by her mother-in-law Radhabai while her husband expanded the Maratha Empire. There was public outrage over the growing influence of Mastani on Peshwa Bajirao and his decision-making. Kashibai had to endure her husband's growing neglect due to his obsession for Mastani. While he indulged in hedonistic pleasure with his lover Kashibai was left to face the ire of his mother and the orthodox Brahmin society of the time. Historians and playwrights have sung hosannas to the tragic Bajirao-Mastani romance, depicting it in novels, plays and films. None of them bothered to do justice to the suffering of his wife Kashi, instead wrongly accusing her of having participated in the torment of the lovers. Even the recent Bollywood film on the subject failed to highlight how Kashi nurtured and raised her stepson Samsher Bahadur after the demise of Bajirao-Mastani. This piece of work is an endeavour to set the record straight and give Kashibai Peshwe her due.