The wooded hills of Oxfordshire conceal the remains of the aptly
named Ashdown House--a wasted pile of cinders and regret. Once home to
the daughter of a king, Ashdown and its secrets will unite three women
across four centuries in a tangle of intrigue, deceit and destiny...
In the winter of 1662, Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, is on her
deathbed. She entrusts an ancient pearl, rumored to have magic power, to
her faithful cavalier William Craven for safekeeping. In his grief,
William orders the construction of Ashdown Estate in her memory and
places the pearl at its center.
One hundred and fifty years later, notorious courtesan Lavinia Flyte
hears the maids at Ashdown House whisper of a hidden treasure, and bears
witness as her protector Lord Evershot--desperate to find it--burns the
building to the ground.
Now, a battered mirror and the diary of a Regency courtesan are the only
clues Holly Ansell has to finding her brother, who has gone missing
researching the mystery of Elizabeth Stuart and her alleged affair with
Lord Craven. As she retraces his footsteps, Holly's quest will soon
reveal the truth about Lavinia and compel her to confront the stunning
revelation about the legacy of the Winter Queen.